Kristoff Bonne wrote:
> But, it would be interesting to have a 'stand-alone' version of the
> mail/news client; completely separated from the browser.
> So, is it possible to 'make' such a version; or do there exist
> pre-compiled version for it!
[Short answer at the bottom]
Well, since the rendering engine is what drives the entire app, removing
browser-only features wouldn't net you very much in the way of
space/speed/resources (anything, really). It's similar to the question about a
browser only version, etc.
Imagine a car. To have a functional car, you HAVE to have a frame, engine,
wheels, transmission, controls (ignition, gearshift, steering wheel, etc),
brakes, cooling system, electrical, etc. To make it useable, you need windows, a
seat, some form of body around it, lights and signals.
Now, you have an automobile. Want to make it a truck? Give it a bed. Want a car?
Give it a trunk and a backseat. Want a dune buggy? Toss on a roll cage. But in
any of those cases, taking away the bed, or trunk, or roll bars, etc, does not
really gain you much performance wise. Nor with weight, etc. Sure, you CAN do
it, but the end result is not really worth the effort.
Mozilla is a rendering engine and app framework (built on that engine).
Current;y it's biggest project is an Internet suite with a browser, mail, news,
an HTML creation tool, and some toys. All those components are interlinked in a
large number of ways, so you can't strip too much of any one component out
without breaking the rest.
Another good example was Netscape 4. People whined there was no browser only
version. So, Netscape decided to shut them up and made one. Out of 18 megs, it
was a whopping 2 or 3 megs smaller.Not really any savings to write home about,
and it drove home the point that mail/news was such a small addition that there
was no Browser only version after 4.08.
Short answer: Is there one? No. Can there be one? Yes, but at a negligible
savings. Strip out the browser's chrome, and references to it, strip out some of
the Composer chrome and references to it as well, and you have a mail/news only
version. Or, you can just use the full version, not use the browser section, and
save yourself a big hassle. :)
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