Original author(s) | KDE |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Apple Inc., Adobe Systems, KDE and others |
Initial release | November 4, 1998 June 7, 2005 (WebKit open sourced) |
(KHTML released)
Preview release |
Nightly
|
Repository | svn |
Development status | Active |
Written in | C++ |
Operating system | Cross-platform |
Type | Layout engine |
License |
BSD v2.0 (most of browser engine), GNU LGPL v2.1 (some files in the JavaScriptCore & WebCore components) |
Website | webkit |
BSD v2.0 (most of browser engine),
WebKit is a layout engine software component for rendering web pages in web browsers. It powers Apple's Safari web browser, and a fork of the project named Blink is used by Chromium-based browsers, such as Google Chrome and Opera.
WebKit also forms the basis for the experimental browser included with the Amazon Kindle e-book reader, as well as the default browser in the Apple iOS, BlackBerry Browser in OS 6 and above, and Tizen mobile operating systems. WebKit's C++ application programming interface provides a set of classes to display web content in windows, and implements browser features such as following links when clicked by the user, managing a back-forward list, and managing a history of pages recently visited.
WebKit's HTML and JavaScript code was originally a fork of the KHTML and KJS libraries from KDE, and has now been further developed by individuals from KDE, Apple, Google, Nokia, Bitstream, BlackBerry, Igalia, and others.macOS, Windows, Linux, and some other Unix-like operating systems are supported by the project. On April 3, 2013, Google announced that it had forked WebCore, a component of WebKit, to be used in future versions of Google Chrome and the Opera web browser, under the name Blink.