The Mozilla application suite


Index


What are the ten most interesting features of Mozilla?

Which languages does Mozilla 1.0 support?

Mozilla 1.0, which has solid support for multilingual character data (Unicode), is due to be available in 38 languages. For the latest, see: http://mozilla.org/projects/l10n/mlp_status.html.

Because of the open source nature of the Mozilla code, anyone is free to translate Mozilla applications into other languages. The Mozilla Organization encourages this, as it allows people to browse in their language or dialect of choice and to focus on content of regional interest.

The hunger for localized applications and content can be seen in the enormous number of voluntary communities that have developed localized Mozilla applications. Mozilla.org supports these efforts through the Mozilla Localization Project, which provides guidance, community and contact information for the many localization projects.

What’s the difference between the end-user Mozilla product and Netscape 6/7?

Code from the Mozilla project forms the core of the Netscape 6 and later product lines.

Because Mozilla is an open source project, anyone is free to use Mozilla code and to combine it with other code to create new products. Netscape contributes the work product of a set of employees to the Mozilla project. That work product is combined with the contributions of a host of other contributors to create the Mozilla codebase.

Netscape then takes most – but not all – of the Mozilla codebase and uses it to create the Netscape 6/7 products. Netscape adds a set of features to the Mozilla core, such as the AOL Instant Messenger, a Java virtual machine, and a set of plug-ins; Netscape also adds its logos and other branding items, and may set default URLs, etc.

Netscape 6/7 are a customization of the Mozilla codebase intended for a consumer audience, while Mozilla itself is targeted at the developer community.

How does Mozilla compare with other browsers?

Mozilla provides maximum consistency across the widest range of platforms. This becomes relevant if an IT deparment needs to support multiple platforms or a Windows user wants to try out Linux.

For a detailed comparison table, go to: http://www.vorstrasse91.com/moztips/browser_compare.html. A recent Mac-only comparison (missing the new Gecko-based Mac OS X-only Chimera) has also been done.

Which Internet standards does Mozilla 1.0 support?

Support of established and developing standards is one of the main design goals of Mozilla. These standards are created by trusted standards bodies such as the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the ECMA, who have undertaken the standardization of JavaScript as ECMAScript, the IETF and others.

The standards Mozilla 1.0 supports include:

In addition, some ad hoc standards and functionality from other vendors are also supported; e.g., XML-RPC, XMLHTTPRequest, and document.load().

To learn more about these technologies, please refer to XML in Mozilla.

What kind of devices can Mozilla enable?

The standards-compliant Gecko rendering engine that is at the heart of Mozilla is fast and efficient. It can run on devices as small as hand-helds and can serve as the basis of an entire operating environment . . . and everything in between.

Where can I find out more about the Mozilla product?

One good place to look is the Mozilla 1.0 FAQs.

You can also look at reviewers’ guides written for products based on Mozilla, such as Netscape 7 (please note that this link is to a 2.9 Mb PDF document).