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Mozilla Boot to Gecko

Mozilla, the folks backside the Firefox web browser, launched a projection terminal year to create a totally open mobile operating system, and now that dream is nearly a reality. Boot to Gecko (B2G) is built entirely with standards-compliant spider web technologies like HTML and JavaScript. It gets its proper name from the Gecko rendering engine in Firefox, which is as well the platform that will run B2G. Android has a number of things in mutual with B2G, for instance it is open up source, and uses some of the same underlying engineering. Designing the entirety of a mobile operating system on web standards is a risky proposition, but B2G does have some advantages over Android.

Clearly in the "win" cavalcade for Mozilla is the multi-layered compages of B2G. The lowest level is called Gonk, and includes the Linux kernel, hardware interface, and other depression-level features. Side by side up is the Gecko rendering engine, and on top of that is Gaia. Mozilla has built Gaia to be the user interface layer, and it's all HTML and JavaScript. This organization is modular, and an OEM or developer is free to bandy components out.

Boot2Gecko Gaia HomeOEMs take definitely shown an interest in doing their ain interface piece of work with Android. Motorola, HTC, Samsung, and others have spent big on developing custom UIs for Google's platform. B2G would make it fast and like shooting fish in a barrel to build HTML and JavaScript canvases to supervene upon the Gaia interface. Mozilla claims that information technology has an OEM partner that has already designed its own superlative interface layer, and will demo that at Mobile World Congress this calendar month.

A drawback to the use of spider web standards is that it is still very hard to brand a mobile web rendering engine feel native. On Android, web apps have always felt much less responsive than native ones, and that's with the mobile-friendly WebKit engine. It's hard to see how an entire UI run on Gecko could be fluid. Gecko in the mobile Firefox browser has always been a sluggish experience. Perhaps new APIs in B2G will make up for that by the time the product is ready for prime time.

The middle layer, the Linux kernel, is also a good call on Mozilla's part. The Foundation has chosen to stick closely to the upstream Linux kernel, along with some framework elements from the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Non only is this a time-saver, but it makes it much easier to load B2G on existing Android hardware. There is already an early build of B2G that runs on the Galaxy Southward Two.

Boot to Gecko dialerB2G uses an open governance model, and all the source code is available. For open source advocates, this is a major selling-point of the platform. Android has taken heat at various times for being besides airtight. While Google releases most of the code to AOSP, the Google apps similar Gmail, Market, and Maps are closed. The search giant uses these apps to exert some control over the management Android takes, but B2G would have no such restrictions.

Apps are the lynch pin of any mobile platform, and the way Mozilla intends to go about that could exist considered both a pro, and a con. The B2G developers have been working with the W3C to standardize around set of JavaScript APIs for rich web apps. Mozilla hopes to push spider web apps that feel native and piece of work on all mobile browsers. Information technology could be a long route to achieve that level of performance, though. It might be a pipage dream, but if information technology works, such a system would be great for all smartphone users.

Mozilla is getting a get-go but as Android and iOS seem to be solidifying their lead. The modular, standards-based nature of B2G could attract some open source purists. Additionally, it's hard not to admire Mozilla's dedication to open up spider web apps that everyone can use. Really getting these technologies to feel native could be problem, though. Gecko is also an unproven engine on mobile. Mozilla is set up to reveal more details on B2G at Mobile World Congress this month, and we wouldn't exist surprised if it endeavors to answer some of these questions.

Read more at Ars Technica or Mozilla