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{{Short description|Internet Browser for PowerPC}}
{{Short description|Internet Browser for Power Macintoshes}}
{{Infobox software
{{Infobox software
| name = Classilla
| name = Classilla
| logo = Classilla-Logo.png
| logo = Classilla-Logo.png
| logo size = 55px
| logo size = 55px
| screenshot = [[Image:Classilla-9.2-on-Mac-OS-9.2.2.png|center|290px]]<!-- See [[Wikipedia:Software screenshots]] -->
| screenshot = [[Image:Classilla-9.2-on-Mac-OS-9.2.2.png|center|290px]]<!-- See [[Wikipedia:Software screenshots]] -->
| developer = Cameron Kaiser
| developer = Cameron Kaiser
| released = {{Start date and age|2009|06|30}}
| released = {{Start date and age|2009|06|30}}
| latest_release_version = 9.3.4b1
| latest_release_version = 9.3.4b1
| latest_release_date = {{release_date|2021|03|29}}<ref name=EOL>{{Cite web|url=https://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-final-official-release-of-classilla.html?m=1 |title=The final official release of Classilla |website=oldvcr.blogspot.com |access-date=2021-04-09}}</ref>
| latest_release_date = {{release_date|2021|03|29}}<ref name=EOL>{{Cite web|url=https://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-final-official-release-of-classilla.html?m=1 |title=The final official release of Classilla |website=oldvcr.blogspot.com |date=29 March 2021 |access-date=2021-04-09}}</ref>
| caption = Screenshot of Classilla 9.2 rendering the [[Wikipedia]] [[Main Page]], on [[Mac OS 9|Mac OS 9.2.2]].
| caption = Screenshot of Classilla 9.2 rendering the [[Wikipedia]] [[Main Page]], on [[Mac OS 9|Mac OS 9.2.2]].
| operating_system = [[Classic Mac OS]] ([[Mac OS 8|Mac OS 8.6]] and [[Mac OS 9]])<br>[[macOS|Mac OS X]] (10.1.5 Puma - 10.4.11 Tiger)
| operating_system = [[Classic Mac OS]] ([[Mac OS 8|Mac OS 8.6]] and [[Mac OS 9]])<br>[[macOS|Mac OS X]] ([[Mac OS X 10.1|10.1.5 Puma]] – [[Mac OS X Tiger|10.4.11 Tiger]])
| platform = [[PowerPC]]
| platform = [[PowerPC]]
| discontinued = yes
| discontinued = yes
| genre = [[Web browser]]
| genre = [[Web browser]]
| license = [[Mozilla Public License]], [[GNU General Public License]], others (see ''about:'' within the browser)
| license = [[Mozilla Public License]], [[GNU General Public License]], others (see ''about:'' within the browser)
| website = {{URL|classilla.org}}
| website = {{URL|classilla.org}}
}}
}}


'''Classilla''' is a [[Gecko (layout engine)|Gecko]]-based [[Internet suite]] for [[PowerPC]]-based [[Classic Mac OS|classic Macintosh operating systems]], essentially an updated descendant of the defunct [[Mozilla Application Suite]] by way of the Mac OS port maintained in the aborted [http://wamcom.kuix.de/ WaMCom] project.<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url = http://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/AAATheFAQ | title = Classilla FAQ | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref> The name is a portmanteau of ''Classic'' (the classic Mac OS, as defined by the [[Classic Environment]]), and ''[[Mozilla]]''.<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url = http://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/AAATheFAQ | title = Classilla FAQ | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref>
'''Classilla''' is a [[Gecko (layout engine)|Gecko]]-based [[Internet suite]] for [[PowerPC]]-based [[Classic Mac OS|classic Macintosh operating systems]], essentially an updated descendant of the defunct [[Mozilla Application Suite]] by way of the Mac OS port maintained in the aborted [http://wamcom.kuix.de/ WaMCom] project.<ref name=classillaFAQ>{{cite web | year=2009 | url = http://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/AAATheFAQ | title = Classilla FAQ | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref> The name is a portmanteau of ''Classic'' (the classic Mac OS, as defined by the [[Classic Environment]]), and ''[[Mozilla]]''.<ref name=classillaFAQ />


