Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Classilla
open-in-new
<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p class="note">See also: <a href="/facts/Mozilla_Application_Suite/XbBP7wRE">Mozilla Application Suite</a></p> <p>Official support for <a href="/facts/Mac_OS_9/33QM3VqV">Mac OS 9</a> (and <a href="/facts/Mac_OS_8/Vde5S5hl">Mac OS 8.6</a>) in the <a href="/facts/Mozilla_Application_Suite/XbBP7wRE">Mozilla Application Suite</a> ended with the release of Mozilla 1.2.1 in 2002,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> coincident with <a href="/facts/Apple_Inc./oTJYta3k">Apple</a> ending support for their legacy operating system. However, many enthusiasts discovered that Mozilla 1.3.x would still generally build and run on the old Mac OS with modification apart from its dependencies on <a href="/facts/Carbon_(API)/KAIwFWI2">CarbonLib</a> (Mozilla 1.4.x and newer will not build at all on Mac OS 8 or 9 without heavy modification), leading to builds such as <a href="http://www.depublic.com/mozilla-macos9/">Unofficial Mozilla for Mac OS 9</a>, <a href="http://wazilla.sourceforge.jp/index-en.html">WaZilla 1.3f</a>, and <a href="http://wamcom.kuix.de/">WaMCom</a>. Of these, WaMCom was the arguably longest maintained, with its final release on 23 July 2003.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>In May 2009, Cameron Kaiser announced his intentions to start porting later Mozilla updates back to the 1.3.1-based version used in WaMCom,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> christening his modified version as <i>Classilla</i>. This first version, given the version number 9.0 to match Mac OS 9 (with subsequent numbers matching OS 9 version numbers),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> was released on 30 June 2009.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p><p>On March 29, 2021, Kaiser released the final versions of both Classilla and TenFourFox and announced the cancellation of official support for both projects, citing increasing technical issues.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="features">Features</h2> <p>Owing to Classilla's unusual provenance (being essentially a heavily <a href="/facts/Patch_(computing)/sIHVBPls">patched</a> version of Mozilla 1.3.1; vestigial proof remains in its verse from <a href="/facts/The_Book_of_Mozilla/blUbmfbT">The Book of Mozilla</a>), it has more limited support for <a href="/facts/Web_standards/3U9MLjD1">web standards</a> than do later Gecko-based browsers such as <a href="/facts/SeaMonkey/CnD9WXc6">SeaMonkey</a> and <a href="/facts/Mozilla_Firefox/xez2zv8H">Mozilla Firefox</a>, and its layout compared to <a href="/facts/ICab/1pLeNcaT">iCab 3.0.5</a> is objectively inferior<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> as the latter browser is <a href="/facts/Acid2/EMogz4qA">Acid2</a> compliant and Classilla is not. Similarly, it only scores 31/100 in Acid 3. On the other hand, its layout capability is more current than WaMCom or Mozilla 1.3.1, and Classilla has a more modern <a href="/facts/JavaScript/XhhIIEsl">JavaScript</a> interpreter than iCab and better support for the <a href="/facts/Document_Object_Model/GglE6jGx">Document Object Model</a> although it is also still deficient compared to mainline Gecko-based browsers. It is perceived by users to be more stable and quicker to render than iCab,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a> important as the classic Mac OS relies on <a href="/facts/Cooperative_multitasking/svrQ2DMM">cooperative multitasking</a> and has very limited support for <a href="/facts/Memory_protection/3zDwN2SG">memory protection</a>—any application crash could hang the entire system. However, known problems in the browser and issues with performance on older machines led the developers to implement their own limited version of <a href="/facts/NoScript/HYwsIrsL">NoScript</a> as a built-in part of the browser so that users had the ability to enable JavaScript only where it was safe or necessary to do so. </p><p>Classilla also adds support for <a href="/facts/User_agent/dFEyg2Xj">user agent spoofing</a>, which was not part of the original Mozilla suite, and repairs various Mac OS-specific bugs. In addition, Classilla 9.3.0 introduced the Byblos HTML rewriting engine that can rewrite individual pages at the source code level with browser- and user-provided "stele" scripts, with the intent of lightweight adaptation of complicated content to the capabilities or quirks of the browser. Starting with 9.3.0, Classilla presents a mobile <a href="/facts/User_agent/dFEyg2Xj">user agent</a> by default.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> </p><p>Apart from its upgraded support for Web pages, Classilla supports most of the same features that Mozilla of the same generation did, with similar feature sets and bugs in its support for E-mail, Usenet, FTP and Gopher, although the latter received token upgrades. In a likewise fashion, Classilla also inherits many of the security failings of earlier versions of the Application Suite, many of which are still not patched and openly warned of by the developers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> The presence of NoScript, along with the unusual nature of the classic Mac OS, is thought to add some level of protection, although it was the avowed goal of the developers to reach security parity with modern Mozilla-based releases<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a> and repair outstanding bugs. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul> <li>Free and open-source software portal</li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Mozilla_Application_Suite/XbBP7wRE">Mozilla Application Suite</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Mac_OS_8/Vde5S5hl">Mac OS 8</a> and <a href="/facts/Mac_OS_9/33QM3VqV">Mac OS 9</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/TenFourFox/btnBKRXP">TenFourFox</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_web_browsers/PbUIvCfp">List of web browsers</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_news_clients/pFwoNTCn">List of news clients</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_HTML_editors/SPAShFuP">List of HTML editors</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Comparison_of_web_browsers/crY3d7co">Comparison of web browsers</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Comparison_of_email_clients/xtPqT7sv">Comparison of email clients</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Comparison_of_HTML_editors/njlMTKy6">Comparison of HTML editors</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.classilla.org">Official website</a></li> <li><a href="https://archive.today/20130124205526/http://classilla.googlecode.com/">Classilla Google Code</a> - wiki, source code and downloads</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Classilla FAQ". