Chromium (web browser) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Chromium

Chromium version 119
Original author(s)	Google
Developer(s)	The Chromium Projects
Initial release	2 September 2008; 16 years ago (2008-09-02)
Written in	C++ primarily, HTML, CSS, JavaScript for UI and test suite
Operating system	Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, macOS, BSD
Platform	IA-32, x86-64, ARM, ARM64
License	BSD-3 and others

Chromium is a free and open-source (meaning anyone can see and change its code) web browser project. It is mainly created and looked after by Google. Chromium's code is used to build many popular web browsers, like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Samsung Internet, and Opera. Its code is also used in many app frameworks (tools for building apps).

What is Chromium's License?

Chromium is a project where its code is free and open for anyone to use. The parts written by Google are shared under a special license called the 3-clause BSD license. Other parts, added by different groups, use various other licenses.

This type of license means that anyone can take the code, build their own web browser from it, and share it. This is why many Linux distributions (different versions of the Linux operating system) and other systems like FreeBSD and OpenBSD offer their own versions of Chromium.

How is Chromium Different from Google Chrome?

Chromium provides most of the code for Google Chrome, but there are some important differences between them.

Missing Features in Chromium

Chromium does not have some features that Google Chrome includes:

• It does not update itself automatically. You usually have to update it manually.
• It lacks special keys for some Google services, like syncing your browser data.
• It does not include the Widevine DRM module, which is used for playing protected videos.
• It does not have licenses for popular video and audio formats like H.264 and AAC.
• It does not include tracking tools that send usage or crash reports to Google.

Names and Branding

Google first named its browser "Chrome." The open-source version was then called "Chromium" because the metal chromium is used to make shiny chrome plating.

While Chrome looks and works much like Chromium, it uses Google's own colors and branding. Unlike Chromium, Chrome is not fully open-source. Its ready-to-use programs are given away as freeware under Google's own terms.

How Chromium is Developed

The Chromium browser code has about 31 million lines of code. This number does not include comments or empty lines.

Who Helps Build It?

Chromium has been a Google project since it started. Most of the development work is done by Google employees.

Google calls this project and its related project, ChromiumOS, "the Chromium projects." Google employees use special email addresses for this work. However, Google still has strong control over these projects.

Many other companies have also helped build the Chromium code. Some of the most important contributors include Microsoft, Igalia, Yandex, Intel, Samsung, LG, Opera, Vivaldi, and Brave. Some employees from these companies also have special email addresses for Chromium development.

How It's Designed

Google was the first to design a browser that uses multiple processes. This means different parts of the browser run separately. This design helps the browser stay fast and responsive, even with many tabs open. It also makes it more secure because if one part crashes, it doesn't bring down the whole browser. However, it uses more memory. Later, this design was improved to isolate each website in its own process for even better security.

Another key design choice was to make the browser's user interface (what you see and click) very simple and minimalistic.

The browser's main engine was first based on Apple's WebKit. Google thought WebKit was the best choice available. But Google's multi-process design needed changes to the engine. Over time, Google's version became very different from Apple's. So, in 2013, Google officially created its own version, called the Blink engine.

What Programming Languages Are Used?

C++ is the main language used for Chromium, making up more than half of the code. This includes the Blink and V8 engines, which handle how web pages are shown and how JavaScript code runs. It also includes parts that manage internet connections, caching, extensions, and most of the user interface.

The rest of the user interface, called the WebUI, is built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Many tests for web features are also written in these languages.

Other important tools, called libraries, are written in C, C++, or more recently, Rust. These tools help with things like databases and playing different media files.

For mobile devices, special languages are needed. For Android, both Java and Kotlin are used. For iOS, Objective-C and Swift are used.

Python is the main language for the system that builds Chromium.

How Development is Managed

Chromium uses a public website to track bugs (problems in the code). Anyone can see these bugs, and people are identified by their email addresses.

Chromium has an automatic system that builds and tests the code several times a day. This is called continuous integration.

Each version of Chromium has a four-part version number. This numbering system and the way new versions are released every six to seven weeks come from Google Chrome's own development cycle.

Chromium's History

2008 to 2010

Google Chrome was first released in September 2008. At the same time, the Chromium source code was also made available. This allowed people to build their own versions of the browser.

