History of Firefox
The following describes the history of the web browser Mozilla Firefox is described in detail.
The Mozilla Firefox project was initiated by Dave Hyatt and Blake Ross as an experimental branch of the Mozilla Application Suite, at that time still under the name Phoenix. The first release of an executable version of the program (Phoenix 0.1) took place on 23 September 2002. Slightly more than two years later, on 9 November 2004, the first recommended for production use, Firefox 1.0 was published.
Chronology
The graph represents individual versions of the web browser Mozilla Firefox is arranged based on the release dates on a time table and will serve the overview.
Version table
This is the detailed version of table for all earlier versions of Mozilla Firefox. It contains alpha versions, beta versions and release candidates of the main release branch, as well as security and stability updates. Furthermore, the table also contains information about scheduled releases that were announced by Mozilla. In between some release dates are rescheduled to avoid conflicts with holidays.
Structure of the version numbers
The Mozilla Foundation defines the version number of Mozilla products according to a scheme in which the development of the project is represented by the first two digits, the third is used for security and stability updates.
The version 1.5 and 2.0 branches deviated from this scheme, there a further correction number was introduced, what changes would have affected the add-on system ( offset number A), security and stability updates are represented by the offset number B. Would an intervention in the add -on system was needed, so the developers of many add-ons would have to publish a new version for compatibility reasons, the correction number A would have been changed.
Since this case never entered, Mozilla decided to return to the release of version 3.0 to the original scheme.
Origin of the codename
Royal Oak, One Tree Hill and Green Lane are suburbs of Auckland, New Zealand. These code names were named by Ben Goodger, who grew up in New Zealand. The other originally specified in the roadmap, code-named with the version 1.0 are from a road map from a trip to Phoenix, Arizona.
Deer Park is a small community in Suffolk County, New York. Ben Goodger 's attention by a sign at the Long Iceland Railroad to that name. Bon Echo is a natural park in Ontario, Canada. The name is said to allude to the "good response " that Firefox has experienced in the Version 1 so far.
Gran Paradiso is a national park in northwestern Italy, Shiretoko National Park on the eponymous Japanese peninsula.
Namoroka is a national park in Madagascar, Tumucumaque a national park in Brazil.
Development versions
From version 5 Firefox is developed in parallel in five, since version 10 in six different so-called "channels". Four of these channels are intended for developers and testers preliminary, the fifth "Release" channel as well as the sixth " ESR" channel aimed at the general public.
Development cycle of Mozilla Firefox
Starting with version 5, each new version of Firefox passes successively through the channels "Nightly ", " Aurora " and " beta ". In each channel, these six weeks is developed. Finally, the finished version in the release channel is released.
Shadow
This channel is not public and only for a few (about ten) selected employees Mozilla accessible. It is used to repair critical security vulnerabilities, are not intended to reach the public. For developers who are not members of this group, this channel is of no importance.
Nightly
Nightly is the name of the channel in which the development of a new version of Mozilla Firefox starts. "Nightly " versions can be unstable and may also damage Firefox installation and profile. After six weeks, the Firefox version is transmitted from this channel in the "Aurora" channel and in the Nightly channel is started with the development of a new major version of Firefox.
"Nightly " versions appear daily as so-called nightly builds; they are created without prior examination of their basic function, automatically from the source code. Downloading and running these versions is recommended for experienced users only. They contain new features, but these are not necessarily incorporated into the next official preliminary version and the final version next. Rather, the nightly versions are for testing of immature and sometimes very experimental features. A detailed overview of current changes are in the Burning Edge blog. Before the introduction of the new release cycle, the "Nightly " pre-release versions of Firefox under the name Minefield were known.
Aurora
The newly introduced "Aurora " versions of Firefox are automatically created daily from the source code. However, the published in this channel improvements are not quite as experimental as that of the Nightly channel. In addition, a rough check of the Firefox version of this channel by the QA team will take place when it is started in this channel with the development of a new major version of Firefox ( every six weeks).
Beta
The continuing beta versions of Firefox are reviewed by the QA team for each new publication and should run fairly stable. They are also already marked as "Mozilla Firefox " and therefore do not have a special pre - development name.
Release
In this channel exclusively run Firefox versions to end users. These are checked before delivery through the automatic update function of the quality control. In this channel any more bugs to be included.
ESR
In ESR Channel ( Extended Support Release) exclusively run Firefox versions with long-term support for end users. You will be checked before they are delivered strictly by the QA team, but the versions are exempt for one year of updates for program functions and are supplied only with security updates. Just as in the release channel, also ESR versions should contain no more bugs.