Warpzilla GeckOS/2
Browser 1.0.3 (Alpha)
Just Released!


OS/2 have a new browser! Warpzilla GeckOS/2 browser 1.0.3 (alpha) just released and Henry Sobotka just uploads the file (gecko003.zip, 2,535,3KB) on Hobbes. Warpzilla GeckOS/2 browserOS/2 is a version of Mozilla's NGLayout browser with support for HTML 4, CSS, DOM, Javascript 1.4, XML etc. Open-source freeware. To run it you need the most recent EMX (emx09d.zip, 17,17MB) just uploaded on Hobbes.

GeckOS/2 1.0.3 (alpha release) - 98/12/24
by Henry Sobotka

This is the third alpha elease of the OS/2 version of the Mozilla NGLayout browser with support for HTML 4, CSS, DOM, Javascript 1.4, XML etc. It replaces the binaries packaged in nglay001.zip and nglay002.zip. GeckOS/2 is open-source freeware and contributions to its ongoing development are always welcome.

Version 1.0.3 is built from the Warpzilla source tree on joyce.eng.yale.edu plus John Fairhurst's plugin implementation and the new emx 0.9d development kit. It requires the corresponding runtime kit available at
ftp://ftp.leo.org/pub/comp/os/os2/leo/gnu/emx+gcc/emxrt.zip
 and perhaps by now from Hobbes as well (at the time of writing, Hobbes had not yet unpacked the 17-meg zip containing the entire kit and sources). Programs built with older versions of emx work with the new runtime, but not vice versa. GeckOS/2 is experimental software, and one of the purposes of this release is to test the new toolkit and its libraries in action.

This is the last release of the XPViewer-based Gecko; version 1.0.4 will be based on the real cross-platform browser emerging in another subdirectory. The XPViewer is (was) a test prototype. More details about this can be found at
http://www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=273.

For two recent articles that give a good general overview of what Gecko is all
about, have a look at http://www.webreference.com/html/gecko/ and
http://www.webtools.com/story/browsers/TLS19981223S0001. The latest mozilla
news can be tapped at http://www.mozillazine.org/ or http://www/mozilla.org/status.

The Warpzilla and GeckOS/2 home site is http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2.

INSTALLATION

1) Make sure you have the new version (0.9d) of the emx runtime
library (available as emxrt.zip from Hobbes or Leo) properly installed.
Typing "emxrev" at an OS/2 command prompt should display:

 EMX : revision = 60
EMXIO : revision = 60
EMXLIBC : revision = 60
EMXLIBCM : revision = 60
EMXLIBCS : revision = 60
EMXWRAP : revision = 60

2) Unzip gecko003.zip onto an HPFS drive (essential for resource long filenames)
and make sure the /res subdirectory structure is recreated.

3) Unzip nspr30.zip into the same place, a separate directory which you must
then add to the LIBPATH statement in config.sys (and reboot), or a
directory already in LIBPATH. If you have a previous release of nspr30
installed, replace it with these new binaries.

4) Connect to the Internet and run xpviewer.exe from the commandline or by
doubleclicking on the icon. It will load
http://developer.netscape.com/software/communicator/ngl/index.html.
You can also run Gecko offline, but will get an empty frame on launch; use
the File menu to load one of the demos or a local page.

 LIMITATIONS

This is an alpha release so don't expect everything to work and bear in mind
some webpages will crash Gecko. But then all kinds of features do work.
Detailed feedback about its performance is appreciated.

NEW FEATURES

* Support for plugins
* Assorted XP features, improved JS, DOM & CSS, less memory leakage

SOURCES

NSPR sources available from cvs-mirror@mozilla.org. The code required to build NSPR for OS/2 is now part of the main tree. The OS2_BRANCH version is obsolete.

The GeckOS/2 sources are now available at joyce.eng.yale.edu either as a tarball and from a cvs server. For details on how to obtain them, see
http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2 or http://joyce.eng.yale.edu/warpzilla. In
the coming weeks, the source tree will become a branch at mozilla.org and then be merged into the main trunk.

Check the netscape.public.mozilla.os2 newsgroup for announcements and the
latest developments.

BUILDING

The Warpzilla home page at http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2 contains development details and related links. The latest version of the instructions can always be found in warp[moz]illa/README/nglayout/os2build.html.

 BUGS

Bug reports are appreciated and should emailed to john_fairhurst@iname.com
or posted to mozilla-os2@mozilla.org. Please check the list at
http://yuggoth.ucam.org/~mjf35/warpzilla/nglayout/bugs.html before submitting.

CONTACT

Henry Sobotka
sobotka@axess.com
@Macarlo, Inc.
@Macarlo's Shareware & Web
OS/2
Java Lobby Member
Java Site Accredited

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