GNU LibreJS

Last updated
GNU LibreJS
Developer(s) Ruben Rodriguez, Nik Nyby
Stable release
7.21.1 [1]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg / 17 September 2023
Repository
Type Browser extension
License GPL-3.0-or-later [2]
Website gnu.org/software/librejs/

GNU LibreJS, or simply LibreJS, is a free software web browser extension for Mozilla Firefox-based browsers, written by the GNU Project. [2] Its purpose is to block nonfree nontrivial JavaScript programs and allow free or trivial JS in a user's web browser. The add-on was written to address the so-called "JavaScript Trap" [3] first described by Richard Stallman in 2009, [4] a situation in which many users unknowingly run proprietary software in their web browsers.

Contents

Description

GNU LibreJS refuses to run nonfree programs that are present in many websites. It is developed as part of the GNU Project by Ruben Rodriguez and Nik Nyby [2] and is included by default in the GNU IceCat browser. [5] [6] It can also work with Tor. [7] [8]

The add-on allows site whitelisting and has an email address detection system for users to contact page webmasters in order to persuade them into making their JavaScript code compliant with LibreJS. [9] According to the Free Software Foundation, many websites (if not whitelisted) break while using the add-on, due to the pervasiveness of proprietary JavaScript code on the web. [10] Nevertheless, programmer and activist Richard Stallman supports the usage of GNU LibreJS. [3]

Criticizing Google, Stallman said, "In general, most Google services require the execution of non-free JavaScript code. If you refuse to do so (for example, by running LibreJS), you will see that you will not be able to use these services." [11]

Reception

Klint Finley of Wired , after going without JavaScript for a week, wrote, "The Free Software Foundation launched its Free JavaScript campaign in 2013 to promote websites using only free and open source JavaScript code, or making sites function without it. To help users avoid running proprietary JavaScript, they developed LibreJS, a plugin for the Firefox web browser that blocks most, but not all, JavaScript from running. They also work with engineers to help reduce dependence on proprietary JavaScript." [12] However, the FSF does not use the term "open source" and actively advocates against using it, preferring the term "free software" instead. [13]

Cory Doctorow of BoingBoing , discussing Finley's article, said he had used NoScript for years, and got around the problems Finley identified by whitelisting pages with wanted functionality that only works with JavaScript. [14]

Websites have been criticized or rated based on whether they work without JavaScript or with LibreJS enabled. [15] [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free software</span> Software licensed to be freely used, modified and distributed

Free software or libre software or libreware is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, not price; all users are legally free to do what they want with their copies of a free software regardless of how much is paid to obtain the program. Computer programs are deemed "free" if they give end-users ultimate control over the software and, subsequently, over their devices.

The free software movement is a social movement with the goal of obtaining and guaranteeing certain freedoms for software users, namely the freedoms to run, study, modify, and share copies of software. Software which meets these requirements, The Four Essential Freedoms of Free Software, is termed free software.

The Free Software Definition written by Richard Stallman and published by the Free Software Foundation (FSF), defines free software as being software that ensures that the users have freedom in using, studying, sharing and modifying that software. The term "free" is used in the sense of "free speech," not of "free of charge." The earliest-known publication of the definition was in the February 1986 edition of the now-discontinued GNU's Bulletin publication by the FSF. The canonical source for the document is in the philosophy section of the GNU Project website. As of April 2008, it is published in 39 languages. The FSF publishes a list of licences that meet this definition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNU</span> Free software collection

GNU is an extensive collection of free software, which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operating systems popularly known as Linux. Most of GNU is licensed under the GNU Project's own General Public License (GPL).

In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of text, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source code.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNU Project</span> Free software project

The GNU Project is a free software, mass collaboration project announced by Richard Stallman on September 27, 1983. Its goal is to give computer users freedom and control in their use of their computers and computing devices by collaboratively developing and publishing software that gives everyone the rights to freely run the software, copy and distribute it, study it, and modify it. GNU software grants these rights in its license.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open-source software</span> Software licensed to ensure source code usage rights

Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Open-source software may be developed in a collaborative, public manner. Open-source software is a prominent example of open collaboration, meaning any capable user is able to participate online in development, making the number of possible contributors indefinite. The ability to examine the code facilitates public trust in the software.

