Netscape works out kinks in Mozilla
By Michael Moeller, PC Week Online
July 24, 1998 5:45 pm ET
Four months into its open-source-code era, Netscape Communications Corp. (NSCP) is still working out kinks in the Mozilla process, which could impact the feature set of its next-generation browser.
Netscape still maintains a large role in developing the code that will form the basis of Communicator 5.0 -- code that, in theory, was going to be more quickly developed by outside parties working with Netscape's Mozilla.org online open development effort.
But Netscape's delay in releasing the Communicator mail and newsgroup reader source code, coupled with delays in the advancement of a new layout engine by Mozilla.org developers, could impact the final features and release date of 5.0.
Netscape and Mozilla officials are negotiating a Sept. 1 deadline to freeze Communicator source code before bug testing begins. Version 5.0 is due in beta by year's end.
Last month, with less than six weeks to go before the feature freeze, Netscape warned source code developers that the new, highly touted rendering engine, NGLayout, will not make the final cut for 5.0.
NGLayout was to be a ground-up rewrite of Communicator 4.x's HTML, XML and document rendering features. Instead, Netscape has urged developers to work on ways to enhance the current rendering engine under an ongoing project, code-named Mariner. It will support the World Wide Web Consortium's Document Object Model specification and will improve how the engine handles table and text layouts.
Postings to the Mozilla newsgroup and notices on Mozilla.org's Web site indicate Netscape is more than two months late in releasing the complete source code for its mail and news client.
While developers said they're not too upset about the situation so far, they indicated the process has not been as democratic as advertised.
"Netscape is deeply involved, but I have not noticed any problems with that thus far," said Tim Franks, a San Francisco developer working on Mozilla code. "I'm hoping ... outside ideas will start making their way into the product, rather than all of us only working on ideas generated out of Netscape."
The reason for the heavy Netscape involvement, said officials from both sides, is that few developers have as much knowledge of Netscape code as Netscape.
"We are talking with some developers now about taking ownership of modules," said Tom Paquin, a fellow with Netscape and manager of Mozilla.org, in Mountain View, Calif.
Once a firm Communicator 5.0 beta is completed, management of the suite's modules will be turned over to outsiders. "This is a gradual process," Paquin said.
Two pieces of code that are proceeding well in the hands of outside developers are the cryptography module, dubbed Cryptozilla, and a Java version of the browser called Jazilla, officials said.
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