Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Apple
    • Apple
    • Development
    • Servers

    Apple Opens Safari Browsers WebKit

    By
    Ian Betteridge
    -
    June 9, 2005
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Apples efforts to woo the open-source software community have taken another step forward with the announcement of the WebKit Open Source Project, which forms the core of its Safari browser for Mac OS X.

      Safari is based on KHTML, an open-source rendering engine used in the Konqueror browser and other projects. However, Apple Computer Inc. has previously come under criticism from some programmers working on KHTML for contributing little to the project, despite using the code.

      While WebCore—the rendering engine itself—has long been an open-source project released under the LGPL (Lesser General Public License), WebKit—the application framework which links together WebCore and a JavaScript rendering engine—has not.

      However, in a posting on his Weblog, Dave Hyatt, one of Apples leading Safari programmers, announced that the company was launching a new Web site dedicated to WebKit, as well as a mailing list and IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel for discussion of the code. WebKit has been released under a BSD license.

      Significantly, the CVS system used for the project has been opened, allowing users to directly contribute to the project without having to contact Apple first. Users will also be able to pull code from the repository and build their own version of WebKit.

      /zimages/6/28571.gifAlthough Apple has decided to move away from IBMs PowerPC chips, Linux vendors remain faithful. Read more here.

      Hyatt also claimed that “going forward, we will be engaging actively with the community,” and allocating more time to communicating with open-source programmers.

      /zimages/6/28571.gifClick here to read more about Apples Safari Browser.

      The move by Apple is likely to end a public spat between the computer maker and some members of the KHTML team over the lack of contribution back into KHTML from Safari.

      In April, Zack Rusin, one of the leading developers of KHTML, published a posting on his blog complaining that the lack of access to Apples changed code made incorporating changes back into KHTML very difficult.

      “Do you have any idea how hard it is to be merging between two totally different trees when one of them doesnt have any history? Thats the situation KDE [K Desktop Environment] is in. We created the khtml-cvs list for Apple, they got CVS accounts for KDE CVS. What did we get? We get periodical code bombs in the form of them releasing WebCore,” Rusin said.

      He added, “Many of us wanted to even sign NDAs [nondisclosure agreements#93; with Apple to at least get access to the history of their internal [version control system#93; and be able to be merging the changes incrementally, the way they can right now. Nothing came out of it. They do the very, very minimum required by LGPL.”

      /zimages/6/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest open-source news, reviews and analysis.

      Ian Betteridge

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×