ladybird/Documentation/FAQ.md

# Frequently Asked Questions about Ladybird

## What does 'Independent' mean, if you're including third party dependencies?

Independent means:

- We implement the web platform standards ourselves
- We don't take money from anyone with strings attached

## Windows support when?

There are very few Windows developers contributing to the project. As such, maintaining a native Windows port would be
a lot of effort that distracts from building out the web platform standards in a reasonable amount of time.

After we have a solid foundation, we may consider a Windows port, but it's not a priority. In the meantime, Windows
developers can use other tools such as WSL2 to work on Ladybird.

## Will Ladybird support `$THING`?

Eventually, probably, if there's a Web Spec for it!

## When will you implement `$THING`?

Maybe someday. Maybe never. If you want to see something happen, you can do it yourself!

## Well, how do I run this thing then?

Simple, my friend! Just refer to the [build instructions](BuildInstructionsLadybird.md).

## I did a `git pull` and now the build is broken! What do I do?

If it builds on CI, it should build for you too. You may need to rebuild the toolchain. If that doesn't help, try it with a clean repo.

If you can't figure out what to do, ask in the `#build-problems` channel on Discord.

## Where did Ladybird come from?

For full details, see the [Ladybird: A new cross-platform browser project](https://awesomekling.substack.com/p/ladybird-a-new-cross-platform-browser-project) announcement from 12 September 2022.

Here’s a very short summary: Work on what eventually became Ladybird started on 15 June 2019, as _LibHTML_ — the beginnings of an HTML viewer for [SerenityOS](https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity) — with a commit titled [“LibHTML: Start working on a simple HTML library”](https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity/commit/a67e8238389), and with this commit description:

> _I'd like to have rich text, and we might as well use HTML for that. :^)_

LibHTML eventually became [LibWeb](https://github.com/LadybirdBrowser/ladybird/tree/master/Userland/Libraries/LibWeb) — which in turn eventually grew into being the core part of the browser engine and browser to which, on 4 July 2022, [the name _Ladybird_ was given](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X38MTKHt3_I&t=29s).
-												Meta: Update Documentation and CI for repo move

											
										
										
											2024-05-30 21:06:21 +00:00
+								# Frequently Asked Questions about Ladybird
-												Documentation: Update FAQ a bit and move it into Documentation/

This was hiding on the serenityos.org website previously, where not
many people found it. Let's put it in a more natural location, and
also make sure to link to it from the README.

											
										
										
											2021-05-05 18:03:02 +00:00
-												Documentation: Add two new FAQ entries for independence and Windows

											
										
										
											2024-06-06 15:07:29 +00:00
+								## What does 'Independent' mean, if you're including third party dependencies?
 								Independent means:
 								- We implement the web platform standards ourselves
 								- We don't take money from anyone with strings attached
 								## Windows support when?
 								There are very few Windows developers contributing to the project. As such, maintaining a native Windows port would be
 								a lot of effort that distracts from building out the web platform standards in a reasonable amount of time.
 								After we have a solid foundation, we may consider a Windows port, but it's not a priority. In the meantime, Windows
 								developers can use other tools such as WSL2 to work on Ladybird.
-												Meta: Update Documentation and CI for repo move

											
										
										
											2024-05-30 21:06:21 +00:00
+								## Will Ladybird support `$THING`?
-												Documentation: Update FAQ a bit and move it into Documentation/

This was hiding on the serenityos.org website previously, where not
many people found it. Let's put it in a more natural location, and
also make sure to link to it from the README.

											
										
										
											2021-05-05 18:03:02 +00:00
-												Meta: Update Documentation and CI for repo move

											
										
										
											2024-05-30 21:06:21 +00:00
+								Eventually, probably, if there's a Web Spec for it!
-												Documentation: Update FAQ a bit and move it into Documentation/

This was hiding on the serenityos.org website previously, where not
many people found it. Let's put it in a more natural location, and
also make sure to link to it from the README.

											
										
										
											2021-05-05 18:03:02 +00:00
 								## When will you implement `$THING`?
 								Maybe someday. Maybe never. If you want to see something happen, you can do it yourself!
-												Documentation: Add FAQ entry about running the system

											
										
										
											2022-02-02 20:36:40 +00:00
+								## Well, how do I run this thing then?
-												Meta: Update Documentation and CI for repo move

											
										
										
											2024-05-30 21:06:21 +00:00
+								Simple, my friend! Just refer to the [build instructions](BuildInstructionsLadybird.md).
-												Documentation: Add FAQ entry about running the system

											
										
										
											2022-02-02 20:36:40 +00:00
-												Documentation: Update FAQ a bit and move it into Documentation/

This was hiding on the serenityos.org website previously, where not
many people found it. Let's put it in a more natural location, and
also make sure to link to it from the README.

											
										
										
											2021-05-05 18:03:02 +00:00
+								## I did a `git pull` and now the build is broken! What do I do?
 								If it builds on CI, it should build for you too. You may need to rebuild the toolchain. If that doesn't help, try it with a clean repo.
 								If you can't figure out what to do, ask in the `#build-problems` channel on Discord.
-												Documentation: Add a bit of history to the FAQ

											
										
										
											2024-07-21 04:49:41 +00:00
 								## Where did Ladybird come from?
 								For full details, see the [Ladybird: A new cross-platform browser project](https://awesomekling.substack.com/p/ladybird-a-new-cross-platform-browser-project) announcement from 12 September 2022.
 								Here’s a very short summary: Work on what eventually became Ladybird started on 15 June 2019, as _LibHTML_ — the beginnings of an HTML viewer for [SerenityOS](https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity) — with a commit titled [“LibHTML: Start working on a simple HTML library”](https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity/commit/a67e8238389), and with this commit description:
 								> _I'd like to have rich text, and we might as well use HTML for that. :^)_
 								LibHTML eventually became [LibWeb](https://github.com/LadybirdBrowser/ladybird/tree/master/Userland/Libraries/LibWeb) — which in turn eventually grew into being the core part of the browser engine and browser to which, on 4 July 2022, [the name _Ladybird_ was given](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X38MTKHt3_I&t=29s).