In a move that some say may indicate a return by Netscape Communications to its original business of building Web browser software, a company spokesman said the company would overhaul the core of Communicator, its struggling flagship browser.
Until now, the fate of Communicator's next-generation "layout engine" had been in doubt. Web developers see the engine -- the core of the software code that actually renders the HTML code on PC screens -- as a critical and much needed makeover for the browser.
But Netscape representatives informed relieved developers Monday that the next release of Communicator would incorporate the so-called "NGLayout" software, rather than a patched-up version of the current code.
"Including NGLayout in our 5.0 product will continue us in the tradition of being leaders and innovators on the Web," said Eric Byunn, Netscape Navigator's product manager.
The NGLayout code has been under development as part of Netscape's open source development project, Mozilla. But the company has been noncommittal about what resources it would devote to getting the technology ready for inclusion in the next commercial release of its browser software.
In recent months, Netscape has positioned itself less as a Web browser company and more as an aggregator of Web content and services. Sources close to the company said that many Communicator product managers have been shifted to work on the company's Netcenter Web index site.
The sudden commitment Monday to the core functionality of its browser caught Web-site builders like Todd Fahrner by surprise.
"It keeps the Web a competitive space," said Fahrner, a Web designer and a founding member of the Web Standards Project, a grassroots organization designed to pressure browser vendors to comply with open standards.
"If Netscape didn't follow this path, they'd be less and less competitive."
Rival Microsoft has been seen making key technological and market advances over Netscape, which once set the standard in Web browser technology. And as Fahrner noted, without cutting-edge competition by Netscape, Microsoft would have the luxury of complacency.
Netscape has released interim versions of its Communicator software, most recently Communicator 4.5. Developers felt the user interface changes made in that release ignored important shortcomings in the software's underlying code for handling the content of Web pages.
Web developers have complained that inconsistencies between Explorer and Navigator dramatically increase the time and expense required to build and maintain Web sites. That frustration led them to form the Web Standards Project earlier this year.
Developers at Wired News parent company, Wired Digital, are among the founding members of the Web Standards Project.
Netscape's new NGLayout engine could bring the company's software into compliance with key open Internet standards such as HTML 4.0, CSS 1/2, XML 1.0, and the Document Object Model.
Netscape downplayed the news, saying it was primarily of interest to developers.
"If a certain set of Web developers want to say it's news, great. But we're just letting them know a little more about our development plans," said Netscape Product Manager Eric Byunn.
Byunn said news of Communicator 5.0, including a specific time frame for the software's release, will be announced at a later date. The company still expects to release a beta version of the program by year's end.
Microsoft said the layout-engine news indicated how far Netscape had slipped behind them.
"We're happy to see Netscape supporting more of the standards," said Joe Herman, product manager for Internet Explorer at Microsoft. "Even though it sounds like their support is now just coming in line with the support that Internet Explorer 4.0 had a year ago, we implemented much more of the standards -- such as CSS 1.0 -- than Netscape did. We had almost twice as much support for CSS 1.0 as Navigator 4.0."
Fahrner said that he welcomed the return of competition between Microsoft and Netscape.
"It has [something] to do with touchy-feely altruistic concerns for the long-term health of the Web," he said. "There's little faith that Microsoft has a very nurturing vision of [the Web].... There's also the love of the underdog. Netscape was the first and then they got fat and lazy and stumbled up for a few years."
