Jazilla is simply a Java version of Netscape's Navigator 5.0 source code. The aim is basically to rewrite most of the source code, which is in C/C++. The code is still in development and so a certain amount of attention has to be paid to new events in Mozilla and catching up with the work they have done.

Mozilla is the code name for the developmental releases of Netscape Navigator. Netscape Communications decided a while back to facilitate the development of the browser with the help of the Internet community, thus making Netscape Communicator free and releasing the source code on 31st March. You can find more information at the Mozilla web-site.

The Mozilla group initially set up this newsgroup for the discussion and development of Java in Mozilla. Discussions here have become primarily concerned, however, with rewriting the Mozilla C/C++ code into Java and any related questions to Jazilla. Nonetheless, we do, of course, welcome discussions of the former kind and it would help if you visited the Mozilla Open JVM Integration project page to get more info. Also always welcome are new members who wish to help or have any ideas for the Jazilla development team.

Please do not misinterpret this newsgroup as a forum for help on Java, Netscape Products or Javascript:

• for help with Netscape products, try Netscape Support or UFAQ;
• for help on non-Jazilla Java questions, comp.lang.java.help is a good place to start;
• and comp.lang.javascript is a forum for help with Javascript.

The Jazilla team is committed to free software and the public availablity of source code, an idea epitomised by the Free Software Foundation. There is also a brilliant paper titled 'The Cathedral and the Bazaar', which may help to explain our actions.

The Jazilla source code is released under the Mozilla Public License (MPL), which it would be advisable to read if you want to do something with the code. The MPL is slightly different from the GNU public license, under which projects like Linux are released.

Since the project is still in its infancy, we have decided not to publicise any release dates or a time that the browser will be introduced to the outside world. We don't have any marketing pressure since there is no economic benefit to us in what we are doing here and, while we do want the public to be aware of our progress, we also don't like hyping non-existing products. Hence we're keeping quiet about release dates until we have something substantial. The only time-line we do have is the news section, maintained by Al Sutton.

Another reason for the lack of a fixed schedule is that, since this project relies on voluntary help, it is hard to make sure people have time to contribute and get parts of the code finished on time. After all, they have to earn money/study too! The only way we can bring the date forward is if you contribute as well!

The first thing to do would be to join the mailing list/newsgroup, details of which can be found on following the "Participation" link. A lot of questions can also be answered by reading up on the FAQ and following up links from our web-site. "Jazilla.projects" gives everyone regularly updated information on the status of every project and changes made recently.

After that, all the remains to be done is for you either to download the source code from Mozilla.org and rewrite that or to contribute towards any mini-project that would help. Alternatively you could download our code too and look over that, posting bug fixes or patches. Maybe you just want to clean it up. :-)

Hey, that's no problem. We feel that the whole Internet community can help towards the Jazilla project, not just programmers and developers. The primary way you could contribute is by helping us get publicity: not all publicity is hype and in a project, such as this, which depends for its success on the work of volunteers, public awareness of it is our chief means of maintaining momentum and drumming up the manpower we need. For this you could design some nice eye-catching icons, put a link to us from your homepage using our official button or maybe you could tell your local/international magazine--or webzine--about us; anything which would generate more positive interest in what we do and what we're trying to develop.

If you have any ideas or contacts which could come in handy, e-mail us or just post to the newsgroup and we can work on your ideas together.

The code is available as a .jar file from:

ftp://ftp.jazilla.org/pub/jarball/javamozilla_current.jar

updated hourly and from the CVS server for updates. The CVS server can be accessed through several programs availiable from Cyclic. More information is also available at our CVS page.

1. Go to the directory where you have the source;
2. Go to the subdirectory misc/test/loadurl;
3. Make sure your classpath is set and that your compiler is Java compliant. Your classpath needs to be set to include the directory in which you unpacked the source, the swingall.jar, the mail.jar, and the activator.jar. Consult your compiler manual for instructions on how to set the classpath.
4. Run javac LoadUrlTest.java.

Jazilla can be run using the java command available with Sun's JDK or any other Java Run-time Environment. Assuming the code has already been compiled (see previous question), one simply runs

java misc.test.loadurl.LoadUrlTest <url you want to see>.

This sample program will display HTML data with Sun's rendering component.

There are many different projects going on and if you have good programming skills in Java feel free to approach a group to work with. You will be able to find information relevant to what needs to be done on our status pages.

We are using Sun's Java Development Kit--JDK 1.1.x (1.1.7 is recommended). We will eventually move to 1.2 when it is released. Also needed to compile are the packages "Swing" (for GUI), "JavaMail" (duh) and the JAF (Javabeans Activation Framework). All of these are available from JavaSoft.

The tools have some differences and some workarounds might be needed
The Sun java compiler (javac) has a small but very frustrating bug: you cannot access a protected field inherited from a superclass from within an inner class.

The IBM alphaWorks java compiler (jikes) is much faster, adheres more strictly to the Java Language specification, but the current version has a small bug too: It cannot compile two directories containing .java files if files in the first directory refer to files in the second and vice versa.

Some areas of the code, the front end for instance, are actually being rewritten, whilst others mimic the class structure of Mozilla's C++ code, along with their algorithms. This makes catching up a swifter matter.

Sun provides JDKs for Solaris and Windows 95/98/NT. Other ports of the JDK exist and more information is available from our software page.

So long as compilers and run-time enviroments match the Java Language Specification, as laid down by Sun, there should be no compatibility problems running on different platforms. We have not noticed any such issues as yet.

Although, at the time of writing, there are still some serious issues with speed, we expect Jazilla to be well suited to devices such as the JavaStation for instance. Java to Native Code compilers are available also and need to be looked into. We should note that performance is getting better all the time.

Java is a new language and was geared to avoid a lot of the pitfalls of other popular languages such as C++, examples being better memory-management and an emphasis on re-usable code. To us, the advantages of writing software in Java are many and they currently outweigh the disadvantages in using Java (obviously: otherwise there wouldn't be a reason for us to continue with this project :-)). It would certainly be advisable to be well informed about Java before making your judgement.

Java is a an idea is great but there are still a few shortcomings which make it hard for us to use. One of the principal are Runtime performance issues. Build differences between platforms is also a problem. Lack of really good tools to aid development. The language is also relatively new and keeps on updating and changing, which means that occasionally it might be hard to forsee long-term potential problems.

Javasoft, the official home of Java, is a good place to start. Also useful for software and product releases are IBM's Java Pages. A wealth of information can also be found on many of the FAQs found all over the Web. On-line publications such JavaWorld provide lots of good stuff and SunWorld occasionally makes a good read. On the Usenet lots of information, conversations and arguments can be found under the comp.lang.java.* hierarchy. On IRC, #Java on undernet is frequented by Oliver under his nick "cyanide", where you can flame him :-).