In the context of theWorld Wide Web,abookmarkis aUniform Resource Identifier(URI) that is stored for later retrieval in any of various storage formats. All modernweb browsersincludebookmark features.Bookmarks are calledfavoritesorInternet shortcutsinInternet ExplorerandMicrosoft Edge,and by virtue of that browser's largemarket share,these terms have been synonymous withbookmarksince theFirst Browser War.[1]Bookmarks are normally accessed through a menu in the user's web browser, andfoldersare commonly used for organization. In addition to bookmarking methods within most browsers, many external applications offerbookmarks management.
Bookmarks have been incorporated in browsers since theViolaWWWbrowser in 1992,[2]andMosaicbrowser in 1993.[3]Bookmark lists were calledHotlistsin Mosaic[4]and in previous versions ofOpera;this term has faded from common use.Cello,another early browser, also had bookmarking features.
With the advent ofsocial bookmarking,shared bookmarks have become a means for users sharing similar interests to pool web resources, or to store their bookmarks in such a way that they are not tied to one specific computer or browser. Web-based bookmarking services let users save bookmarks on a remote web server, accessible from anywhere.
Newer browsers have expanded the "bookmark" feature to include variations on the concept of saving links.Mozilla Firefoxintroducedlive bookmarksin 2004,[5]which resemble standard bookmarks but contain a list of links to recent articles supplied by a news site orweblog,which is regularly updated viaRSSfeeds; however, Mozilla removed this feature in 2018.[6]"Bookmarklets"areJavaScriptprograms stored as bookmarks that can be clicked to perform a function.
Storage
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Each browser has a built-in tool for managing the list of bookmarks. The list storage method varies, depending on the browser, its version, and the operating system on which it runs.
Netscape browsers store bookmarks in the single HTML-coded filebookmarks.html.This approach permits publication and printing of a categorized and indented catalog, and works across platforms. Bookmark names need not be unique. Editing this file outside its native browser requires editing HTML.
Fordata portabilityandinteroperability,most modern Web browsers support importing from and exporting to the Netscape bookmarks.html format.
Beginning withFirefox 3,Mozilla Corporationbegan usingSQLitein browser releases to store bookmarks, history, cookies, and preferences in a transactionally secure database.
Internet Explorer's "Favorites" (also "Internet Shortcuts" ) are stored as individual files named with the original link name, and the filename extension ".URL",[7]for example "Home Page.URL" collected in a directory named "Favorites" which may have subdirectories. Bookmark names must be unique within a folder. Each file contains the original URL and Microsoft-specificmetadata.Browsers have varying abilities to import and export bookmarks to favorites, and vice versa.[8][9][10]
Bookmarklets
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Bookmarklets areJavaScriptprograms stored as bookmarks. The term is aportmanteauof the wordsbookmarkandapplet.Bookmarklets are possible because the JavaScriptURI schemeallows JavaScript programs to be stored as URIs, which can be stored in bookmarks. Bookmarklets have access to the current page, which they may inspect and change. As such, they can be simple "one-click" tools which add functionality to the browser. Bookmarklets are typically installed by navigating to a web page that links to a JavaScript URI, right-clicking the link, and clicking the bookmark option.
Web developer Steve Kangas got the idea from theNetscapeJavaScript Guide,[11]and coined the termbookmarkletsin 1998.[12]Brendan Eich,the inventor of JavaScript, explained bookmarklets as follows:
They were a deliberate feature in this sense: I invented the
javascript:URL along with JavaScript in 1995, and intended thatjavascript:URLs could be used as any other kind of URL, including being bookmark-able. In particular, I made it possible to generate a new document by loading,e.g.javascript:'hello, world',but also (key for bookmarklets) to run arbitrary script against the DOM of the current document, e.g.javascript:alert(document.links[0].href).The difference is that the latter kind of URL uses an expression that evaluates to the undefined type in JS. I added the void operator to JS before Netscape 2 shipped to make it easy to discard any non-undefined value in ajavascript:URL.— Brendan Eich, email toSimon Willison[13]
Live bookmarks
editLive bookmarks are Internet bookmarks powered byRSS,particularly inMozilla Firefox.They allow users to dynamically monitor changes to their favorite news sources. Instead of treating RSS-feeds as HTML pages like mostnews aggregatorsdo, they are treated as bookmarks that are updated in real-time with a link to the appropriate source. Live bookmarks are updated automatically; however, no browser option exists to prevent or control the automatic live bookmark updates.
Live bookmarks were available in Firefox from 2004 until December 2018; since then, Firefox no longer supports them.[6]
See also
edit- Bookmarking systems
- Other weblink-based systems
References
edit- ^Shannon, L. R. (February 21, 1999)."Travel Advisory: Cyberscout; Getting to Your Destination Without Drowning in Data".The New York Times.RetrievedJuly 3,2009.
- ^Berners-Lee, Tim (November 3, 1992)."A quick look at ViolaWWW".RetrievedMarch 29,2022.
- ^"New X-based information systems browser available.",post tocomp.infosystemsbyMarc Andreessenon February 16, 1993
- ^"May World-Wide Web News"in 1993 by Tim Berners-Lee
- ^"Mozilla Foundation Releases the Highly Anticipated Mozilla Firefox 1.0 Web Browser",press release on November 9, 2004
- ^ab"Firefox 64.0, See All New Features, Updates and Fixes".Mozilla.December 11, 2018.RetrievedDecember 12,2018.
- ^"Working with Shortcuts".Microsoft Windows 2000 Scripting Guide.Microsoft.22 October 2009.RetrievedJune 19,2015.
- ^"Netscape Bookmark File Format"(Web).Microsoft.RetrievedAugust 27,2009.
- ^"How to import and export the Internet Explorer Favorites folder to a 32-bit version of Windows"(Web).Microsoft.RetrievedAugust 28,2009.
- ^Mikkers, Jean-Paul (19 December 2007)."How favorites are stored on Windows XP and Vista"(Web).Codeproject.RetrievedAugust 28,2009.
- ^"About Bookmarklets".RetrievedJuly 3,2009.
- ^"Bookmarklets Home Page — free tools for power surfing".Archived fromthe originalon July 7, 2009.RetrievedJuly 3,2009.
- ^Willison, Simon (April 10, 2004)."Email from Brendan Eich".SitePoint.Archived fromthe originalon 2009-07-21.Retrieved2007-04-22.