UXP vs goanna

Discussions about the development and maturation of the platform code (UXP).
Warning: may contain highly-technical topics.

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testator777

UXP vs goanna

Unread post by testator777 » 2017-11-02, 04:29

So basilisk will use the australis user interface with a fork of the UXP platform from mozilla upstream. Will UXP still use the mediasource renderer that travis or whoever originally wrote for the goanna platform? Will palemoon be switching over from goanna to uxp? If it is switching, then what are the benefits to developement and to the users? I remember using palemoon because you had a less destroyed platform codebase then upstream mozilla. But if you are going to just restart and fork upstream again, then why should someone continue to use palemoon, basilisk, or mobius over firefox? Maybe I am just missunderstanding something here. Correct me if I am wrong.

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Re: UXP vs goanna

Unread post by Moonchild » 2017-11-02, 10:47

I think you're misunderstanding a few things, indeed.
  • Goanna is the layout and rendering engine; UXP is the platform code. Let me re-post the image I threw together to roughly explain how this all fits together.
  • Basilisk is an application that builds on top of the platform. What user interface any application uses is up to the application, not the platform it builds on.
  • UXP's media code will be using the mediasource renderer Travis has been working on; at least in a manner of speaking. Making a new platform will inherently mean we will have to throw away a bunch of custom code we made as well, but the end result should be better overall.
  • The plan is to switch Pale Moon over from our current platform to UXP (long-term plans) because a developed and maintained XUL-based platform is the only way a XUL application (like Pale Moon) has any chance of surviving without falling into obsolescence, with Mozilla abandoning this technology. That has been the main reason why I decided to start on this platform to begin with! Regardless, the platform will not be solely developed for Pale Moon's potential future use, it is developed for any future XUL application that will otherwise be dead in the water. Basically we're taking over the torch from Mozilla in developing and maintaining a platform for XUL applications of any kind; Mozilla should not be seen as "upstream" because it isn't.
  • As part of the UXP codebase development, we'll also be restoring/fixing up and cleaning up the Mozilla-inherited code in several ways. We'll also work on going from this whole "the browser is the platform"-approach Mozilla has been developing under to "the platform underpins/supports the browser (and others)"-approach; basically back to the roots of what the Mozilla platform started out as.
Please do understand that this is a lot of work, and all of this will take time.
rough-layout-of-mozilla-based-applications.png
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Latitude

Re: UXP vs goanna

Unread post by Latitude » 2017-11-03, 11:01

So, as a platform, we could develop another UXP-based application, especially the discontinued ones, like Songbird, InstantBird, KompoZer, etc.

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Re: UXP vs goanna

Unread post by Moonchild » 2017-11-03, 11:55

Latitude wrote:So, as a platform, we could develop another UXP-based application, especially the discontinued ones, like Songbird, InstantBird, KompoZer, etc.
Precisely.
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Latitude

Re: UXP vs goanna

Unread post by Latitude » 2017-11-03, 12:12

Moonchild wrote:Precisely.
Is it in executable form (.exe)?

Is it SDK in itself? Like Visual Studio?

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Re: UXP vs goanna

Unread post by Moonchild » 2017-11-03, 12:14

Latitude wrote:
Moonchild wrote:Precisely.
Is it in executable form (.exe)?
Is it SDK in itself? Like Visual Studio?
Please go read basic information about XUL applications and all your questions will be answered.
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Re: UXP vs goanna

Unread post by gracious1 » 2017-11-04, 02:56

Moonchild wrote:
  • Goanna is the layout and rendering engine; UXP is the platform code.
  • The plan is to switch Pale Moon over from our current platform to UXP
What is the current platform for Pale Moon called?
And thanks again for re-posting the picture. Very helpful. :geek:
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Re: UXP vs goanna

Unread post by Moonchild » 2017-11-04, 10:29

gracious1 wrote:What is the current platform for Pale Moon called?
It has code name "Tycho", but has no other specific official name.
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Re: UXP vs goanna

Unread post by van p » 2017-11-05, 04:24

Off-topic:
¡Feliz Día de los Muertos!

gracious1, is it a happy day because they're dead or are they happy because they're dead, or what, 'xactly?
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megaman

Re: UXP vs goanna

Unread post by megaman » 2017-11-05, 05:06

I'm curious, what gets more priority. "Stability," "Compatibility," or "Performance Improvements."
Off-topic:
van p wrote:is it a happy day because they're dead or are they happy because they're dead, or what, 'xactly?
Okay, before this turns into a stray. Day of the Dead is honoring them.
If it is someone that died and you are glad for their death, sure, celebrate at your own discretion.

Sun42

Re: UXP vs goanna

Unread post by Sun42 » 2017-12-02, 17:38

Moonchild wrote:[*]The plan is to switch Pale Moon over from our current platform to UXP (long-term plans) because a developed and maintained XUL-based platform is the only way a XUL application (like Pale Moon) has any chance of surviving without falling into obsolescence, with Mozilla abandoning this technology. That has been the main reason why I decided to start on this platform to begin with!
So the current "Basilisk" browser is just an "unstable" rolling-release sample of a possible implementation, like ff "Nightly"? And updating "Pale Moon" to the current codebase is the real deveopment target supporting either UI (old-school and Australis) and all extension models (legacy, sdk, we)?

Edit: Ok, right, that's probably it: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15984#p116272 ... I hope using Basilisk is a valid option for the moment, seems to be as stable as Waterfox oder Pale Moon.

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