Like the Suite it is descended from, Classilla offers [[E-mail]] ([[Post Office Protocol|POP]]/[[Simple Mail Transfer Protocol|SMTP]]), [[Usenet]] ([[Network News Transfer Protocol|NNTP]]), [[Gopher (protocol)|Gopher]], [[File Transfer Protocol|FTP]] and [[World Wide Web]] ([[Hypertext Transfer Protocol|HTTP]]) access, using a modified version of the [[Gecko (software)|Gecko]] [[Browser engine|layout engine]] called ''Clecko''. Classilla also includes its own versions of the [[DOM Inspector]], [[Mozilla Composer]] and [[Venkman]] components; the former [[IRC]] [[ChatZilla]] component was removed in version 9.1. Classilla was the last updated major browser for classic Mac OS systems, and the only Mozilla-based browser for that environment most recently in maintenance as well, as [[iCab|iCab 3]]'s final update was 3.0.5 in January 2008,<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=http://www.icab.de/dl.php | title=iCab, Downloads | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref> [[Opera (web browser)|Opera]]'s Mac OS 9 support ended with version 6.03 on 20 August 2003,<ref>{{cite web | year=2003 | url=http://www.opera.com/docs/changelogs/mac/603/ | title=Opera Changelogs Mac 6.03 | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=http://www.opera.com/docs/changelogs/mac/750/ | title=Opera Changelogs Mac 7.50 | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref> [[Internet Explorer for Mac]] on the classic Mac OS ceased development with 5.1.7 in July 2003<ref>{{cite web | year=2005 | url=http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=171546&cid=14288661 | title=Slashdot, Microsoft Ends IE for Mac | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref> and [[Mozilla Foundation|Mozilla]] itself ceased support in 2002 (see History).
Like the Suite it is descended from, Classilla offers [[E-mail]] ([[Post Office Protocol|POP]]/[[Simple Mail Transfer Protocol|SMTP]]), [[Usenet]] ([[Network News Transfer Protocol|NNTP]]), [[Gopher (protocol)|Gopher]], [[File Transfer Protocol|FTP]] and [[World Wide Web]] ([[Hypertext Transfer Protocol|HTTP]]) access, using a modified version of the [[Gecko (software)|Gecko]] [[Browser engine|layout engine]] called ''Clecko''. Classilla also includes its own versions of the [[DOM Inspector]], [[Mozilla Composer]] and [[Venkman]] components; the former [[IRC]] [[ChatZilla]] component was removed in version 9.1. Classilla was the last updated major browser for classic Mac OS systems, and the only Mozilla-based browser for that environment most recently in maintenance as well, as [[iCab|iCab 3]]'s final update was 3.0.5 in January 2008,<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=http://www.icab.de/dl.php | title=iCab, Downloads | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref> [[Opera (web browser)|Opera]]'s Mac OS 9 support ended with version 6.03 on 20 August 2003,<ref>{{cite web | year=2003 | url=http://www.opera.com/docs/changelogs/mac/603/ | title=Opera Changelogs Mac 6.03 | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=http://www.opera.com/docs/changelogs/mac/750/ | title=Opera Changelogs Mac 7.50 | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref> [[Internet Explorer for Mac]] on the classic Mac OS ceased development with 5.1.7 in July 2003<ref>{{cite web | year=2005 | url=http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=171546&cid=14288661 | title=Slashdot, Microsoft Ends IE for Mac | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref> and [[Mozilla Foundation|Mozilla]] itself ceased support in 2002 (see History).


The final version of Classilla has been released and the suite is no longer supported.<ref name=EOL /> The developers considered the project to be [[Software release life cycle#Alpha|alpha quality software]].<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=http://www.floodgap.com/software/classilla/releases/ | title=Classilla: Current Releases | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref> Classilla shared administration with [[TenFourFox]], a [[fork (software development)|fork]] of [[Mozilla Firefox]] for PowerPC-based Macs running [[Mac OS X Tiger]] and [[Mac OS X Leopard]]. The primary maintainer was Cameron Kaiser.
The final version of Classilla was released in March 2021 and the suite is no longer officially supported.<ref name=EOL /> The developers considered the project to be [[Software release life cycle#Alpha|alpha quality software]].<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=http://www.floodgap.com/software/classilla/releases/ | title=Classilla: Current Releases | access-date=2009-11-01 | archive-date=2011-08-30 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830015254/http://www.floodgap.com/software/classilla/releases | url-status=dead }}</ref> Classilla shared administration with [[TenFourFox]], a [[fork (software development)|fork]] of [[Mozilla Firefox]] for PowerPC-based Macs running [[Mac OS X Tiger]] and [[Mac OS X Leopard]]. The primary maintainer was Cameron Kaiser.


