HISTORY OF DEV

March 31, 1998

Mozilla source code open-sourced

On March 31, 1998, NetscapeA commercial web browser company — Navigator defined the early consumer web. released the MozillaThe organization behind Firefox — advocates open web standards and internet privacy. browser suite source code under an open license — the foundation for FirefoxMozilla's open-source browser — championed web standards and challenged Internet Explorer's dominance., Thunderbird, and modern Gecko engines.

What it was for

The MozillaThe organization behind Firefox — advocates open web standards and internet privacy. project turned NetscapeA commercial web browser company — Navigator defined the early consumer web.'s codebase into a community effort after AOL acquired the company. Out of years of rewrite came Gecko, FirefoxMozilla's open-source browser — championed web standards and challenged Internet Explorer's dominance., and a proof that open-source browsers could compete with billion-dollar platforms.

Companies

  • Mozilla
  • Netscape

Why it's here

MozillaThe organization behind Firefox — advocates open web standards and internet privacy. open sourceSoftware whose source code is freely available to use, modify, and redistribute. is the direct ancestor of FirefoxMozilla's open-source browser — championed web standards and challenged Internet Explorer's dominance. and the modern open-web browser movement.

Why it mattered

It kept an independent browser engine alive when NetscapeA commercial web browser company — Navigator defined the early consumer web. as a product company faded.

What it solved

NetscapeA commercial web browser company — Navigator defined the early consumer web. needed outside developers to help finish a modern browser rewrite it could not fund alone.

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