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New Layout: BAM Roadmap


Author: James Everingham
Updated: April 28, 1998

eds. note: BAM stands for "Born Again Modularization," not the Flintstones character.

Overview

The goal of the BAM modularization effort is to separate key modules for shared use by both NGLayout and the 5.0 code base. The BAM effort is driven by the need to integrate the new NGLayout engine while achieving a more maintainable and modular architecture. This will be achieved by targeting strategic areas: the network support library (netlib), the layout engine (layout), and the image library (imglib). The netlib effort will involve breaking the current implementation into several different DLLs and libraries, each of which will expose one or more XPCOM components. The layout effort involves defining a set of layout specific XPCOM apis (webwidget), and integration of the NGLayout engine into the current 5.0 source code base. Imglib separation includes defining an imglib XPCOM interface and re-integration back into the 5.0 source code base.
Major Components

Netlib

Netlib Engine DLL

This DLL will contain the core networking functionality including the networking utilities required by all consumers of Netlib. New code such as NGLayout will program directly to the new XPCOM APIs exposed by the engine.

Netlib Client static library

This library will contain the legacy code needed by the Mozilla client to utilize Netlib. Ultimately, this code should decrease as more and more of the client is reworked to utilize the new XPCOM APIs...

Streams DLL

This DLL will contain the various stream implementations used by Netlib...

Netlib Protocol DLLs

The protocols supported by Netlib will be broken out into separate dynamically loaded DLLs. This will allow new protocols to be dynamically added.

Implementation

During the BAM process, the two code bases will be in the following states:

5.0 Source Base NGLayout Source Base
integrated imagelib
integrated netlib
integrated layout		 modular layout integrated into standalone test suite
modular netlib
modular imglib
modular imagelib
integrated netlib
integrated layout		 modular layout integrated into standalone test suite
modular netlib
modular imglib
modular imagelib
modular netlib
integrated layout		 modular layout integrated into standalone test suite and 5.0 source base
modular netlib
modular imglib
modular imagelib
modular netlib
modular layout		 modular imagelib
modular netlib
modular layout

Below is the proposed directory structure of the Netlib code.
Directory Description
mozilla/network The root networking directory
mozilla/network/protocols The root directory for all protocol implementations
mozilla/network/protocols/<your favorite protocol implementation> There is a directory per protocol implementation
mozilla/network/engine The core Netlib implementation
mozilla/network/client The legacy code needed by the Mozilla client...
mozilla/network/stream The implementations of various streams..
mozilla/network/tests Standalone tests

Netlib

Netlib will first be broken out into static libraries and reintegrated into Mozilla to show compatibility. The libraries will then be individually put behind new interface API's on branches and then landed back on the Mozilla trunk in short intervals. The end result should be a restructured code base with far fewer dependencies. A remote upgrade capability with interface based DLL's, and the ability to do third party plugin protocols and stream converters.

Layout

After the standalone netlib implementation is up and working, a set of APIs will be defined to allow the NGLayout layout engine to plug into the current Mozilla code base. After a certain degree of stability and feature richness is achieved, the old layout code will be excised from the Mozilla code base. This will leave a partially componentized product with both a modular layout, netlib, and imagelib.


Dependencies

Layout

  • Working standalone Netlib and reintegration into Gromit
  • Further completion of DOM
    • Event model
    • Style model
    • W3C Range proposal
  • NGLayout running on Mac and UNIX
  • Landing of XPCOM on the tip
Roadmap

Netlib

  • Move nsIURL and the nsURL implementation into netlib
  • Support HTTP POST requests by supplying an OutputStream on the nsIURL component
  • Finish the nsIStreamNotification implementation
  • Move mozilla/lib/libnet code into the new mozilla/network hierarchy
  • Make the Mozilla client work with the new mozilla/network code
  • Break out the core Netlib code into the Netlib engine DLL
  • Make NGLayout work with the new Netlib engine DLL
  • Start carving up the rest of the mozilla/network code into separate DLLs and libraries
    • main set of framework routines and includes
      • protocol plugin framework
      • tcp helper routines
      • network utility function
    • protocols
      • http
      • gopher
      • ftp
      • abouturls
      • file
      • dataurls
      • mocha
      • marimba
      • remote (telnet/rlogin)
      • mail protocols
    • cache
    • net converters
      • gunzip
      • view-source
      • save to disk
    • C stream functions (declaration, registry, utility functions for older C based netlib streams)
    • C++ stream functions
  • Thread-safety. We need to finalize the threading model and make the Netlib engine DLL and multithreaded. Probably, the protocol DLLs will need to be multithreaded as well...
Layout
  • First pass spec of WebWidget API (5/4)
  • Bare-bones demo of NGLayout running in Gromit chrome on Windows (5/13)
  • Landing IMGLIB branch on the tip (5/15)
  • Finish dependencies document (ongoing)
  • Prototype of type-in using NGLayout, in conjunction with the Editor group (5/29)
  • First pass editor design (6/1)
  • contextual menus
  • session history
  • Keyboard navigation
  • Status messages
  • Cut,Copy,Paste
  • Bookmarks
  • HTML Dialogs
  • Window management, multiple browser windows
  • Preferences, service and UI
  • Printing
  • JavaScript-Application interaction
  • Find text
  • Plugins
Imglib
  • Integration into the Mozilla code base
XPCOM
  • MAC Build (5/15)
  • Unix Verification (5/15)
  • Land XPCOM on tip (5/15)