==History==
==History==
{{See also|Mozilla Application Suite}}
{{See also|Mozilla Application Suite}}
Official support for [[Mac OS 9]] (and [[Mac OS 8|Mac OS 8.6]]) in the [[Mozilla Application Suite]] ended with the release of Mozilla 1.2.1 in 2002,<ref>{{cite web | year=2002 | url=http://www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=2756 | title=MozillaZine, Classic Mac OS Builds of Mozilla Transitioning to Port Status | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref> coincident with [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] ending support for their legacy operating system. However, many enthusiasts discovered that Mozilla 1.3.x would still generally build and run on the old Mac OS with modification apart from its dependencies on [[Carbon (API)|CarbonLib]], leading to builds such as [http://www.depublic.com/mozilla-macos9/ Unofficial Mozilla for Mac OS 9], [http://wazilla.sourceforge.jp/index-en.html WaZilla 1.3f], and [http://wamcom.kuix.de/ WaMCom]. Of these, WaMCom was the arguably longest maintained, with its final release on 23 July 2003.<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url = http://wamcom.kuix.de | title = WaMCom | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref>
Official support for [[Mac OS 9]] (and [[Mac OS 8|Mac OS 8.6]]) in the [[Mozilla Application Suite]] ended with the release of Mozilla 1.2.1 in 2002,<ref>{{cite web | year=2002 | url=http://www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=2756 | title=MozillaZine, Classic Mac OS Builds of Mozilla Transitioning to Port Status | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref> coincident with [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] ending support for their legacy operating system. However, many enthusiasts discovered that Mozilla 1.3.x would still generally build and run on the old Mac OS with modification apart from its dependencies on [[Carbon (API)|CarbonLib]] (Mozilla 1.4.x and newer will not build at all on Mac OS 8 or 9 without heavy modification), leading to builds such as [http://www.depublic.com/mozilla-macos9/ Unofficial Mozilla for Mac OS 9], [http://wazilla.sourceforge.jp/index-en.html WaZilla 1.3f], and [http://wamcom.kuix.de/ WaMCom]. Of these, WaMCom was the arguably longest maintained, with its final release on 23 July 2003.<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url = http://wamcom.kuix.de | title = WaMCom | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref>


In May 2009, Cameron Kaiser announced his intentions to start porting later Mozilla updates back to the 1.3.1-based version used in WaMCom,<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/6a07eed79c646c4f | title=Google Groups, Updating WaMCom | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref> christening his modified version as ''Classilla''. This first version, given the version number 9.0 to match Mac OS 9 (with subsequent numbers matching OS 9 version numbers),<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url = http://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/Roadmap | title = Classilla Roadmap | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref> was released on 30 June 2009.<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/3930d9c29037df2a | title=Google Groups, Well, if they get FF 3.5, then you should get Classilla 9.0. | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref>
In May 2009, Cameron Kaiser announced his intentions to start porting later Mozilla updates back to the 1.3.1-based version used in WaMCom,<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/6a07eed79c646c4f | title=Google Groups, Updating WaMCom | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref> christening his modified version as ''Classilla''. This first version, given the version number 9.0 to match Mac OS 9 (with subsequent numbers matching OS 9 version numbers),<ref name=classillaRoadmap>{{cite web | year=2009 | url = http://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/Roadmap | title = Classilla Roadmap | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref> was released on 30 June 2009.<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/3930d9c29037df2a | title=Google Groups, Well, if they get FF 3.5, then you should get Classilla 9.0. | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref>


On March 29, 2021, Kaiser released the final versions of both Classilla and TenFourFox and announced the cancellation of official support for both projects, citing increasing technical issues.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Classichasclass |date=2021-03-29 |title=TenFourFox Development: The end of TenFourFox and what I've learned from it |url=https://tenfourfox.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-end-of-tenfourfox-and-what-ive.html |access-date=2024-01-27 |website=TenFourFox Development}}</ref><ref name=EOL/>
Kaiser announced the final official release of Classilla and the end of support on March 29, 2021.<ref name=EOL/>


