As covered on the Mozilla Developer Center, Firefox 3.6 Alpha 1 is now available for download. And we’ve been busy since Firefox 3.5.

Web developers will be interested in a number of features that are new in Firefox 3.6 Alpha 1:

  • The TraceMonkey JavaScript engine has continued to get faster.
  • We’ve made a huge number of improvements to overall DOM and element layout performance. In some cases we’re much, much faster. We’ll cover details on those in a later post.
  • The compositor landing has made it possible to fix a large number of interactions between web content, CSS and plugins. We’ll be talking about this in a later post as well.
  • We now support the -moz-background-size CSS property which lets you set the size of background images.
  • We now support CSS Gradients.
  • We now support multiple background images.
  • We now support the rem unit as a CSS unit.
  • image-rendering is supported for images, background images, videos and canvases.
  • We now send a reorder event to embedded frames and iframes when their document is loaded.
  • We’ve removed the getBoxObjectFor() method. It was non-standard and exposed all kinds of non-standard stuff to the web.
  • We now send a hashchange event to a page whenever the URI part after the # changes.
  • We now have Geolocation address support for user-readable position information.
  • We now support the complete attribute on document.readystate.

You can keep track of this list and other features for XUL and add-ons developers on the Firefox 3.6 for developers page on developer.mozilla.org

Unlike the year that passed between Firefox 3 and Firefox 3.5, we expect that this 3.6 release will be released in a small number of months. Our main focus for the 3.6 release will be end-user perceived performance, TraceMonkey and DOM performance and new web developer features.

Enjoy and test away!

51 comments

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  1. Pingback from Firefox 3.6 Alpha 1 – web developer changes at hacks.mozilla.org | Firefox News on Twitter on August 7th, 2009 at 10:42 pm:

    [...] Follow this link: Firefox 3.6 Alpha 1 – web developer changes at hacks.mozilla.org [...]

    Reply

  2. W wrote on August 8th, 2009 at 12:20 am:

    Native GTK menus ???

    Reply

  3. Developer wrote on August 8th, 2009 at 4:30 am:

    Thank you so much for hashchange! No more settimeout loop checks! You guys are so dependable!

    Reply

  4. Pingback from Howard (m0zilla) 's status on Saturday, 08-Aug-09 17:55:30 UTC - Identi.ca on August 8th, 2009 at 10:55 am:

    [...] http://hacks.mozilla.org/2009/08/firefox-36a1-for-developers/ [...]

    Reply

  5. Peter wrote on August 8th, 2009 at 11:09 am:

    Interesting changes. I particularly like the multiple backgrounds.

    I am curious about the “haschange” event. I’m guessing that this will be a nice way to handle ajax requests and such. Would this be through the document object for example “document.haschange()”? And are we talking about a variable, like a boolean, or an event object being returned?

    Viva la fox.

    Reply

  6. creaothceann wrote on August 8th, 2009 at 3:19 pm:

    Is there a status page for a “one thread/process per tab” feature? I’m sure it’s the main reason why Chrome & SRWare Iron have such a good “end-user perceived performance”.

    Reply

  7. Olumide wrote on August 8th, 2009 at 7:48 pm:

    FF 3.6??? …

    Please consider fixing FF 3.5 first. My browser still spawns new windows whenever it chooses. It literally tears off the current tab I’m navigating and opens it in a new window!

    Reply

  8. Pingback from The Cheap Computer Geek » Blog Archive » Mozilla issues first Firefox 3.6 alpha version on August 9th, 2009 at 3:19 am:

    [...] that this 3.6 release will be released in a small number of months,” Mozilla evangelist Chris Blizzard said in a blog post [...]

    Reply

  9. Pingback from La versión alpha de Firefox 3.6 ve la luz | MuyInternet on August 9th, 2009 at 3:42 am:

    [...] este modo, tal y como ha confirmado Chris Blizzard en el blog de la compañía, el desarrollo de la versión final, basada en la siguiente iteración el motor JavaScript [...]

