Firefox 1.0 likely to be based off the 1.7 branch

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bengoodger
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Firefox 1.0 likely to be based off the 1.7 branch

Post by bengoodger »

Here's a summary of the upcoming releases

0.9 - Feature Complete - synchronized with 1.7 final
1.0 beta
1.0 final

Given that there is only bugfixing after 0.9 and before 1.0 final, it seems likely that we will create a 1.0 branch based on the 0.9/1.7f branch that will see us through 1.0. This is because we don't want to take our chances with 1.8a and wait for the dust to settle at ship time in mid year to see if 1.8 is any good.

If we branch with 1.7 then by the time 1.0 rolls around any problems with 1.7 will likely have been clearly identified (e.g. if 1.7.1s need to be made etc) and we can pick up such changes easily. We will also have to track 1.8 to see if there are worthwhile changes happening there as well.

This will be difficult, but I envisage having more time after feature hell is over and 0.9 has shipped.
Malakai
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Post by Malakai »

Just think, despite the long hard road the dev team has marched along, Firefox is almost ready for primetime.


Though 0.8 is pretty much a huge success on it's own :) The percentage of people using Firebird on my forums (www.genmay.com) pre0.8 was about 10%, whereas after Firefox it went up to something near 22%. Albeit we are a tech oriented forum and all, but it's still a good start. People are noticing ^_^
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flfenn
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Post by flfenn »

What is the 1.7 branch? Is this the Mozilla branch? And will Firefox merge with Mozilla to become Mozilla Firefox 1.8 after the Firefox 1.0 beta? I know these might sound like stupid questions, but I am a relative newbie around here, and am still on a learning curve.
Thanks for your patience with a humble convert . . .
kchikin
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Post by kchikin »

Mozilla and Mozilla Firefox are separate applications... at least they will be. Mozilla has grown for years based on the work previously done by Netscape along with massive amounts of rework, etc... It includes an "all-in-one" approach to a Browser, much like Netscape's Suite, containing integrated Email, Web Browsing, and News groups. Firefox grew from the "trunk" which was this original code base and "branched" into a new product altogether that unbundles the suite making Firebox slimmer, faster, and really better in almost every aspect (IMO). The other applications are still there... but Firefox takes a (pardon the expression) Microsoft approach by providing an IE/Outlook Express pairing: Firefox/Thunderbird.

So, at the current time, Firefox has not quite left the trunk. This means that bug fixes made to Mozilla are usually rolled into the source code for Firefox (except of course where it doesn't apply). However, it has always been the intention at some point to branch away permanently and that date/release seems to keep changing. Whatever the case, beengoodger is essentially saying that the final branch should probably happen after the full Mozilla releases 1.7 Final (the 1.7 Alpha came out today).
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flfenn
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Post by flfenn »

So, essentially, Mozilla will continue to exist as a 'suite', while Firefox, Thunderbird, et al, will branch into their own as separate products, co-existing with Mozilla. Will Firefox, etc, eventually replace Mozilla Suite?
kchikin
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Post by kchikin »

I don't think so. There are large camps still working on both code bases. Many people like the all-in-one approach, and Mozilla is MUCH more mature than Firefox at this point... though Firefox is maturing at an incredible rate. I think both products will continue separately. The one problem (IMO) is that it somewhat fragments the developer community. Also, there will come a point where the code is different enough that it will become difficult to put a new feature that everyone likes into both products. Also, one of the really nice benefits of staying on the trunk (and one reason that Firefox is maturing so quickly) is that essentially BOTH teams work to fix bugs since they come from the same place. Once the division is made permanently, it will be more difficult to "share" the resources.

That said, there seem to be a lot of really passionate developers in both camps and I'm sure both products will continue forward. I don't care for Mozilla. It's too bloated (personally) but I love Firefox and have been playing with it as it's moved through the DOT releases towards 1.0. I've even started making a stink at work about making sure all web code works well in either browser (IE, Mozilla, Firefox) which is something I could have cared less about for years after Netscape more or less folded to Microsoft. 0.8 was "momentous" because I removed the shortcut to IE from my taskbar. I'm not ready (nor will I likely ever be) to move away from Outlook 2003, but Firefox is here to stay. The only safety net I use now is the "View in IE" extension I have installed when something doesn't work right or I come across a page that supports Java. I really don't care for Sun's Java and will continue using Microsoft's until I can't anymore.

