Waiting for Google Chrome

When Google Chrome was released for Windows on September 2, 2008, it attracted instant attention. With increased speed, security, and stability, Chrome seemed every bit the modern rethinking of the web browser that Google proclaimed it. But despite the fact that Chrome is an open source project with different portions of it released under a variety of free licenses, the GNU/Linux version is still in early development. However, the recent availability of regular builds in Ubuntu packages promises to make casual experimentation with Chrome much easier, and revived the original interest. Unfortunately, the current state of the GNU/Linux version seems unlikely to satisfy the level of interest, as the development team continues to struggle with unexpected challenges.

Asked how many people were part of Chromium, the Google team that is building Chrome, and how many were working on the GNU/Linux version specifically, Mike Smith, Product Manager for Google Chrome, declined to give numbers. "We don't go into details about the number of Google employees on any particular product," he explained. However, an unofficial list of those working on Chrome in September 2008 included 42 names, 3 of whom had Linux listed as an area of expertise. This number, which has probably changed in the last nine months, is supplemented by several developers with experience in writing cross-platform applications, including Firefox alumnae Darin Fisher, Pam Greene, and Ben Goodger, Chrome's technical lead. In addition, the Chromium tasks in the 2009 Summer of Code include nine possible GNU/Linux-related improvements that students might undertake.

Another reason that the numbers are fuzzy, Smith pointed out, is that Chromium works closely with other Google teams, including Gears, a plug-in that enhances both online and offline performance of web applications; Native Client, whose goal is to allow traditional applications to run as web applications; and O3D, which seeks to add 3-D capabilities to web applications. When such considerations are taken into account, it seems that, while the Windows version seems to have highest priority, since it was released first, the GNU/Linux one is still far from being neglected.

The challenges of designing for GNU/Linux

So far as possible, the code for the GNU/Linux, Mac, and Windows versions of Chrome "share as much as is possible — not only in terms of core aspects share with other source projects, such as with the Webkit team, but also from UI [User Interface] design choices and other implementation aspects of the technology," Smith said. However, as the Ars Technica highlighted in a review of a pre-alpha release, the sheer variety of options under GNU/Linux can often prove a challenge.

For example, Smith mentions the difficulties of implementing sandboxing — the running of applications in restricted environments as a security precaution:

The issues include whether to use ftrace or a modified version of Seccomp to intercept system calls for sandboxing, and whether system call interception is necessarily the best mechanism for sandboxing.

Other challenges in GNU/Linux include the lack of a standard developer's toolkit, the variety of software available for the same purpose, and the limitations of the GTK+ toolkit. In the Ars Technica review, the frustrations with these limits were attributed to Goodger alone. But if you look at the original discussion thread, working around the conditions in GNU/Linux are a challenge for all the Chromium developers. At the very least, the team felt the need for common standards to simplify their work.

Goodger explained:

At least part of the time, the solutions that emerged were a compromise or stopgap measure. For example, despite the team's reservations about the ability of GTK+ to produce an interface comparable to those on Windows or OSX, Smith says that "In the end, we decided that GTK+ gave the best compromise in terms of being able to deliver a quick, clean user experience that was clearly still Google Chrome."

In much the same way, Smith described the release of nightly builds for Ubuntu as being due to the fact "that we have to start somewhere," even though the plans are to support "multiple popular distributions." He added that, "Being open source means we're happy to have volunteers provide support for other, potentially less popular or more specific distros that we may not get around to for a while."

Looking ahead

The Chromium team declined to give an exact road map for the GNU/Linux version. However, Smith did say that "We hope to release a version of Google Chrome for Linux on the developer channel very soon." Those who are interested in tracking Chrome's progress can track it on the developer site.

Still to come are an extensions platform intended to give Chrome the rich ecosystem of development enjoyed by Firefox. Smith also suggested that Chrome's ability to quickly render JavaScript should make it ideal for the recently announced Google Wave, an online collaboration and communication system. "We certainly expect Wave to work best in modern browser environments which have good support for open web standards," Smith said.

Meanwhile those wanting to investigate Google Chrome on their own can download packages from Ubuntu's Launchpad site, which include packages for the last three Ubuntu releases as well as the upcoming Karmic Koala release. However, if you do, be warned that, at this stage of development, there is no guarantee that you will actually be able to run Chrome. On three separate machines with several different builds and packages, I was able to install the browser, but received only an "Illegal instruction" message when attempting to run it.

Such failures are not surprising in software in such an early stage of development. No doubt, too, the particular hardware and builds figure heavily in them. All the same, they suggest that the Google could be hard-pressed to deliver on its promise of a GNU/Linux release in the first half of this year. At the most, an early beta might be ready by that deadline.

Meanwhile, users can keep trying the Ubuntu packages. They might also try compiling the source code, or downloading Crossover Chromium, which runs under the WINE code. The only other alternative is to wait for the still-indefinite final release.