Microsoft Research’s Gazelle – the ‘Browser OS’
Microsoft Research recently published a paper about an experimental browser named "Gazelle." The browser was called an experimental "multi-principal" OS that "uses processes to isolate page content elements originating from different domains." Um.. right!
I wonder if there’s a “SoftOCP” for after the HardOCP gets done workin’ me over?
;’)
This looks like one of the new-look MS internal projects that was flagged for limited free release?
Inside Gazelle, Microsoft Research's "browser OS"
Wang's characterization of Gazelle as a "multi-principal operating system" for the Web has been widely misinterpreted by the press. Although Gazelle's architecture is loosely modeled on the underlying concepts of operating system design, it is not actually an operating system, it's not intended to replace Windows, and it won't compete with Chrome OS. It is a browser prototype that runs on Windows Vista, is coded in C#, and has a conventional user interface that is built with .NET's WinForms framework.
Multiprocess browsing, which is supported in Google's Chrome Web browser and recent versions of Internet Explorer, uses separate operating system processes to isolate the rendering of individual pages. As we have recently discussed in our coverage of multiprocess browsing, this approach generally boosts security and stability. It prevents a rendering bug that affects a specific page or plugin from tanking the whole browser.
Multiprocess browsing is advantageous, but it does have some downsides. Processes tend to generate a lot of resource overhead, especially on Windows. In order to minimize the impact of using multiple processes, Chrome and IE try to use some number of processes that provides a good balance between resource efficiency and stability. For example, if you have multiple tabs open that show different pages from the same website, the browser might put them all into one process.
The Gazelle project casts aside that balance and aims to maximize security and stability by using more processes. Instead of just using a separate process for each site or tab, it will use separate processes for individual page content elements that originate from other domains. For example, if you have an iframe in a page, the iframe will be managed and rendered in its own process separate from the rest of the page.
Gazelle uses interprocess communication (IPC) to facilitate interaction between the various pieces of the browser. All communication is mediated by the browser's "kernel," a central component that is also responsible for handling the browser's user interface. All network and filseystem operations such as loading and caching are handled directly by the kernel.