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  10. Pingback from Mozilla issues first Firefox 3.6 alpha version « Malimet for Latest technologies on August 9th, 2009 at 4:29 am:

    [...] that this 3.6 releasewill be released in a small number of months,” Mozilla evangelist Chris Blizzard said in a blog post [...]

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  11. N wrote on August 9th, 2009 at 5:22 am:

    Are the multiple backgrounds REALLY supported? I read the daily “changelog” threads at MozillaZine and I don’t remember seeing multiple backgrounds there… there was some parsing patch but not full support IIRC. Enlighten me.

    Reply

  12. Nehemoth wrote on August 9th, 2009 at 5:56 am:

    After a some years using Firefox as my default browser (since Phoenix 0.1) I believe that I just need one more step, one more thing, I would like a way in which Firefox could be manage by active directory policies.

    I don’t know maybe an add one that simulate or accept policies made for Internet Explorer, in that way I could easily deploy on any company without worries.

    I hate Internet explorer, you guys should fine a way to help us kill IE.

    Reply

  13. Pingback from DoubleSixx » Blog Archive » Mozilla issues first Firefox 3.6 alpha version on August 9th, 2009 at 6:34 am:

    [...] that this 3.6 release will be released in a small number of months,” Mozilla evangelist Chris Blizzard said in a blog post [...]

    Reply

  14. Pingback from Firefox 3.6 Download alpha version | Blogsolute on August 9th, 2009 at 6:38 am:

    [...] of the first alpha version of its new browser Firefox 3.6 in development. However, it is stated in Company blog that developing this new version will not be as long as the version of Firefox 3.5 which was almost [...]

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  15. Boris wrote on August 9th, 2009 at 10:08 am:

    N, they’re really supported.

    Reply

  16. crossing the walls wrote on August 9th, 2009 at 10:18 am:

    Can you support the Mac .webloc web-link file-extension on _all_ platforms? This would be so helpful to all those living on Linux, Mac, and Windows.

    Reply

  17. Pingback from Mozilla prepara Firefox 3.6 « Tecnologia, Actualidad,y mucho mas…. on August 9th, 2009 at 10:48 am:

    [...] su nuevo navegador en fase de desarrollo, Firefox 3.6. Tal y como ha afirmado Chris Blizzard en el blog de la compañía, el desarrollo de esta nueva versión no va a ser tan largo como el de la versión Firefox 3.5, [...]

    Reply

  18. Pingback from Mozilla Firefox 3.6 Alpha is launched | OKF5 - quick refresh on August 9th, 2009 at 12:24 pm:

    [...] Hacks Blog: Firefox 3.6 Alpha 1 – web developer changes Share and [...]

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  19. N wrote on August 9th, 2009 at 10:04 pm:

    Wow, that’s excellent news then.

    Reply

  20. Pingback from Mozilla bringt erste Alpha von Firefox 3.6 - Software | News | ZDNet.de on August 10th, 2009 at 12:05 am:

    [...] [...]

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  21. Pingback from Browser: Mozilla Firefox 3.6 „Namoroka“ als Alpha 1 zum Download » t3n Magazin on August 10th, 2009 at 1:10 am:

    [...] 3.6 hatten wir bereits in diesem Artikel ausführlich beschrieben. Die finale Version könnte laut Chris Blizzard bereits in wenigen Monaten [...]

    Reply

  22. Pingback from You Know You Could Be Using Firefox 3.6 « Komplett Ireland on August 10th, 2009 at 1:52 am:

    [...] can read about all of this in a lot more detail over at the hacks.mozilla.org blog, here. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t mind using software that’s still in alpha, then you [...]

    Reply

  23. Pingback from Mozilla Firefox 3.6 |NEWS PCS asycom on August 10th, 2009 at 2:26 am:

    [...] su nuevo navegador en fase de desarrollo, Firefox 3.6. Tal y como ha afirmado Chris Blizzard en el blog de la compañía, el desarrollo de esta nueva versión no va a ser tan largo como el de la versión Firefox 3.5, [...]

    Reply

  24. Pingback from Firefox 3.6: Alpha-Version ist da | silicon.de on August 10th, 2009 at 3:05 am:

    [...] [...]