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="https://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/AAATheFAQ" target="_blank">https://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/AAATheFAQ</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Classilla FAQ". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="https://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/AAATheFAQ" target="_blank">https://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/AAATheFAQ</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"iCab, Downloads". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="http://www.icab.de/dl.php" target="_blank">http://www.icab.de/dl.php</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Opera Changelogs Mac 6.03". 2003. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="http://www.opera.com/docs/changelogs/mac/603/" target="_blank">http://www.opera.com/docs/changelogs/mac/603/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Opera Changelogs Mac 7.50". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="http://www.opera.com/docs/changelogs/mac/750/" target="_blank">http://www.opera.com/docs/changelogs/mac/750/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Slashdot, Microsoft Ends IE for Mac". 2005. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=171546&cid=14288661" target="_blank">http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=171546&cid=14288661</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"The final official release of Classilla". oldvcr.blogspot.com. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-09. <a href="https://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-final-official-release-of-classilla.html?m=1" target="_blank">https://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-final-official-release-of-classilla.html?m=1</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Classilla: Current Releases". 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-08-30. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110830015254/http://www.floodgap.com/software/classilla/releases" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110830015254/http://www.floodgap.com/software/classilla/releases</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"MozillaZine, Classic Mac OS Builds of Mozilla Transitioning to Port Status". 2002. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="http://www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=2756" target="_blank">http://www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=2756</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"WaMCom". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="http://wamcom.kuix.de" target="_blank">http://wamcom.kuix.de</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Google Groups, Updating WaMCom". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/6a07eed79c646c4f" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/6a07eed79c646c4f</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Classilla Roadmap". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="https://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/Roadmap" target="_blank">https://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/Roadmap</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"Google Groups, Well, if they get FF 3.5, then you should get Classilla 9.0". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/3930d9c29037df2a" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/3930d9c29037df2a</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Classichasclass (2021-03-29). "TenFourFox Development: The end of TenFourFox and what I've learned from it". TenFourFox Development. Retrieved 2024-01-27. <a href="https://tenfourfox.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-end-of-tenfourfox-and-what-ive.html" target="_blank">https://tenfourfox.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-end-of-tenfourfox-and-what-ive.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"The final official release of Classilla". oldvcr.blogspot.com. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-09. <a href="https://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-final-official-release-of-classilla.html?m=1" target="_blank">https://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-final-official-release-of-classilla.html?m=1</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"Classilla". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="http://www.classilla.org/" target="_blank">http://www.classilla.org/</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>"Google Groups, Classilla 9.0.4 released". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/b6effba776cc1fb7" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/b6effba776cc1fb7</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>"Google Groups, Classilla 9.0.4 released". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/5f264bae6b95dc43" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/msg/5f264bae6b95dc43</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>"Emaculation.com Forums, Classilla: A Secure browser for Classic Mac OS". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="http://www.emaculation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5693" target="_blank">http://www.emaculation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5693</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>"System 7 Today Forums, Classilla has launched and it works!". 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110716181133/http://forums.system7today.com/viewtopic.php?t=2147" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110716181133/http://forums.system7today.com/viewtopic.php?t=2147</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>"Google Groups, Classilla 9.3.0". 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-24. <a href="https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/browse_thread/thread/ded90f847b08206a" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/group/macos9/browse_thread/thread/ded90f847b08206a</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>"Classilla Roadmap". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="https://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/Roadmap" target="_blank">https://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/Roadmap</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>"Classilla Roadmap". 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-01. <a href="https://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/Roadmap" target="_blank">https://code.google.com/p/classilla/wiki/Roadmap</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>