==Features==
==Features==
Owing to Classilla's unusual provenance (being essentially a heavily [[Patch (computing)|patched]] version of Mozilla 1.3.1; vestigial proof remains in its verse from [[The Book of Mozilla]]), it has more limited support for [[web standards]] than do later Gecko-based browsers such as [[SeaMonkey]] and [[Mozilla Firefox]], and its layout compared to [[iCab|iCab 3.0.5]] is objectively inferior<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=http://www.classilla.org/ | title=Classilla | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref> as the latter browser is [[Acid2]] compliant and Classilla is not. Similarly, it only scores 31/100 in Acid 3. On the other hand, its layout capability is more current than WaMCom or Mozilla 1.3.1, and Classilla has a more modern [[JavaScript]] interpreter than iCab and better support for the [[Document Object Model]] although it is also still deficient compared to mainline Gecko-based browsers. It is perceived by users to be more stable and quicker to render than iCab,<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/b6effba776cc1fb7 | title=Google Groups, Classilla 9.0.4 released. | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/5f264bae6b95dc43 | title=Google Groups, Classilla 9.0.4 released. | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=http://www.emaculation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5693 | title=Emaculation.com Forums, Classilla: A Secure browser for Classic Mac OS | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=http://forums.system7today.com/viewtopic.php?t=2147 | title=System 7 Today Forums, Classilla has launched and it works! | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref> important as the classic Mac OS relies on [[cooperative multitasking]] and has very limited support for [[memory protection]]&mdash;any application crash could hang the entire system. However, known problems in the browser and issues with performance on older machines led the developers to implement their own limited version of [[NoScript]] as a built-in part of the browser so that users had the ability to enable JavaScript only where it was safe or necessary to do so.
Owing to Classilla's unusual provenance (being essentially a heavily [[Patch (computing)|patched]] version of Mozilla 1.3.1; vestigial proof remains in its verse from [[The Book of Mozilla]]), it has more limited support for [[web standards]] than do later Gecko-based browsers such as [[SeaMonkey]] and [[Mozilla Firefox]], and its layout compared to [[iCab|iCab 3.0.5]] is objectively inferior<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=http://www.classilla.org/ | title=Classilla | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref> as the latter browser is [[Acid2]] compliant and Classilla is not. Similarly, it only scores 31/100 in Acid 3. On the other hand, its layout capability is more current than WaMCom or Mozilla 1.3.1, and Classilla has a more modern [[JavaScript]] interpreter than iCab and better support for the [[Document Object Model]] although it is also still deficient compared to mainline Gecko-based browsers. It is perceived by users to be more stable and quicker to render than iCab,<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/b6effba776cc1fb7 | title=Google Groups, Classilla 9.0.4 released. | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/5f264bae6b95dc43 | title=Google Groups, Classilla 9.0.4 released. | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=http://www.emaculation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5693 | title=Emaculation.com Forums, Classilla: A Secure browser for Classic Mac OS | access-date=2009-11-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url=http://forums.system7today.com/viewtopic.php?t=2147 | title=System 7 Today Forums, Classilla has launched and it works! | access-date=2009-11-01 | archive-date=2011-07-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716181133/http://forums.system7today.com/viewtopic.php?t=2147 | url-status=dead }}</ref> important as the classic Mac OS relies on [[cooperative multitasking]] and has very limited support for [[memory protection]]&mdash;any application crash could hang the entire system. However, known problems in the browser and issues with performance on older machines led the developers to implement their own limited version of [[NoScript]] as a built-in part of the browser so that users had the ability to enable JavaScript only where it was safe or necessary to do so.


Classilla also adds support for [[User agent#User agent spoofing|user agent spoofing]], which was not part of the original Mozilla suite, and repairs various Mac OS-specific bugs. In addition, Classilla 9.3.0 introduced the Byblos HTML rewriting engine that can rewrite individual pages at the source code level with browser- and user-provided "stele" scripts, with the intent of lightweight adaptation of complicated content to the capabilities or quirks of the browser. Starting with 9.3.0, Classilla presents a mobile [[user agent]] by default.<ref>{{cite web | year=2012 | url=https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/browse_thread/thread/ded90f847b08206a | title=Google Groups, Classilla 9.3.0 | access-date=2012-01-24 }}</ref>
Classilla also adds support for [[User agent#User agent spoofing|user agent spoofing]], which was not part of the original Mozilla suite, and repairs various Mac OS-specific bugs. In addition, Classilla 9.3.0 introduced the Byblos HTML rewriting engine that can rewrite individual pages at the source code level with browser- and user-provided "stele" scripts, with the intent of lightweight adaptation of complicated content to the capabilities or quirks of the browser. Starting with 9.3.0, Classilla presents a mobile [[user agent]] by default.<ref>{{cite web | year=2012 | url=https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/browse_thread/thread/ded90f847b08206a | title=Google Groups, Classilla 9.3.0 | access-date=2012-01-24 }}</ref>