    Reply

  25. Pingback from Mozilla issues first Firefox 3.6 alpha version | Mac Bargains on August 10th, 2009 at 3:56 am:

    [...] that this 3.6 release will be released in a small number of months,” Mozilla evangelist Chris Blizzard said in a blog post [...]

    Reply

  26. Pingback from Erste Version des Webbrowsers Firefox 3.6 veröffentlicht | Pressemitteilungen-online.de on August 10th, 2009 at 4:25 am:

    [...] weniger Monate entwickelt werden”, sagt Mozilla-Sprecher Chris Blizzard in einem Blog http://hacks.mozilla.org/2009/08/firefox-36a1-for-developers. Eine erste Beta-Version werde bereits im September erwartet. Nach der geplanten Veröffentlichung [...]

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  27. voracity wrote on August 10th, 2009 at 5:38 am:

    These all sound delicious.

    An issue that has bubbled up to the top of my things-that-would-make-life-infinitely-easier stack would be having SVG as a regular image (backgrounds, img tag, etc.) Is there the slightest chance this will appear in 3.6?

    Reply

  28. Pingback from Mozila releases Firefox 3.6 alpha version « Technology, Widgets, Apps & Much More… on August 10th, 2009 at 5:56 am:

    [...] 3.5, we expect that this 3.6 release will be released in a few months,” Mozilla evangelist Chris Blizzard said in a blog post [...]

    Reply

  29. Pingback from Firefox 3.6 – First alpha released - User Agents on August 10th, 2009 at 5:58 am:

    [...] The final version of Firefox 3.6 is supposed to hit the download shelves within a few month as spokesman Chris Blizzard of Mozilla promises in the blog post Firefox 3.6 Alpha 1 – web developer changes. [...]

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  30. Pingback from Firefox Alpha 3.6 Ready for Download | SolSie.com on August 10th, 2009 at 7:08 am:

    [...] Firefox 3.5, we expect that this 3.6 release will be released in a small number of months," said Mozilla evangelist Chris [...]

    Reply

  31. Pingback from Testversion: Firefox 3.6 | Deutschflüsterer on August 10th, 2009 at 7:49 am:

    [...] Firefox 3.6 innerhalb weniger Monate entwickelt werden”, sagt Mozilla-Sprecher Chris Blizzard in einem Blog. Eine erste Beta-Version werde bereits im September erwartet. Nach der geplanten Veröffentlichung [...]

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  32. Boris wrote on August 10th, 2009 at 8:07 am:

    voracity, I don’t think there’s an chance of that at this point, no.

    Reply

  33. Pingback from Alphaversion von Firefox 3.6 vorgestellt. @ blog.VoIPphones.de on August 10th, 2009 at 8:24 am:

    [...] 3.6 innerhalb weniger Monate entwickelt werden”, sagt Mozilla-Sprecher Chris Blizzard in einem Blog. Eine erste Beta-Version werde bereits im September erwartet. Nach der geplanten Veröffentlichung [...]

    Reply

  34. Pat Gunn wrote on August 10th, 2009 at 12:23 pm:

    Of the CSS extensions, which are likely to make it into CSS standards in the future? It’s nice to see new features, but I’m not sure it’ll be nice if in five years we find our CSS still peppered with -webkit-* and -moz-* extensions.

    Reply

  35. Pingback from Mozilla Firefox 3.6 « LIN OPEN SOFTWARE on August 10th, 2009 at 1:32 pm:

    [...] su nuevo navegador en fase de desarrollo, Firefox 3.6. Tal y como ha afirmado Chris Blizzard en el blog de la compañía, el desarrollo de esta nueva versión no va a ser tan largo como el de la versión Firefox 3.5, [...]

    Reply

  36. Pingback from Techknology’s Blog » Firefox 3.6 Alpha Now Available on August 10th, 2009 at 3:05 pm:

    [...] “Unlike the year that passed between Firefox 3 and Firefox 3.5, we expect that this 3.6 release will be released in a small number of months,” Mozilla evangelist Chris Blizzard said in a blog post. [...]

