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WebKit is an open source application framework that provides a foundation upon which to build a web browser. WebKit was originally derived by Apple Inc. from the Konqueror browser’s KHTML software library for use as the engine of Mac OS X’s Safari web browser, and has now been further developed by Apple, Nokia, Google, Torch Mobile and others. The framework is now used by Omniweb, Shiira, iCab, Adobe AIR, Google Chrome, mobile phones (including the iPhone), Nokia’s Series 60 browser, Google’s Android platform and Torch Mobile's Iris Browser. Although WebKit is included with Qt 4.4, the underlying framework for KDE, the KDE project will use its original version of KHTML for the near future.

It passes the Acid2 test, and as of September 2008, latest nightly builds of WebKit pass the Acid3 test with pixel-perfect rendering and no timing or smoothness issues on reference hardware.

History

Components

WebCore

WebCore is a layout, rendering, and Document Object Model (DOM) library for HTML and SVG, developed by the WebKit project. Its complete source code is licensed under the LGPL. The WebKit framework wraps WebCore and JavaScriptCore, providing an Objective-C application programming interface to the C++-based WebCore rendering engine and JavaScriptCore script engine, allowing it to easily be referenced by applications based on the Cocoa API; later versions also include a cross-platform C++ platform abstraction, and various ports provide additional APIs.

JavaScriptCore

JavaScriptCore is a framework that provides a JavaScript engine for WebKit implementations, and provides this type of scripting in other contexts within Mac OS X. JavaScriptCore is originally derived from KDE's JavaScript engine (KJS) library (which is part of the KDE project) and the PCRE regular expression library. Since forking from KJS and PCRE, JavaScriptCore has been improved with many new features and greatly improved performance.

On June 2, 2008, the WebKit project announced they rewrote JavaScriptCore as "SquirrelFish", a bytecode interpreter. The project evolved into SquirrelFish Extreme (abbreviated SFX), announced on September 18, 2008, which compiles JavaScript into native machine code, eliminating the need for a bytecode interpreter and thus speeding up Javascript execution. As of September 28, 2008, the only supported architecture for SFX is the x86 architecture.

Drosera

Drosera is a JavaScript debugger that was included with the nightly builds of WebKit. It was named after Drosera, a genus of carnivorous plants (i.e. bug-eaters). Drosera has been replaced by the inclusion of debugging functionality in the Web Inspector.

SunSpider

A benchmark suite that aims to measure JavaScript performance on tasks that are relevant to the current and near future use of JavaScript in the real world, such as screen drawing, encryption and text manipulation. The suite further attempts to be balanced and statistically sound. It was released by Apple's WebKit team in December 2007. It was well-received, and other browser developers also use it to compare the JavaScript performance of different browsers.

Ports

See also

• Comparison of layout engines
• List of KHTML and WebKit-based browsers
• List of graphical layout engines

References

1. Qt Software Qt 4.4.0 Technical Preview released
2. Harri Porten (October 23, 2007). "The KHTML Future FAQ". FrogBlog. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
3. Maciej Stachowiak (2008-09-25). "Full Pass Of Acid3". Surfin' Safari - The WebKit Blog. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
4. The WebKit Open Source Project – JavaScript
5. KDE-Darwin mailing list, "JavaScriptCore, Apple’s JavaScript framework based on KJS", 13 June 2002.
6. "The Great Browser JavaScript Showdown". 2007-12-19.
7. Announcing SquirrelFish
8. SquirrelFish project
9. Introducing SquirrelFish Extreme
10. WebKit.org Drosera wiki article
11. "Introducing Drosera". Surfin’ Safari.
12. "Commit removing Drosera".
13. Muchmore, Michael (2008-06-18). "Review: Firefox 3 Stays Ahead of Browser Pack". Retrieved 2008-09-06.
14. "SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark". Retrieved 2008-09-06.
15. "Announcing SunSpider 0.9". 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
16. Atwood, Jeff (2007-12-19). "The Great Browser JavaScript Showdown". Retrieved 2008-09-06.
17. Resig, John (2008-09-03). "JavaScript Performance Rundown". Retrieved 2008-06-09.

External links

• The WebKit Open Source Project – Official site
• Apple’s Safari and WebKit version history matrix

• Mobile software
• Free layout engines
• Application programming interfaces