Hv3 and the art of minimalist web-browsing

Even if you appreciate full-featured applications like OpenOffice.org, Firefox, or GNOME, minimalist replacements have a fascination all their own. Not only are minimalist applications a throwback to the original traditions of Unix-like operating systems, but their emphasis on efficiency at the expense of extra features can force you to re-evaluate your computing needs. A case in point is Hv3, a web browser written in Tcl/Tk. Although currently in alpha and paying more attention to developers' needs than those of end users, Hv3 is already highly suitable for basic web-browsing, with a design philosophy all its own -- and, quite possibly, the fastest performance of any free software browser.

Hv3 is available for both GNU/Linux and Windows. Packages of nightly builds are available for Puppy Linux, but the users of most distributions must fall back on statically-linked tarballs, following the instructions on the download page to obtain the latest build with wget, then de-compress it and change the permissions. You can also download the source code, as well as Tkhtml3, a development tool for embedding standards-compliant HTML/CSS implementation in applications that Hv3 uses.

When you start Hv3, you also have the option of install hv3_polipo, a small web cache, in the same directory. You can run Hv3 without hv3_polipo -- at the expense of clicking through the same dialog each time you start the application -- but, if you are end-user, there is no reason not to install hv3_polipo. In fact, there is every reason to do so, since it increases Hv3's speed by at least 25%.

Using Hv3

Hv3 opens on a gun metal gray window with four top-level menus, a toolbar consisting of five basic navigation choices, and the URL entry field (as well as debugging tools that are, presumably, temporary). At the bottom is a status bar that gives instructions for toggling between modes, but apparently does nothing yet. Both bookmarks and downloads open in separate tabs, rather than in a menu or a floating window, which makes for a less cluttered appearance than in most browsers, but does result in each new tab opening by displaying bookmarks. This default occasionally comes in handy, but is more often an annoying preliminary step to what you really want to do.

Two unusual features in the Hv3 window are the ability to hide the menus and toolbar to maximize display space, and a tree view of the page's HTML source. Both are available from the right-click menu for a link. The tree view is especially welcome, since it is quicker to navigate than the plain text file of markup you get in most browsers. The difference, I suspect, is that the Hv3 assumes that users are actively interested in looking through the markup and using it as efficiently as possible, so that the view is not just an after-thought.

So far, at least, search capacity is minimal in Hv3, differing little from Firefox's except in the fact that searches of both the web and the current page are grouped together and given prominence by a top-level search menu. Again, the impression is that Hv3 developers are thinking of what might be convenient for those who make regular use of the feature.

You can configure Hv3 from the Options menu, choosing the icon set to use in the toolbar, and the size (but not the typeface) to use for the widgets and on web pages. For some reason, you have three choices for font size on web pages: The page zoom, the font scale (a percentage), and the font size table (a description). You also have the option of disabling the display of images for greater speed, and for turning off support for ECMAScript, which provides support for what is commonly referred to as JavaScript.

Bookmarks

As you explore Hv3, you will probably want to start by opening the Bookmark tab. For one thing, Hv3 seems to have paid most attention to bookmarks among the most common browser features. Because bookmarks in Hv3 open in a separate tab, they display a tree-view list on the left, and the actual page on the right, making them easy to learn.

More importantly, the default bookmarks include a short but adequate page explaining the features of Hv3. An especially noteworthy feature is the distinction between regular bookmarks, which open directly on the page, and snapshots, an archived version of a bookmark that can be used to work off-line. You can tell a regular bookmark because it is indicated in the tree view by having a cyan colored circle for an icon, while a snapshot has an icon resembling a page.

There is also a third type of bookmark that is a snapshot that retains a link to the original. You tell this type of icon by clicking on it and watching it toggle back and forth between the other two, a distinction that seems all too easy to miss.

Another reason for turning early to the Bookmarks tab is to use the Import Data button to import bookmarks from Firefox. The process lasts less than ten seconds, and is almost formidably efficient: Not only your personal bookmarks, but the default bookmarks for your distribution and Firefox's default bookmarks are added to the tree view -- regardless of whether they still appear on your personal toolbox in Firefox or not.

Speed vs.Geekiness

Many of Hv3's features suggest an effort to rethink functionality that you can easily take for granted in your daily browsing. However, what interests many people about minimalist web browsers is their speed. In this category, Hv3 is in a class by itself. Without hv3_polipo installed (see above), Hv3 loads pages roughly 50% faster than Firefox, and about the same speed as Dillo, perhaps the best known minimalist browser. However, with hv3_polipo installed, Hv3 loads pages nearly twice as quickly as Firefox, and about 50% faster than Dillo.

Moreover, Hv3 has the advantage over Dillo of supporting JavaScript, which means that it displays more pages correctly than Dillo does -- although, if you are watching, you will see any text-only alternative pages display before Hv3 renders a JavaScript page. If Hv3 would only include a Flash plugin, possibly using Gnash, the free Flash replacement, then its users would have few basic reasons to envy the users of heavyweight browsers like Firefox except the absence of an active extensions-building community.

In its current release, Hv3 pays little attention to usability. Not only are the debugging tools prominently displayed, but some of the options, such as "GUI fonts" or "Force CSS metrics" seem pitched at the understanding of developers more than that of everyday users. However, the interface names are not that hard to figure out, particularly since they are relatively few. Presumably, too, the Hv3 team is more concerned with performance right now than finishing details, and will get around to such concerns closer to the first full release.

For now, the lack of polish seems a small price to pay for the speed and simplicity of Hv3 -- to say nothing of the reminder that useful and thoughtful alternatives exist to well-known applications.