Apart from its upgraded support for Web pages, Classilla supports most of the same features that Mozilla of the same generation did, with similar feature sets and bugs in its support for E-mail, Usenet, FTP and Gopher, although the latter received token upgrades. In a likewise fashion, Classilla also inherits many of the security failings of earlier versions of the Application Suite, many of which are still not patched and openly warned of by the developers.<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url = http://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/Roadmap | title = Classilla Roadmap | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref> The presence of NoScript, along with the unusual nature of the classic Mac OS, is thought to add some level of protection, although it was the avowed goal of the developers to reach security parity with modern Mozilla-based releases<ref>{{cite web | year=2009 | url = http://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/Roadmap | title = Classilla Roadmap | access-date = 2009-11-01 }}</ref> and repair outstanding bugs.
Apart from its upgraded support for Web pages, Classilla supports most of the same features that Mozilla of the same generation did, with similar feature sets and bugs in its support for E-mail, Usenet, FTP and Gopher, although the latter received token upgrades. In a likewise fashion, Classilla also inherits many of the security failings of earlier versions of the Application Suite, many of which are still not patched and openly warned of by the developers.<ref name=classillaRoadmap /> The presence of NoScript, along with the unusual nature of the classic Mac OS, is thought to add some level of protection, although it was the avowed goal of the developers to reach security parity with modern Mozilla-based releases<ref name=classillaRoadmap /> and repair outstanding bugs.


==See also==
==See also==
Line 56: Line 56:
==External links==
==External links==
* {{Official website|www.classilla.org}}
* {{Official website|www.classilla.org}}
* [https://archive.is/20130124205526/http://classilla.googlecode.com/ Classilla Google Code] - wiki, source code and downloads
* [https://archive.today/20130124205526/http://classilla.googlecode.com/ Classilla Google Code] - wiki, source code and downloads


{{Web browsers}}
{{Web browsers}}
Line 65: Line 65:
[[Category:Macintosh web browsers]]
[[Category:Macintosh web browsers]]
[[Category:Free web browsers]]
[[Category:Free web browsers]]
[[Category:Discontinued web browsers]]
[[Category:Gecko-based software]]
[[Category:Gecko-based software]]
[[Category:Gopher clients]]
[[Category:Gopher clients]]
[[Category:Free Internet suites]]
[[Category:Free Internet suites]]
[[Category:Discontinued internet suites]]
[[Category:Mozilla Application Suite]]
[[Category:Mozilla Application Suite]]
[[Category:Macintosh-only software]]

Latest revision as of 23:44, 27 January 2024

Classilla
Developer(s)Cameron Kaiser
Initial releaseJune 30, 2009; 15 years ago (2009-06-30)
Final release
9.3.4b1 / March 29, 2021 (2021-03-29)[1]
Operating systemClassic Mac OS (Mac OS 8.6 and Mac OS 9)
Mac OS X (10.1.5 Puma – 10.4.11 Tiger)
PlatformPowerPC
TypeWeb browser
LicenseMozilla Public License, GNU General Public License, others (see about: within the browser)
Websiteclassilla.org

Classilla is a Gecko-based Internet suite for PowerPC-based classic Macintosh operating systems, essentially an updated descendant of the defunct Mozilla Application Suite by way of the Mac OS port maintained in the aborted WaMCom project.[2] The name is a portmanteau of Classic (the classic Mac OS, as defined by the Classic Environment), and Mozilla.[2]

Like the Suite it is descended from, Classilla offers E-mail (POP/SMTP), Usenet (NNTP), Gopher, FTP and World Wide Web (HTTP) access, using a modified version of the Gecko layout engine called Clecko. Classilla also includes its own versions of the DOM Inspector, Mozilla Composer and Venkman components; the former IRC ChatZilla component was removed in version 9.1. Classilla was the last updated major browser for classic Mac OS systems, and the only Mozilla-based browser for that environment most recently in maintenance as well, as iCab 3's final update was 3.0.5 in January 2008,[3] Opera's Mac OS 9 support ended with version 6.03 on 20 August 2003,[4][5] Internet Explorer for Mac on the classic Mac OS ceased development with 5.1.7 in July 2003[6] and Mozilla itself ceased support in 2002 (see History).

