Firefox 3.5#End of life

{{Infobox software

| name = Mozilla Firefox 3.5

| logo = File:Mozilla Firefox 3.5 logo.png File:Mozilla Firefox wordmark.svg

| screenshot = 300px

| caption = Firefox 3.5 on Ubuntu displaying Wikipedia.

| developer = Mozilla Corporation
Mozilla Foundation

| released = {{Start date|2009|6|30}}

| latest release version = 3.5.19 {{small|({{Start date and age|2011|04|28}})}}

| discontinued = yes

| programming language = C++, XUL, XBL, JavaScript,{{Cite web

|url = https://rietta.com//firefox/Tutorial/backend/index.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804172858/http://www.rietta.com/firefox/Tutorial/backend.html

|url-status = dead

|title = Rietta

|first = Rietta

|last = Inc

|archivedate = August 4, 2009

|website = Rietta

}} CSS{{Cite web

|url = https://davidwalsh.name/firefox-internal-rendering-css

|title = Firefox 3's Internal Rendering CSS

|first = David

|last = Walsh

|date = July 10, 2008

}}[http://userstyles.org/styles;app App themes and skins] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523083344/http://userstyles.org/styles%3Bapp |date=May 23, 2009 }} userstyles.org

| operating system = Windows
Mac OS X
Linux
BSD
Solaris
OpenSolaris
OS/2

| engine = Gecko

| platform = Cross-platform

| size = 9.4 MB (Linux)
17.2 MB (Mac OS X)
7.7 MB (Windows)
(all archived)

| language = [http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html 75 languages]

| genre = Web browser
FTP client
Gopher client

| license = MPL/GNU GPL/GNU LGPL/about:rights

| website = {{URL|https://www.mozilla.com/firefox}}

}}

Image:Acid3Fx3.5.png test on Firefox 3.5]]

Mozilla Firefox 3.5 is a version of the Firefox web browser released in June 2009, adding a variety of new features to Firefox. Version 3.5 was touted as being twice as fast as 3.0 (due its TraceMonkey JavaScript engine and rendering improvements). It includes private browsing, has tear-off tabs, and uses the Gecko 1.9.1 engine.

It was codenamed Shiretoko during development,{{cite web | url=https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox3.1 | title=Firefox 3.1 "Shiretoko" | date=June 12, 2008 | access-date=June 12, 2008}} and was initially numbered Firefox 3.1 before Mozilla developers decided to change the version to 3.5, to reflect the inclusion of a significantly greater scope of changes than were originally planned.{{cite newsgroup|title=Shiretoko (Firefox 3.1) being renamed to Firefox 3.5|date=March 6, 2009|author=Mike Shaver |newsgroup=mozilla.dev.planning |message-id=mailman.34.1236360325.4415.dev-planning@lists.mozilla.org}} It is the last major version to support X BitMap images.

Estimates of Firefox 3.5's global market share in February 2010 were around 15–20%{{cite web

|url=http://marketshare.hitslink.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=2

|title=Browser Version Market Share

|publisher=Net Applications

|date=February 2010

|access-date=March 5, 2010

}}{{cite web

|url=http://www.w3counter.com/globalstats.php

|title=Global Web Stats

|publisher=W3Counter

|date=February 2010

|access-date=March 5, 2010

}}{{cite web

|url=http://gs.statcounter.com/#browser_version-ww-monthly-201002-201002

|title=StatCounter Global Stats

|publisher=StatCounter

|date=February 2010

|access-date=March 5, 2010

}} and rose rapidly in July 2009 as users migrated from Firefox 3.0. From January 2010 it began to decline as users migrated to Firefox 3.6. Between mid-December 2009 and February 2010, Firefox 3.5 was the most popular browser (when counting individual browser versions) according to StatCounter,[http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/188906.asp?from=blog_last3 Firefox 3.5 is world's most popular browser, StatCounter says] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110126180230/http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/188906.asp?from=blog_last3 |date=January 26, 2011 }}, Nick Eaton. seattlepi blogs. 2009-12-21. Retrieved 2009-12-22. and {{as of|2010|02|lc=on}} was one of the top 3 browser versions according to Net Applications.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newschannel.com/en|title=Newschannel.com - Breaking News, World News, US News and Video|website=www.newschannel.com}} Both milestones involved passing Internet Explorer 7, which previously held the No. 1 and No. 3 spots in popularity according to StatCounter and Net Applications, respectively.

