Frances Del Rio wrote:
[color=blue]
> hello all, I have a question that is not striclty a JS question but
> figured folks here would know..
>
> what IS the difference between Netscape and mozilla??[/color]
Netscape is now (versions 6 and above) a Mozilla(.org) distribution.
Previously, "Mozilla" was only the codename of Netscape Web browsers.
[color=blue]
> I have used both, they have the same LOOK AND FEEL, but other than that
> what's the advantage of one over the other??[/color]
Recent Netscape versions are based on older Mozilla.org builds.
[color=blue]
> I test everyting I do on Netscape 7.1, if it tests ok on Netscape will it
> also test ok on mozilla?[/color]
Not necessarily.
[color=blue]
> or do I have to test on both??[/color]
Yes, you should test your code in as many UAs as possible.
[color=blue]
> What about Firefox?? is this yet another version of mozilla?[/color]
Mozilla Firefox is the new name of Firebird which was Phoenix previously.
In a nutshell: Firefox uses the same rendering engine as Mozilla (called
Netscape Gecko), but a different codebase.
[color=blue]
> do I need to test on that also??[/color]
See above.
[color=blue]
> and what IS 'mozilla' exactly??[/color]
"Mozilla" is the codename of Netscape browsers and their descendants.
There is a saying from the Netscape Unix Readme:
| And remember - it is spelled N-E-T-S-C-A-P-E, but pronounced MOZILLA.
[color=blue]
> if I look up navigator properties, even for IE, I see 'mozilla' under
> userAgent..[/color]
When Microsoft eventually discovered the Web, Netscape was the market
leader in Web browser business. Since "Mozilla" was the codename for
Netscape browsers, it was in the User-Agent header of those browsers.
M$ simply adapted that, probably to work around Netscape-only sites,
eventually resulting in the UA header mess we have today (additional
fields were introduced to distinguish IE from Mozilla, Opera from
Mozilla, Opera from IE and so on.). That is why almost every UA sends
a UA header starting with "Mozilla". Only true Mozillas should not
have the "Compatible" substring in their UA header.
(But the UA header and properties referring to it or its components
are still nothing that can be relied upon, see
<http://www.pointedears.de/scripts/test/whatami>).
[color=blue]
> I'm asking because yesterday on netscape.public.general I came across
> this link to download a toolbar for mozilla..
http://prefbar.mozdev.org/
> and I was wondering if it'll work on 'regular' netscape or just
> mozilla..[/color]
The Web site already provides information about compatibility:
| The current version of the PrefBar is 2.3.1, build 20041003.
| It should work with Mozilla 1.0 to 1.7.3 and Firefox 1.0+.
[color=blue]
> and this got me thinking about this, because a few years ago
> I used mozilla and now am on netsape and really don't SEE any difference
> between the two..[/color]
The difference is also the components of the distribution. Netscape 6+
contains an AOL Instant Messenger sidebar component while Mozilla does
not, for example.
[color=blue]
> thank you..[/color]
You're welcome, but please STFW next time. It is all there, for example
on <http://mozilla.org/> and <http://holgermetzger.de/> (German-English
bilingual content).
PointedEars
--
"The clothes make the man. Naked people have
little or no influence on society."
-- Mark Twain
