Argo (web browser)
Argo was part of a project to make the Internet accessible to scholars in the Humanities at the University of Groningen.[2] The Argo web browser was created in August 1994 by Bert Bos.[1]
| Developer(s) | Bert Bos[1] |
|---|---|
| Initial release | August 1994 |
| Final release | ?
/ 2 July 1997 |
| Operating system | HP-UX |
| Available in | English |
| Type | web browser |
| License | W3C Software Notice and License/CERN open source copyright |
There currently is no publicly available compiled version, although the source code still exists.[3]
History
The Argo browser was able to handle its own style sheet language called Stream-based Style Sheet Proposal (SSP) rendered mostly by Xlib/Xrm.[1] SSP was general enough to be able to be applied to other markup languages in addition to HTML. In the development process of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Bos was one of the first people who decided to join Håkon Wium Lie.[2] Although this early adoption SSP had other advanced features that could not be integrated in CSS1 and had to wait for CSS2.[2] Arena and Argo were presented as a testbed at the World Wide Web Conference 3 on 10–14 April 1995 in Darmstadt[1][2]
Functionality
Argo based on the W3A, an API for WWW browser applets.[4] The browser featured plug-in modules, or "applets", which allowed for the addition of new functionality without recompilation. Examples of such functionality provided by the applets includes adding support for the following:[1]
- Bookmarks/history
- Cache/proxy support
- Data formats (e.g. ASCII, GIF, HTML, JPEG, XBM, XPM)
- E-mail clients (e.g. Mutt, Pine)
- Protocols: FTP,[5] gopher,[5] HTTP,[5] NNTP,[5] WAIS,[5] local files[5]
- Graphical navigation
The browser's kernel depended on the modules to provide such functionality.
Technical
The browser was run on HP-UX and used dynamic loading to support its applets.
See also
References
- Bert Bos (14 April 1995). "SIMPLE STYLE SHEETS FOR SGML & HTML ON THE WEB". World Wide Web Consortium. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
- Håkon Wium Lie; Bert Bos. "Chapter 20 - The CSS saga". World Wide Web Consortium. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- the download directory for the Argo files
- Bert Bos. "Home Page of Bert Bos". World Wide Web Consortium. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- Bert Bos (23 November 2007). "Argo: user commands per mode". World Wide Web Consortium. Retrieved 27 June 2010.