    Reply

  37. Pingback from Firefox 3.6 Alpha sale al público | InterArtix on August 10th, 2009 at 3:25 pm:

    [...] número de meses”, comentaba Chris Blizzard, uno de los máximos responsables de Firefox, en un post en el blog de la [...]

    Reply

  38. soso wrote on August 10th, 2009 at 8:17 pm:

    Better SVG Support would be great.

    Reply

  39. Boris wrote on August 10th, 2009 at 8:18 pm:

    soso, better in what sense? What specific features are you thinking?

    Reply

  40. Josh wrote on August 10th, 2009 at 10:54 pm:

    Nice work on the Awesomebar speedups

    Reply

  41. voracity wrote on August 11th, 2009 at 12:55 am:

    Ah well, I guess I’ll have to wait till 3.7 or 4.0. Plenty of other great things to look forward to in 3.6.

    Reply

  42. Pingback from Mozilla Firefox 3.6 Alpha 1: Lo que nos importa a los desarrolladores | aNieto2K on August 11th, 2009 at 1:40 am:

    [...] los desarrolladores, estas versiones Alpha son muy reveladoras ya que se van incorporando nuevas funcionalidades que podremos usar en nuestras aplicaciones y que desde ya podemos ir [...]

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  43. Pingback from Mozilla Firefox 3.6 Alpha 1: Lo que nos importa a los desarrolladores : Blogografia on August 11th, 2009 at 2:42 am:

    [...] los desarrolladores, estas versiones Alpha son muy reveladoras ya que se van incorporando nuevas funcionalidades que podremos usar en nuestras aplicaciones y que desde ya podemos ir [...]

    Reply

  44. Axel Rauschmayer wrote on August 11th, 2009 at 3:40 am:

    I agree: SVG as images would be cool, it should not matter whether an img is a bitmap or a vector graphic. Under “if your browser rocks”, the following page shows text on Firefox and an image on Safari:
    http://e.metaclarity.org/52/cross-browser-svg-issues/

    Reply

  45. Pingback from Firefox 3.6 Alpha Now Available | Bagoscomp.com on August 11th, 2009 at 6:23 am:

    [...] “Unlike the year that passed between Firefox 3 and Firefox 3.5, we expect that this 3.6 release will be released in a small number of months,” Mozilla evangelist Chris Blizzard said in a blog post. [...]

    Reply

  46. M. A. Sridhar wrote on August 11th, 2009 at 9:05 am:

    The hashchange event seems very useful for handling the ajax back button problem. Is it a standard event (as in W3C or whatever) or is it Firefox-specific? Do other browsers support a similar event?

    Reply

  47. Pingback from Mozilla issues first Firefox 3.6 alpha version « Blossom Nike Dunk SB Shoes Blog on August 11th, 2009 at 10:35 am:

    [...] that this 3.6 release will be released in a small number of months,” Mozilla evangelist Chris Blizzard said in a blog post [...]

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  48. drago01 wrote on August 11th, 2009 at 11:40 am:

    “The TraceMonkey JavaScript engine has continued to get faster.”

    Does it finally have x86_64 support?

    Reply

  49. Boris wrote on August 13th, 2009 at 8:26 am:

    drago01, you could just look at the bug report…

    Reply

    1. dirk wrote on January 22nd, 2010 at 7:37 am:

      no, still no 64-bit tracemonkey support i guess. Just as previous versions, firefox 3.6 still lags. I ran the V8 and Sunspider benchmark and saw the same slow figures for 3.6. It seems that it is now supported in the 3.7 development version: it is 2x faster in those benchmarks (~1500 vs. ~3500ms in sunspider). Of course Chrome is king and is 5-10x faster as 3.6.

      Reply

  50. Pingback from lifeis » Mozilla Shows What’s to Come in Firefox 3.6 Alpha Release on August 15th, 2009 at 2:06 pm:

    [...] Firefox 3.5, we expect that this 3.6 release will be released in a small number of months,” writes Mozilla’s Chris Blizzard in a recent blog [...]

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