The final version of Classilla was released in March 2021 and the suite is no longer officially supported.[1] The developers considered the project to be alpha quality software.[7] Classilla shared administration with TenFourFox, a fork of Mozilla Firefox for PowerPC-based Macs running Mac OS X Tiger and Mac OS X Leopard. The primary maintainer was Cameron Kaiser.

History

[edit]
See also: Mozilla Application Suite

Official support for Mac OS 9 (and Mac OS 8.6) in the Mozilla Application Suite ended with the release of Mozilla 1.2.1 in 2002,[8] coincident with Apple ending support for their legacy operating system. However, many enthusiasts discovered that Mozilla 1.3.x would still generally build and run on the old Mac OS with modification apart from its dependencies on CarbonLib (Mozilla 1.4.x and newer will not build at all on Mac OS 8 or 9 without heavy modification), leading to builds such as Unofficial Mozilla for Mac OS 9, WaZilla 1.3f, and WaMCom. Of these, WaMCom was the arguably longest maintained, with its final release on 23 July 2003.[9]

In May 2009, Cameron Kaiser announced his intentions to start porting later Mozilla updates back to the 1.3.1-based version used in WaMCom,[10] christening his modified version as Classilla. This first version, given the version number 9.0 to match Mac OS 9 (with subsequent numbers matching OS 9 version numbers),[11] was released on 30 June 2009.[12]

On March 29, 2021, Kaiser released the final versions of both Classilla and TenFourFox and announced the cancellation of official support for both projects, citing increasing technical issues.[13][1]

Features

[edit]

Owing to Classilla's unusual provenance (being essentially a heavily patched version of Mozilla 1.3.1; vestigial proof remains in its verse from The Book of Mozilla), it has more limited support for web standards than do later Gecko-based browsers such as SeaMonkey and Mozilla Firefox, and its layout compared to iCab 3.0.5 is objectively inferior[14] as the latter browser is Acid2 compliant and Classilla is not. Similarly, it only scores 31/100 in Acid 3. On the other hand, its layout capability is more current than WaMCom or Mozilla 1.3.1, and Classilla has a more modern JavaScript interpreter than iCab and better support for the Document Object Model although it is also still deficient compared to mainline Gecko-based browsers. It is perceived by users to be more stable and quicker to render than iCab,[15][16][17][18] important as the classic Mac OS relies on cooperative multitasking and has very limited support for memory protection—any application crash could hang the entire system. However, known problems in the browser and issues with performance on older machines led the developers to implement their own limited version of NoScript as a built-in part of the browser so that users had the ability to enable JavaScript only where it was safe or necessary to do so.

Classilla also adds support for user agent spoofing, which was not part of the original Mozilla suite, and repairs various Mac OS-specific bugs. In addition, Classilla 9.3.0 introduced the Byblos HTML rewriting engine that can rewrite individual pages at the source code level with browser- and user-provided "stele" scripts, with the intent of lightweight adaptation of complicated content to the capabilities or quirks of the browser. Starting with 9.3.0, Classilla presents a mobile user agent by default.[19]

Apart from its upgraded support for Web pages, Classilla supports most of the same features that Mozilla of the same generation did, with similar feature sets and bugs in its support for E-mail, Usenet, FTP and Gopher, although the latter received token upgrades. In a likewise fashion, Classilla also inherits many of the security failings of earlier versions of the Application Suite, many of which are still not patched and openly warned of by the developers.[11] The presence of NoScript, along with the unusual nature of the classic Mac OS, is thought to add some level of protection, although it was the avowed goal of the developers to reach security parity with modern Mozilla-based releases[11] and repair outstanding bugs.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "The final official release of Classilla". oldvcr.blogspot.com. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  2. ^ a b "Classilla FAQ". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  3. ^ "iCab, Downloads". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  4. ^ "Opera Changelogs Mac 6.03". 2003. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  5. ^ "Opera Changelogs Mac 7.50". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  6. ^ "Slashdot, Microsoft Ends IE for Mac". 2005. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  7. ^ "Classilla: Current Releases". 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-08-30. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  8. ^ "MozillaZine, Classic Mac OS Builds of Mozilla Transitioning to Port Status". 2002. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  9. ^ "WaMCom". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  10. ^ "Google Groups, Updating WaMCom". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
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  12. ^ "Google Groups, Well, if they get FF 3.5, then you should get Classilla 9.0". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  13. ^ Classichasclass (2021-03-29). "TenFourFox Development: The end of TenFourFox and what I've learned from it". TenFourFox Development. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
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  19. ^ "Google Groups, Classilla 9.3.0". 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
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