Alternative terms for free software, such as open source, FOSS, and FLOSS, have been a controversial issue among free and open-source software users from the late 1990s onwards. These terms share almost identical licence criteria and development practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Stallman</span> American free software activist and GNU Project founder (born 1953)

Richard Matthew Stallman, also known by his initials, rms, is an American free software movement activist and programmer. He campaigns for software to be distributed in such a manner that its users have the freedom to use, study, distribute, and modify that software. Software that ensures these freedoms is termed free software. Stallman launched the GNU Project, founded the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in October 1985, developed the GNU Compiler Collection and GNU Emacs, and wrote all versions of the GNU General Public License.

gNewSense Linux distribution

gNewSense was a Linux distribution, active from 2006 to 2016. It was based on Debian, and developed with sponsorship from the Free Software Foundation. Its goal was user-friendliness, but with all proprietary and non-free software removed. The Free Software Foundation considered gNewSense to be composed entirely of free software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of free and open-source software</span> Aspect of history

In the 1950s and 1960s, computer operating software and compilers were delivered as a part of hardware purchases without separate fees. At the time, source code, the human-readable form of software, was generally distributed with the software providing the ability to fix bugs or add new functions. Universities were early adopters of computing technology. Many of the modifications developed by universities were openly shared, in keeping with the academic principles of sharing knowledge, and organizations sprung up to facilitate sharing. As large-scale operating systems matured, fewer organizations allowed modifications to the operating software, and eventually such operating systems were closed to modification. However, utilities and other added-function applications are still shared and new organizations have been formed to promote the sharing of software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNU IceCat</span> Firefox derivative recommending only free software

GNU IceCat, formerly known as GNU IceWeasel, is a completely free version of the Mozilla Firefox web browser distributed by the GNU Project. It is compatible with Linux, Windows, Android and macOS.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to free software and the free software movement:

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Richard Stallman on October 4, 1985, to support the free software movement, with the organization's preference for software being distributed under copyleft terms, such as with its own GNU General Public License. The FSF was incorporated in Boston, Massachusetts, US, where it is also based.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linux-libre</span> Version of the Linux kernel without proprietary code

Linux-libre is a modified version of the Linux kernel that contains no binary blobs, obfuscated code, or code released under proprietary licenses. In the Linux kernel, they are mostly used for proprietary firmware images. While generally redistributable, binary blobs do not give the user the freedom to audit, modify, or, consequently, redistribute their modified versions. The GNU Project keeps Linux-libre in synchronization with the mainline Linux kernel.

Software categories are groups of software. They allow software to be understood in terms of those categories, instead of the particularities of each package. Different classification schemes consider different aspects of software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mozilla</span> Free and open-source software community, developer of Firefox and Thunderbird

Mozilla is a free software community founded in 1998 by members of Netscape. The Mozilla community uses, develops, publishes and supports Mozilla products, thereby promoting exclusively free software and open standards, with only minor exceptions. The community is supported institutionally by the non-profit Mozilla Foundation and its tax-paying subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation.

asm.js is a subset of JavaScript designed to allow computer software written in languages such as C to be run as web applications while maintaining performance characteristics considerably better than standard JavaScript, which is the typical language used for such applications.

References

  1. ↑ "LibreJS 7.21.1". 17 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "GNU LibreJS". GNU.org. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  3. 1 2 Richard Stallman. "The JavaScript Trap". GNU.org. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  4. ↑ "The JavaScript Trap". 2009-03-24. Archived from the original on 2009-03-24. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  5. ↑ "GNUzilla and IceCat". Free Software Foundation.
  6. ↑ "Die sicheren Browser-Alternativen". PCtipp.ch. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  7. ↑ n8willis (2014-12-03). "GNU LibreJS 6.0.6 released". LWN.net.
  8. ↑ "Installer LineageOS sur son appareil Android - LinuxFr.org". linuxfr.org. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  9. ↑ "LibreJS - News". Savannah.
  10. ↑ wtheaker (2013-10-23). "LibreJS reaches version 5.4". Free Software Foundation.
  11. ↑ "Trolldi : pourquoi Richard Stallman pense que vous ne devriez pas utiliser Google". Developpez.com (in French). Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  12. ↑ Finley, Klint (2015-11-18). "I Turned Off JavaScript in My Web Browser for a Whole Week and It Was Glorious". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  13. ↑ Stallman, Richard. "Why Open Source Misses the Point of Free Software". GNU Project. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  14. ↑ "The Web is pretty great with JavaScript turned off". Boing Boing. 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  15. ↑ Gallagher, Sean (2016-06-17). "Under new management, SourceForge moves to put badness in past". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  16. ↑ online, heise (26 April 2016). "Free Software Foundation: GitHub und SourceForge kommen bei Hosting-Services-Untersuchung nicht gut weg". Developer (in German). Retrieved 2019-12-23.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.