Due to the January 2010, well-publicized vulnerability in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, the German, French, and Australian governments had publicly issued warnings to Internet Explorer users to use alternative browsers, at least until a fix for the security hole was made.[http://tvnz.co.nz/technology-news/france-germany-warn-internet-explorer-users-3334330 France, Germany warn Internet Explorer users] TVNZ, January 19, 2010{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/why-you-should-change-your-internet-browser-and-how-to-choose-the-best-one-for-you-1872048.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100121045331/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/why-you-should-change-your-internet-browser-and-how-to-choose-the-best-one-for-you-1872048.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 21, 2010 |work=The Independent | location=London | title=Why you should change your internet browser and how to choose the best one for you | date=January 18, 2010 | access-date=May 13, 2010}}{{cite web|last=Bourke |first=Emily |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/19/2795684.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123001337/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/19/2795684.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 23, 2010 |title=Govt issues IE security warning – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |publisher=ABC |location=Australia |date=January 19, 2010 |access-date=November 9, 2010}} The first browser they recommended was Mozilla Firefox, followed by Google Chrome.

Development

Even before the release of Firefox 3.0 on June 17, 2008, Firefox 3.1 was in development under the codename "Shiretoko". It was planned to include new interface features such as tab previews, tag auto-completion, HTML 5 {{tag|video|o}} tag support, and CSS text shadows.{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2008/06/mozilla-prepares-for-firefox-3-release-and-plans-for-3-1.ars|title= Mozilla prepares for Firefox 3 release and plans for 3.1|last=Paul|first=Ryan |date=June 15, 2008 |website=Ars Technica|access-date=September 29, 2009}}

= Alpha =

The first Alpha was released on July 28, 2008.{{cite web|url=https://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2008/07/28/firefox-31-alpha-1-now-available-for-download/|title=Firefox 3.1 Alpha 1 now available for download|author=beltzner |date=July 28, 2008|work=Developer News|publisher=Mozilla|access-date=September 29, 2009}} A new tab switching behavior was implemented, that switches to the most recently used tab instead of the adjacent one. When switching thumbnails are displayed so the user can preview the tabs before switching to them. The Awesomebar was also improved to have filtering by Bookmarks and history. The Gecko engine was updated to include CSS3 features and includes the HTML Canvas text API.{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2008/07/first-look-ars-reviews-firefox-3-1-alpha-1.ars|title=First look: Ars reviews Firefox 3.1 alpha 1|last=Paul |first=Ryan |date=July 30, 2008|website=Ars Technica|access-date=December 16, 2009}} The Alpha release showed an 18% improvement in the Acid3 test over Firefox 3.0, scoring 84/100.{{Cite web | url = http://mozillalinks.org/wp/2008/07/first-step-to-firefox-31-alpha-1-is-here/ | title = First step to Firefox 3.1: Alpha 1 is here | access-date =July 29, 2008 |date = July 29, 2008 | author = Percy Cabello | publisher = Mozilla Links }}

Version 3.1 Alpha 2 was launched on September 5, 2008, implementing the HTML 5 video element support and preliminary support for web worker thread, enhancing the speed of some JavaScript computations.{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2008/09/first-look-firefox-3-1-alpha-2-officially-released.ars|title=First look: Firefox 3.1 alpha 2 officially released|last=Paul |first=Ryan |date=September 5, 2008|website=Ars Technica |access-date=December 16, 2009}}

