asked 2018-10-06 08:49:59 +0300
Mozilla produces a GeckoView library that can be used on Android as s replacement for WebView.
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Mobile/GeckoView
Maybe this is a way forward to modernize the Sailfish browser.
The engine is used in the Focus (Klar in Germany) browser.
answered 2018-10-07 01:02:53 +0300
I suspect the answer is in the wiki you referenced: "GeckoView is an Android library ..."
Firefox mobile - aka Fennec - uses the native Android graphical interface. (It used to use XUL but that was too slow.) The Sailfish browser uses the discontinued 'gecko embedded' to interface gecko, Firefox's rendering engine, with Sailfish's Qt graphical interface. So to use GeckoView the Sailfish browser would have stop using Qt and implement Android graphics. That would be a big step.
Or that's my interpretation of this complex subject. It's not clear to me what the future of the Sailfish browser is as Mozilla develop Firefox beyond what embedded gecko can support.
Yes it is an android library, but it uses the gecko engine. It is used in mozilla Focus app. See:
https://hacks.mozilla.org/2018/09/focus-with-geckoview/
harry ( 2018-10-07 13:30:57 +0300 )editAsked: 2018-10-06 08:49:59 +0300
Seen: 976 times
Last updated: Oct 07 '18
a browser-upgrade was announced for SF3, so I think some work is done in the background. I hope, we dont have tooooo long for this upgrade.
mettska ( 2018-10-06 13:18:16 +0300 )editA native Sailfish version of Opera is what is needed. Opera is the best mobile browser bar none.
AlanBreen ( 2018-10-06 22:59:28 +0300 )editVivaldi (Opera successor), to my understanding, is based on Chromium with proprietary skins/extensions. Might as well just roll your own Chromium versus paying additional licensing fees. Updated Firefox seems the best route to me.
andersenep ( 2018-10-07 01:05:12 +0300 )edit@AlanBreen I'm not keen on having yet another Chrome-based browser. It's becoming a mono-culture. Also, I trust Mozilla more than Google to do the right thing wrt standards and privacy.
Fuzzillogic ( 2018-10-07 01:10:54 +0300 )edit@Fuzzillogic I entirely agree with that. But it's a problem for Jolla - it will be increasingly difficult and expensive to keep the Sailfish Mozilla-based browser up to date, even just with security fixes. And while Jolla supports Android there's little incentive to maintain a native full-featured browser. An 'adequate' one will do.
For me the Sailfish browser is inadequate - I require addons, so I use Firefox. Others will have their own favourites - Chrome, Opera, or whatever. A native browser will never satisfy everyone, so why spend scarce resource on it? Or so I imagine Jolla would argue (but not publicly.) Just guessing.
DaveRo ( 2018-10-07 09:12:31 +0300 )edit