Arachne (web browser)
| Arachne | |
|---|---|
| Arachne in VESA mode
Arachne in CGA mode Arachne GPL web browser using its VESA and CGA display modes, respectively | |
| Developers | Michael Polák[1] and contributors |
| Initial release | 22 December 1996; 28 years ago (1996年12月22日) |
| Stable release | 1.99
/ 23 December 2021; 3 years ago (2021年12月23日) |
| Preview release | none [±] |
| Written in | C |
| Operating system | DOS, Linux |
| Type | Internet suite |
| License | GPL-2.0-only |
| Website | www web |
Arachne is an Internet suite containing a graphical web browser, email client, and dialer.[2] Originally, Arachne was developed by Michal Polák[1] under his xChaos label, a name he later changed into Arachne Labs. It was written in C and compiled using Borland C++ 3.1.[3] Arachne has since been released under the GPL as Arachne GPL.
Arachne primarily runs on DOS-based operating systems, but there are also builds available for Linux.[4] The Linux version of Arachne utilizes SVGALib, allowing it to function without requiring a display server.
Background
[edit ]
Arachne supports many file formats, protocols and standards including video modes from CGA ×ばつ200 in monochrome to VESA ×ばつ768 in high color mode (65536 colors). It is designed for systems that do not have any windowing system installed.[5]
Arachne supports multiple image formats including JPEG, PNG, BMP and animated GIF. It supports a subset of the HTML 4.0 and CSS 1.0 standards, including full support for tables and frames.[6] Supported protocols include FTP, NNTP for USENET forums, POP3, SMTP and Gopher. Arachne includes a full-fledged TCP/IP connection suite, which has support for some dial-up and Ethernet connections. However, Arachne has no support for JavaScript,[2] Java [2] or SSL. Arachne can be expanded with the use of add-ons for such tasks as watching DivX movies, playing MP3 files, IRC chat, RSS and viewing PDF documents. Arachne also supports DOS Gateway Interface (DGI), a unique feature similar to Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripting on the client.
The first version of Arachne with a known release date was 1.0 Beta 2, which was released on 22 December 1996. The final and official version by Arachne Labs was 1.70R3 for DOS (released 22 January 2001) and 1.66 beta for Linux (released 20 July 2000). While there have been several more DOS versions,[7] [8] Linux development lay dormant until 24 May 2008 when a beta version 1.93 for Linux[9] was released. The current DOS version, maintained by Glenn McCorkle, is 1.99 as of 23 December 2021. In 2006, there also was an experimental DPMI port of Arachne by Udo Kuhnt, named DPMI Arachne.
Support
[edit ]Arachne supports a limited subset of stylesheets and HTML. Known support as of version 1.93:[6]
| Style | Aliases | Options |
|---|---|---|
| color | #rgb or #rrggbb or a color name | |
| background-color | background | #rgb or #rrggbb or a color name |
| font-size | %, px, pt | |
| font-style | i[talics] | |
| font-weight | b[old] | |
| text-decoration | font-decoration | u[nderline] |
Derivatives
[edit ]xChaos software licensed the source code of Arachne to Caldera UK in 1997. Caldera UK added Novell's dialer and TCP/IP stack, JavaScript, SSL, implemented their own support for frames, added support for animated GIFs, audio output, printing on a multitude of printers, an optional on-screen keyboard for mouse and touch panel usage (SoftKeyboards), user profiles, and they completely changed the design of the browser (customizable), using Allegro for graphics. Also, they ported it to compile as a 32-bit protected mode extended DOS application (utilizing DPMI using DJGPP, a GNU compiler for DOS),[10] while Arachne is a 16-bit application. This program was sold as DR-WebSpyder in 1998; the name was to associate it with DR-DOS, which Caldera owned at the time.
When Caldera had transferred DR-DOS to its branch company Caldera Thin Clients, which renamed itself into Lineo in 1999, the browser was referred to under the name Embrowser.[11] [12] Since 2000, the Linux port of the browser has been called Embedix Browser.
See also
[edit ]- Comparison of web browsers
- Lynx (text-based)
- FreeDOS
- List of web browsers
- MINUET (graphical)
- List of Usenet newsreaders
- Comparison of Usenet newsreaders
References
[edit ]- ^ a b Polák, Michal (2018). "Michael Polák". Pirátská strana (in Czech). Archived from the original on 2019年05月31日.
- ^ a b c Rakitin, Jason (1997年10月27日). "Review: Alternative Web browsers". Network World . Archived from the original on 2007年11月28日.
- ^ Arachne Labs
- ^ "Section 508 Alternative Browsers". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- ^ Stutz, Michael (1997年06月06日). "Czech Browser Won't Do Windows". Wired . Archived from the original on 2008年12月02日. Retrieved 2017年03月05日.
- ^ a b "Arachne HTML support". FreeDOS . 2008年07月10日. Archived from the original on 2008年07月13日. Retrieved 2008年11月26日.
- ^ "Arachne file archive". Archived from the original on 2008年06月24日.
- ^ "Arachne". Evolt Browser Archive. Archived from the original on 2020年02月08日. Retrieved 2020年02月08日.
[...] 1.2_beta7 2002年05月03日 [...] 1.41b 2006年06月13日 [...] 1.43_beta2 2002年05月03日 [...] 1.47b 1999年08月21日 [...] 1.66_beta 2002年05月03日 [...] 1.70 2002年05月03日 [...] 1.73 2006年06月13日 [...]
- ^ McCorkle, Glenn (2008). "Arachne v1.93;GPL for Linux" . Retrieved 2008年07月02日.
- ^ "Arachne Frequently Asked Questions". Arachne Labs. 2005年03月02日. Archived from the original on 2005年03月02日. Retrieved 2018年02月13日.
- ^ Caldera, Inc. (1999年07月20日). "Embedded Linux moved to top priority at Lineo, Inc. formerly known as Caldera Thin Clients, Inc." (Press release). Lindon, UT, USA. Archived from the original on 2017年06月25日. Retrieved 2017年06月24日.
- ^ Smith, Tony (1999年07月20日). "Caldera Thin Clients renamed to focus on embedded Linux - Lineo, Lineo -- wherefore art thou, Lineo?". The Register. Archived from the original on 2018年08月22日. Retrieved 2018年02月13日.
Further reading
[edit ]- Bager, Jo; Brenken, Dirk; Schmidt, Jürgen (1998年03月30日). "Ansichtssachen - Alternative Web-Browser für Windows, MacOS, Linux, OS/2 und DOS". c't - magazin für computertechnik (in German). 1998 (7). Heise Verlag: 116–. Archived from the original on 2018年08月25日. Retrieved 2018年08月26日. [1]