= Beta and release =

On October 14, 2008, the first beta of Firefox 3.1 was released.{{cite web | url = https://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2008/10/14/firefox-31-beta-1-now-available-for-download/ | title = Firefox 3.1 beta 1 now available for download | access-date =November 11, 2009 }} It included a new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine, which is not enabled by default, and the implementation of the W3C Geolocation API.{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2008/10/first-look-firefox-3-1-beta-1-officially-released.ars|title=First look: Firefox 3.1 beta 1 officially released|last=Paul |first=Ryan |date=October 14, 2008|website=Ars Technica|access-date=December 16, 2009}} Beta 2 was released on December 8, 2008 and included a new private browsing feature.{{cite web | url = http://ehsanakhgari.org/blog/2008-11-04/dont-leave-trace-private-browsing-firefox | title = Don't leave a trace: Private Browsing in Firefox | access-date =December 25, 2008 }} The new tab switching behavior and interface was dropped at this beta, since the developer found it needed more work.{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2008/12/first-look-firefox-3-1-beta-2-now-with-private-browsing.ars|title=First look: Firefox 3.1 beta 2, now with private browsing|last=Paul |first=Ryan |date=December 8, 2008|website=Ars Technica|access-date=December 16, 2009}} Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 was released on March 12, 2009,[https://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2009/03/12/firefox-31-beta-3-now-available-for-download/ Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 now available for download]{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/new-beta-paves-way-for-firefox-3-5/|title=New beta paves way for Firefox 3.5|first=Stephen|last=Shankland|website=CNET}} followed by Beta 4, the first to be labeled as version 3.5, on April 27, 2009.[https://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2009/04/27/firefox-35-beta-4-now-available-for-download/ Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 now available for download]{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/mozilla-releases-firefox-3-5-beta/|title=Mozilla releases Firefox 3.5 beta|first=Stephen|last=Shankland|website=CNET}} On June 8, 2009, Mozilla released Firefox 3.5 Preview (labeled 3.5b99) in order to receive additional testing before it became the release candidate.{{Cite web |url=http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.5b99/releasenotes/ |title=Firefox 3.5 Preview |access-date=July 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611081515/http://www.mozilla.com//en-US//firefox//3.5b99//releasenotes// |archive-date=June 11, 2009 |url-status=dead }}

Release Candidate 1 was released as an update to Firefox 3.5 Preview users on June 17, 2009.[https://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2009/06/17/firefox-35-beta-users-will-receive-update-to-early-release-candidate/ Firefox 3.5 beta users will receive update to early release candidate] Released Candidate 2 was made more widely available on June 19, 2009,[https://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2009/06/19/firefox-3-5-release-candidate-now-available-for-download/ Firefox 3.5 release candidate now available for download] followed by a third RC on June 24, 2009. Firefox 3.5 was officially released on June 30, 2009.[https://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2009/06/30/firefox-3-5-is-now-available-for-download/ Firefox 3.5 is now available for download]{{cite web|last=Shankland |first=Stephen |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10275863-2.html?tag=mncol;posts |title=Mozilla releases Firefox 3.5 |work=Webware |publisher=CNET |date=June 30, 2009 |access-date=July 3, 2009}}

Features

Firefox 3.5 uses the Gecko 1.9.1 engine, which adds features that were not included in the 3.0 release. These include support for the <video> and <audio> elements defined in the HTML 5 draft specification, including native support for Ogg Theora encoded video and Vorbis encoded audio.{{citation | title = Media formats supported by the audio and video elements | date = May 28, 2009 | author = Eric Shepherd | publisher = Mozilla developer center | url = https://developer.mozilla.org/En/Media_formats_supported_by_the_audio_and_video_elements | access-date = October 11, 2009 | archive-date = May 4, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120504080457/https://developer.mozilla.org/En/Media_formats_supported_by_the_audio_and_video_elements | url-status = dead }}{{citation | title = Firefox3.5/Features | date = March 18, 2009 | author = MozillaWiki | publisher = MozillaWiki | url = https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox3.5/Features | access-date =October 11, 2009}} The goal is to offer video and audio playback without being encumbered by patent issues associated with most plugin and codec technologies.

