Archive for June, 2007

Recently we’ve been talking about the Open Web as platform, and making the Open Web itself a rich platform. While this is a rather abstract discussion, one very concrete aspect of it is JavaScript, a key ingredient in interactive applications like Google Maps. (JavaScript is also referred to as ECMAScritpt, named after ECMA, the standards body through which the language has been standardized.) And one very concrete step occurred on Friday with the public release of a Reference Implementation for ECMAScript Edition 4. This is more generally known as “JavaScript 2.” The Reference Implementation is an early release, allowing the power of many eyes and many brains to understand and participate in the development of JavaScript 2.

Why does this matter? And why does it matter to the concept of the “web as platform?”

JavaScript is the language of the web. (I don’t mean to say it is the only fine scripting language or is better than other languages for various tasks. There are a number of excellent scripting languages.) Much of the web is written using JavaScript and it’s likely to stay that way for some time. In fact, JavaScript is so widely deployed on the web that the use cases and workloads outstrip the original design of the language. JavaScript is malleable enough that people have devised all sorts of ways to make things work that were not widely foreseen when the language was designed and standardized. But some of these uses and workloads could be much more effective with an updated version of JavaScript. And so, work on defining the next version of JavaScript has been underway for several years. This work is known as the work on “ECMAScript Edition 4.”

JavaScript is intimately tied with Mozilla. JavaScript was created in 1995 by Brendan Eich, who went on to become a co-founder of the Mozilla Organization at the launch of the Mozilla project in 1998. Both Brendan personally and the Mozilla project in general devote an enormous amount of time and focus to JavaScript. Mozilla maintains one of the major JavaScript implementations (known as “SpiderMonkey“) in our source base. We also maintain a version of JavaScript written entirely in Java known as “Rhino.” In addition, in November we launched the Tamarin Project based on Adobe’s contribution to create a virtual machine shared by Mozilla projects, Adobe products and anyone else who is interested.

Mozilla’s implementations of JavaScript are used by a range of organizations and products as well as Mozilla projects.

Mozilla has been deeply involved in improving both the JavaScript language itself as well as the Mozilla implementations. Brendan is the “convener” of the ECMA working group for ECMAScript Edition 4 (the precise name of this group is TC39-TG1 — Dynamic Scripting Language). There are other active participants of course, who have been collaborating under ECMA auspices for years.

The Reference Implementation is under active development, with plans to finish it this summer and then finalize the specification itself. The benefit of a Reference Implementation is having a testable example of what the JavaScript 2 does and doesn’t do. This allows for better evaluation of the updated language. It also allows for better drafting of the specification and ultimately a more precise specification that will foster inter-operation on the Web among browsers.

Making the Reference Implementation public now encourages review, evaluation and comment. This brings the benefits of greater understanding, problem finding and problem solving that we’ve become familiar with in the open source world.

JavaScript is not something the general consumer works with or even understands. Many may not know of it or understand why it matters. But JavaScript is a fundamental element of the web. It’s fundamental in human interaction with the web. Updating JavaScript’s capabilities updates the power of the web itself. Updating the web through open standards and through open source like Mozilla moves the web forward in a way that is accessible to all.

That’s the Open Web. That’s the Mozilla mission. And that’s why Mozilla invests so much in fundamental technologies such as JavaScript.

Mozilla has a long history of dividing our code into “modules,” identifying module owners and giving module owners authority over their modules, within general parameters. Details can be found in the Modules and Module Ownership document.

Mozilla activities have expanded dramatically in the last few years. A number of us have been thinking that using the module ownership concept for non-coding activities will help us better understand who is doing what and how we work.

A while back, Stuart did a massive reorganization of our code modules and owners. Along the way he compiled an initial list of potential modules for new activities. I’ve posted that list here. Take a look if you are interested. The next steps on my to-do list are to select a few of the suggested modules that seem most clear, evaluate how well the module ownership document would apply, and determine what changes would be needed in that document. Then there’s working on the list itself, which is very preliminary now.

Help is more than welcome!

I think newsgroups are often better for discussions, so I’m going to post something in the Mozilla governance newsgroup (available via newsreader or mailing list, or via the browser) and suggest discussion occur there.

Last week I traveled to the UN in Geneva to accept the International Telecommunication Union’s World Information Society Award on behalf of Mozilla.

The ITU is the United Nations agency specializing in information and technology. The ITU predates the UN considerably, having been formed in 1865 to harmonize telegraphy, and has a venerable history both before the UN and as the UN’s technology agency.

The World Information Society Award was inaugurated in 2006. The Award honors those who have “made a significant personal contribution to promoting, building, or strengthening a people-centered, development-oriented and knowledge-based information society.” In 2006, the Laureates were President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank, a leader in the microfinance movement which has changed the lives of so many.

The 2007 Laureates are Dr. Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, First Lady of the Dominican Republic, Professor Dr Mark I. Krivocheev, Chief Scientist of the Radio Research Institute in Moscow, and Mozilla. The awards ceremony was hosted and the awards presented by the Secretary General of the ITU, Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré.

This is an enormous honor. It is a very significant recognition of the work of the Mozilla project. I want to thank the ITU for selecting Mozilla and congratulate the Mozilla community for making such an impact in people’s online lives.

The award to Mozilla is the first award not made to an individual. Mozilla may be the first Laureate not already deeply involved with the UN. The award was granted based on Mozilla’s “outstanding contribution to the development of world-class Internet technologies and applications.” The award was technically made to the Mozilla Corporation, but I accepted it on behalf of the entire Mozilla community.

This is also an important step for open source and free software. Mozilla produces consumer-facing products and so can — and is — bringing recognition of free and open source software to ever more people. The Mozilla project has now been recognized by the ITU as a fundamental actor in promoting a people-centered Internet. This should help Mozilla deliver our message more effectively, and hopefully will help raise peoples’ comfort level with other free and open source software projects.

Each Laureate was invited to make a brief address to the hand-picked audience. I spoke about Mozilla’s goals of ensuring the sustainability of an open and participatory Internet. I noted we strive for this goal through very concrete means: building software and building communities of people who participate in the Internet. I emphasized that the ability to participate is critical. It’s great to have free software to use, but the ability to get involved when one wants or needs to is the fundamental next step. I also shared the belief that human creativity is widespread, not limited to any one population or economic group, and this drives our goal of developing many possibilities of participation in building and using the Internet.

The ITU has made available (in Real Player format) a recording of the award ceremony. If you want to see only the Mozilla part, the award presentation to Mozilla starts at about 39 minutes in, and my talk starts about an hour and 12 or 13 minutes into the recording. The ITU has also created a written excerpt of the talk.

This message was well received. The reception reinforced once again how important it is to articulate our beliefs and goals clearly. We have great products, but that’s not our big message. Our message is about why our products are great — how we build them, why we build them, and how Firefox is a part of a much bigger effort with other products and projects. And the overall goal is not product centered. It is Internet-centered and it is people-centered.

The Internet should have a facet to it that is people-centered, with multiple opportunities for decentralized participation. Mozilla is building that facet of the Internet — not alone, but as a leader.

Our accomplishments are for everyone to share; our success is for all to enjoy.