QupZilla, currently at version 2.1.2, is a free software Web
browser using the new and very fast QtWebEngine browser. It aims to be
a lightweight Web browser available through all major platforms. This
project was originally started only for educational purposes by a
lone developer, David Rosca, and since then, QupZilla has grown into a
feature-rich browser. QupZilla has all of the standard functions you expect
from a Web browser. It includes bookmarks, history (including a
sidebar view), and tabs. Above that, it has ad-blocking enabled by
default with a built-in plugin. Over time, this one-man project has
grown to include numerous contributors.
What was the educational purpose that QupZilla was started for?
When I started working on QupZilla (before it actually had a name), I
had no prior experience with programming desktop applications. In
fact, my only experience with programming involved simple websites written
in PHP. I decided to learn how to write desktop apps, and with that, I
needed some project to work on. At that time, I had some performance
issues with GNU/Linux Web browsers, so I decided to try creating my
own browser.
I didn't have much hopes for it to take off, so I didn't even think
much about its name. Users sometimes wonder what does the QupZilla
name mean, and if it has some association with Mozilla. The truth is,
my imagination for these things is not great, so I just made a bizarre
combination of Qt (qute) and zilla. Maybe it would be better if I had
come up with different name, but it's too late now.
How are people using QupZilla?
Even though QupZilla uses a modern rendering engine and displays most
of the pages correctly, there are of course compatibility issues, whether it's incompatibility with the specific site (changing User-Agent may help
in this case) or a problem on the QupZilla side. While there are
users that use QupZilla as their primary browser, I myself see its
potential as a secondary browser due to its speed. But I can't really
tell how people are using it, because there is no tracking/telemetry
or anything like that in QupZilla. I don't like any form of spying on
users, and I'm sure QupZilla's users feel the same about it. Since
the beginning, some GNU/Linux distributions decided to ship QupZilla as
their default Web browser. Chances are, there are users reading this
article from QupZilla without actually knowing about it.
What features do you think really sets QupZilla apart from other browsers?
One thing that makes QupZilla appealing for GNU/Linux users is that it
is based on Qt framework and thus integrates very well in Qt desktops,
unlike other "big" browsers that all are based on GTK. Another feature,
which is now being discussed by other big browsers but wasn't the case
in the last few years, is an advertisement blocker included and enabled by
default. This makes the Web pages clean, but most importantly speeds
up loading noticeably. With regards to the ability to customize the
browser to each user's tastes, it provides a lot of options in
preferences. I won't be naming them here, but users should discover them
for themselves. It also supports extensions, although it doesn't have
compatibility with extensions from other browsers. Despite
that, there are very useful extensions available, including the
AutoScroll plugin, a TabManager plugin allowing you to effectively move
tabs to the side, and also the very popular GreaseMonkey plugin for
userscripts.
Why did you choose the GPLv3 as QupZilla's license?
Well, I'm not really experienced in legal stuff. I simply chose
GPLv3 because of its popularity, and it perfectly suiting my
needs. It is important for me that it enforces copyleft, by
giving all users the freedom to redistribute and change the software.
How can users (technical or otherwise) help contribute to QupZilla?
The first thing is, naturally, by contributing code, but of
course the majority of QupZilla users are non-technical. As with other
projects, users can help by reporting bugs and cooperate in the
bug reports. Some bugs are not easily reproduced, so being able
to communicate with the reporter is required to resolve them. With
reporting bugs comes hand-in-hand also requesting new features or
proposing new ideas. Another thing is contributing to the graphical
side of the browser, be it icons, themes or even a completely new concept of
some UI part. There was a contest for the new QupZilla logo some time
ago, where quite a lot of users proposed their ideas, and the final logo
came out really great. But that was just a logo, there are other parts
that could be improved, including internal pages like speed dial. On
the documentation side, it's not great either, and translations
are always appreciated. There is a wiki with some info scattered
around, some of it being outdated. So there is always much to do even
for users who can't contribute code. And finally, users can also
donate money.
What's the next big thing for QupZilla?
The next big thing is definitely a recently-announced move under the
KDE project. QupZilla will become part if the KDE project and replace
Konqueror as a web browser there. I already mentioned that a better
name would help the project, and this transition is a perfect
opportunity to change it. Search for a new name is currently ongoing,
and I hope this time we will pick a great one. Feature-wise, I
wouldn't say there is going to be something really big, unless
something radically changes in the near future.
I plan to continuously work on QupZilla and move it forward, but
instead of having some big milestone, I'll rather call it an
evolution. Of course there will be new features, for example
upcoming version 2.3 to be released in following months will have a
session manager, an often-requested feature from users.
Enjoy this interview? Check out our previous entry in this series,
featuring Jonathan Thomas of the OpenShot Video Editor.
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