More than ya asked for, but I guess I'm in a talkative mood...
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blauigel
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Post by blauigel »

Kchikin: Great post. Very informative, even to folks who have been around awhile. Thanx!
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ehume
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Post by ehume »

One thing, though: Firefox has its own trunk. Each release is a branch from the trunk.

The trunk keeps growing and evolving as features are added and debugged. When people are ready to perfect a certain state of development, they branch the development into two developments: the branch that aims to perfect the state of the browser as it was when the branching occurred, and the ongoing trunk development. When the branch is completed, the development again focuses on the trunk.

Heretofore the Fx trunk has been wedded to the Mozilla trunk. What Ben has said is that Fx development will follow the 1.7 mozilla branch instead of the mozilla trunk.

Normally a trunk will continue after the branch to 1.0. However, Ben has basically said that this may not be the case with Fx. Stay tuned . . .
Firefox: Sic transit gloria mundi.
jedbro
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Post by jedbro »

Excelent!
Great move Ben, I think this was a very wise decision to base off of 1.7 and not 1.8.
Can't wait!!
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Steffen
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Post by Steffen »

Maybe we should then add "approval-Firefox-1.0" flags to attachments in Firefox and browser bugs to handle merging of worthwhile patches from the "1.8" trunk into the Firefox 1.0 branch.
Dunderklumpen
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Post by Dunderklumpen »

Getting there - great work!
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PhoenixNostalgia
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Re: Firefox 1.0 likely to be based off the 1.7 branch

Post by PhoenixNostalgia »

bengoodger wrote:Here's a summary of the upcoming releases

0.9 - Feature Complete - synchronized with 1.7 final
1.0 beta
1.0 final

Given that there is only bugfixing after 0.9 and before 1.0 final, it seems likely that we will create a 1.0 branch based on the 0.9/1.7f branch that will see us through 1.0. This is because we don't want to take our chances with 1.8a and wait for the dust to settle at ship time in mid year to see if 1.8 is any good.

If we branch with 1.7 then by the time 1.0 rolls around any problems with 1.7 will likely have been clearly identified (e.g. if 1.7.1s need to be made etc) and we can pick up such changes easily. We will also have to track 1.8 to see if there are worthwhile changes happening there as well.

This will be difficult, but I envisage having more time after feature hell is over and 0.9 has shipped.


Will that mean we will see cross session resuming in 0.9 or is that feature a "bugfix"?
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Peter(6)
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Post by Peter(6) »

I think that's where the diehards are waiting for, BUGFIXES-only.
Great !
nightly build threads 20040225 (FF 0.8.0+) - 20120331 (FF14a)
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arch
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Post by arch »

0.9 - Feature Complete - synchronized with 1.7 final


What features exactly we can wait for 0.9? There are at least one Seamonkey feature that most of us would like to see in Fx: a warning dialog when closing window with multiple tabs.

Also XPI Uninstall in important feature when Firefox announces that extensions are such impotant feature. But it's quite weird when fx provides installation Ui, but no uninstallation Ui :)
"No good deed goes ever unpunished"
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Colin Ramsay
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Post by Colin Ramsay »

arch wrote:
0.9 - Feature Complete - synchronized with 1.7 final


What features exactly we can wait for 0.9? There are at least one Seamonkey feature that most of us would like to see in Fx: a warning dialog when closing window with multiple tabs.

Also XPI Uninstall in important feature when Firefox announces that extensions are such impotant feature. But it's quite weird when fx provides installation Ui, but no uninstallation Ui :)


I was sure that FF had that warning dialog... In fact I've definitely seen some kind of confirmation when I close a window.

XPI Uninstall will most likely be a part of the Extension Manager upgrade which is confirmed for 0.9.
http://colinramsay.ath.cx - Mozilla, CSS, .NET
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