This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Hertzsprung (talk | contribs) at 10:53, 28 October 2007 (remove {{WebKit}} template). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 10:53, 28 October 2007 by Hertzsprung (talk | contribs) (remove {{WebKit}} template)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) | It has been suggested that this article be merged into WebKit and Talk:WebKit#Merge of WebKit subprojects. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2007. |
| Developer(s) | Apple Computer |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Mac OS X |
| Type | Layout engine |
| License | LGPL |
| Website | http://developer.apple.com/opensource/internet/webkit.html |
WebCore is a framework developed by Apple, and licensed under the LGPL, to provide an HTML layout engine for Mac OS X. It is one of the two primary components of the WebKit framework (the other being JavaScriptCore).
WebCore combines the open source KHTML layout engine developed by the KDE project, with an adapter library called KWQ (pronounced Quack). Apple created the KWQ adapter to replace KHTML's dependency on code from the Qt toolkit and other KDE modules. KWQ also presents an Objective-C application programming interface to the C++-based KHTML rendering engine, allowing it to easily be referenced by Cocoa-based applications.
Apple announced WebCore at the January 7 2003 Macworld Expo with the release of the Safari web browser. Later that day the developers submitted their changes to the KHTML library to the KDE project . Later, in June 2005, Apple further opened access to their CVS (now Subversion) source code repository and Bugzilla bug database, its previously closed nature once being an obstacle to merging WebCore changes back into KHTML.
Since then, a number of projects have built on the WebCore library, porting it to other platforms like Nokia mobile or the cross-platform GNUstep libraries, or adopting it for use in their own browsers like The Omni Group's OmniWeb browser.
Although Mac developers can use WebCore to incorporate an HTML layout engine into their applications, Apple recommends the use of WebKit, which is included by default from Mac OS X version 10.2.7 onwards and whose interfaces are stable.
References
- Don Melton (January 7, 2003). "Fwd: Our changes to KHTML and KJS". Retrieved 2007-01-16.
- Daniel Molkentin (June 7, 2005). "Apple Opens WebKit CVS and Bug Database". KDE News. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
See also
External links
- WebCore at developer.apple.com
- WebKit Open Source Project — launched by Apple in June 2005 (originally at opendarwin.org)
- Greetings from the Safari team at Apple Computer — initial communication between WebCore and KHTML teams
- Atlantis browser — based on GTK-WebCore
| Browser engines | |
|---|---|
| Major (comparison) | |
| Experimental | |
| Maintained | |
| Discontinued | |