{{cite web|url=http://apcmag.com/firefox_to_go_headtohead_with_flash_and_silverlight.htm|title=Firefox to go head-to-head with Flash and Silverlight|access-date=January 18, 2008|author= Dan Warne|date=May 7, 2007|work=APC Magazine|publisher=ACP Magazines Ltd}}

Other features new in Firefox 3.5 include a private browsing mode, native support for JSON and web worker threads, and many other new web technologies.{{Cite web|url=https://website-archive.mozilla.org/www.mozilla.org/firefox_releasenotes/en-us/firefox/3.5/releasenotes/|title=Mozilla Firefox 3.5 Release Notes|website=website-archive.mozilla.org}} Multi-touch support was also added to the release, including gesture support like pinching for zooming and swiping for back and forward.{{cite web|url=https://www.macrumors.com/2008/12/10/latest-firefox-3-1-beta-adds-multi-touch-support/|title=Latest Firefox 3.1 Beta Adds Multi-Touch Support|last=Kim|first=Arnold |date=December 10, 2008|publisher=Macrumors.com|access-date=January 17, 2009}} Firefox 3.5 also features an updated logo from the previous releases.{{cite web | url=http://blog.mozilla.com/faaborg/2009/05/15/creative-brief-for-the-new-firefox-icon/ | title=Creative Brief for the New Firefox Icon | author=Alex Faaborg | date=May 15, 2009 | access-date=May 30, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426040054/http://blog.mozilla.org/faaborg/2009/05/15/creative-brief-for-the-new-firefox-icon/ | archive-date=April 26, 2012 | url-status=dead }}

A minor change for Version 3.5 is the default search engine in Russian language builds, which uses the search engine Yandex rather than Google, after a survey of Russian Firefox users indicated they preferred Yandex.{{cite web|url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10138969-2.html|title=Firefox in Russia dumps Google for Yandex|last=Shankland|first=Stephen|date=January 9, 2009|publisher=CNET News|access-date=January 10, 2009}}

The first update, 3.5.1, was released on July 16, 2009. It solved some vulnerabilities detected after the final release. Another update, 3.5.2, was released on August 3, 2009, followed by version 3.5.3 on September 9, 2009, version 3.5.4 on October 27, 2009, version 3.5.5 on November 5, 2009, version 3.5.6 on December 15, 2009 and version 3.5.7 on January 5, 2010.

Starting July 14, 2009, the upgrade to 3.5 was offered to users of Firefox 3.0 through the automatic internal "push" update mechanism.

End of life

Security and stability updates for Firefox 3.5.x were scheduled to end in August 2010. However, Firefox 3.5.12 was released on September 7, 2010{{Cite web|url=https://website-archive.mozilla.org/www.mozilla.org/firefox_releasenotes/en-us/firefox/3.5.12/releasenotes/|title=Mozilla Firefox 3.5.12 Release Notes|website=website-archive.mozilla.org}} and Mozilla continued shipping incremental stability and security fixes up to build 3.5.19, released on April 28, 2011.{{Cite web|url=https://website-archive.mozilla.org/www.mozilla.org/firefox_releasenotes/en-us/firefox/3.5.19/releasenotes/|title=Mozilla Firefox 3.5.19 Release Notes|website=website-archive.mozilla.org}} With the release of Firefox 3.6.18, Mozilla issued an update to move remaining Firefox 3.5 users to the new browser,{{Cite web|url=https://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2011/06/21/firefox-3-6-18-security-update-now-available/|title = Releases - MozillaWiki}} finally ending support for 3.5.

References

External links

[http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ Mozilla.com], Mozilla Firefox homepage for end-users
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120301134039/http://www.mozilla.org/projects/firefox/ Mozilla.org], Mozilla Firefox project page for developers
[http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/legal/eula/ Mozilla.com], Mozilla EULA
[https://web.archive.org/web/20130120154557/http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/3.5.19/ Mozilla Firefox 3.5.19 Download link (FTP)]
{{Secunia|25800|NAME=Mozilla Firefox 3.5.x}}
[http://technologizer.com/2009/06/30/firefox-3-5-review/ Technologizer.com], Review of Firefox 3.5
[http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9135016/Review_Firefox_3.5_makes_browsing_faster_easier_and_more_fun Computerworld.com], Review of Firefox 3.5