When Chrome was first released, some people were concerned because it saved user passwords without a main password to protect them. Google said that a main password wouldn't truly protect against very skilled hackers. However, users felt it would help protect against friends or family members who might borrow their computer and see saved passwords. In December 2009, a Chromium developer explained that they would not add a master password feature, as it was a design decision.

An early test version of Chromium 3 for Linux

Version 3 was the first test version available for Linux. Chromium soon added native themes for Linux, using the GTK+ toolkit to fit in with the GNOME desktop environment. Version 3 also made JavaScript engines faster and allowed users to choose different themes.

Version 6 focused on making the user interface even simpler. Google wanted the browser to feel "lightweight and fast." Changes included a single tools menu, no home button by default (though you could add it back), a combined reload/stop button, and the bookmark bar turned off by default. It also added a built-in PDF reader, support for WebM and VP8 videos in HTML video, and a smarter URL bar.

Version 7 made the browser twice as fast as older versions by using hardware acceleration.

Version 8 focused on working better with ChromeOS and improving cloud features. These included web apps that run in the background, controlling features on other computers remotely, and cloud printing.

Version 9 added several new features. These included a URL bar feature to help spot phishing attacks and a sandbox for the Adobe Flash plug-in. Other additions were the WebGL library for graphics and access to the new Chrome Web Store.

2011

Chromium logo introduced in 2011

In February, Google announced they were thinking about big changes to the user interface (UI). This included possibly removing or changing the URL bar, which had been a main part of browsers for a long time. The idea was to combine the tabs, navigation buttons, menu, and URL bar into one row. This would free up more screen space for web page content. Google realized this might mean URLs wouldn't always be visible, and controls might lose their context. However, by August, Google decided these changes were too risky and stopped the idea.

In March, Google announced other plans for the project. They focused on making the browser smaller, better integrating web applications and plug-ins, improving cloud computing, and adding touch support. A multi-profile button was added to the UI, letting users sign into multiple Google and other accounts in the same browser. Other additions included malware detection and support for faster CSS transforms using hardware.

By May, Google's efforts to make Chromium smaller were already showing results. They worked on shrinking the size of WebKit, the image resizer, and the Android build system. Later, they made a more compact mobile version that used less vertical space in the UI.

Other changes in 2011 included faster graphics on all pages using the GPU, support for the new Web Audio API, and Google Native Client (NaCl). NaCl allows secure code from other parties to run inside the browser. Google's Skia graphics library was also made available for all Chromium versions.

Since 2012

The Chromium Material Icon used until 2022

The sync service added for Google Chrome in 2012 could also be used by Chromium builds. In the same year, a new tool for high-quality video and audio calls was added. This allowed web applications to use the user's webcam and microphone after getting permission. Then, faster video decoding for Windows using the GPU and support for the QUIC protocol were added.

In 2013, Chromium's changed WebKit rendering engine was officially separated and named the Blink engine.

Other changes in 2013 included the ability to reset user profiles and new browser extension tools. Indicators were added to tabs to show when audio or the webcam was being used. Also, files detected as malware were automatically blocked.

Version 67 added a security benefit by isolating each process for different websites. Then version 69 introduced a new browser theme as part of Google Chrome's tenth anniversary. In the same year, new steps were added to stop harmful advertising.

Since 2021, the Google Chrome sync service can no longer be used by Chromium builds.

Starting with version 110, only Windows 10 and newer versions of Windows are supported for Windows users.

Browsers Based on Chromium

Besides Google Chrome, many other browsers that are actively being developed use the Chromium code.

Private (Proprietary) Browsers

Some are mainly used in specific countries:

• 360 Secure, popular in China
• Cốc Cốc, popular in Vietnam
• Yandex, popular in Russia

Free and Open-Source Browsers

How Chromium is Used in App Frameworks

Some important app frameworks use a Chromium browser as the main part of custom apps. This means the app uses web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Examples of these frameworks include:

• Chromium Embedded Framework
• Electron
• Qt WebEngine

Two well-known Chromium-based WebView components also help create apps in a similar way:

• Android System WebView
• Microsoft Edge WebView2

Using these methods, apps can be built with web technologies and easily work on different operating systems that Chromium supports. Since the 2010s, many apps have been created this way. Two examples are Spotify and Slack.

Images for kids

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  Chromium version 119

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  An early test version of Chromium 3 for Linux

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  Chromium logo introduced in 2011

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  The Chromium Material Icon used until 2022

See also

In Spanish: Chromium (navegador) para niños