ELKSWeb 0.2 — experimental beta

ELKSWeb 0.2 — experimental beta

ELKSWeb 0.2 is a native graphical HTTP browser for IBM PC compatibles running ELKS, including the HP 200LX. This beta focuses on usability and rendering on early PCs. The executable is named elksweb.

Changes and thanks

• Clearer fonts: public-domain X.Org fixed fonts, including 6x13 body text, with taller controls and corrected clipping. Suggested by @ghaerr; @sammothxc also reported CGA legibility problems. @l00nix checked the font on the PPC 512 LCD.
• Less redraw work: reduce startup/address/focus redraws, repaint image regions when dimensions are already known, and avoid repainting the old page before following a clicked link. Thanks to @ghaerr, @sammothxc and @l00nix for identifying these issues and checking the changes.
• GIF decoding: skip redundant background initialization for full-canvas first frames, retaining the existing behavior for partial frames. @sammothxc's slow-GIF report helped focus this work. It applies to qualifying GIFs on any page; no controlled hardware speedup factor is claimed.
• Serial mice: honor ELKS mouse environment conventions, improve Microsoft packet handling, enlarge the pointer, and coalesce queued movement while preserving button transitions. @ghaerr suggested the conventions; @l00nix tested Microsoft Serial Mouse 2.0A and E6QMOUSE X31 mice on the PPC 512.
• Easier addresses: automatically prefix bare address-field entries with http://, following @ghaerr's suggestion.
• Updated installation/help: put assets under /lib/elksweb, with the legacy /root/welcome.htm fallback. Thanks to @ghaerr for the layout suggestion and @djohanse for networking-startup feedback. The welcome page now includes HTTPedia alongside FrogFind and 68k.news.

Full attributed changelog.

Downloads

• ELKSWeb-0.2-runtime.tar.gz: recommended first installation; compiled browser, welcome HTML, GIF logo and consolidated notices.
• elksweb: the same compiled executable separately, for existing installations.
• ELKSWeb-0.2-source.tar.gz: corresponding browser and ELKS/libc source.
• .sha256 sidecars and SHA256SUMS: verify the exact downloads.

Download and verify on a modern computer. Install the executable as /bin/elksweb with mode 755; create /lib/elksweb and copy the runtime's lib/elksweb/ files there. Run elksweb --version (it should report 0.2), then elksweb from the ELKS console. Configure networking and run net start before browsing HTTP sites. Keep notices and corresponding source available with redistribution.

This is an application package for an existing compatible ELKS installation; no new operating-system image is included. Installation instructions. The lightweight external builder and separate audited developer builder are both retained.

Validation and remaining limits

• Automated: 303 browser tests, six font tests, 18 platform tests; GIF differential checks covering 32 images, minimal-file truncations and 1,000 mutations.
• Native build: matching audited/external binaries, passing 8086 ISA and memory audits. Code 64,192 bytes leaves 1,344 bytes of code-segment headroom. Near allocation is 60,544 of 65,520 bytes before arguments/environment.
• Emulator: exact release executable, updated default welcome page and fixed FrogFind GIF fixture reviewed in QEMU CGA/EGA/VGA, normal and inverted, with a usable console after exit. QEMU uses a 486 CPU; this is not physical 8088 certification.
• Hardware: @l00nix reported improved mouse movement, readable fonts and much better link-click behavior in PPC 512 development candidates. The PicoMEM 2 setup reported 735 KiB RAM, not an unexpanded 512 KiB minimum. The newly versioned release binary has not received a separate hardware retest. HP 200LX and community Compaq Portable Plus results remain historical 0.1 evidence.

Large-page parsing and some loading/input delays remain. The 86Box cold-boot exit anomaly is unresolved, and broader hardware/flicker coverage is still needed. HTTP only; no TLS, CSS or JavaScript. GIFs display their first frame; JPEG/PNG pixels are not decoded. HTTPedia DNS/site availability was not established in recent development checks. Feedback with machine details, version, checksum and reproduction steps is welcome.

Source commit: 42430864279d554f805fcf1f861294932f8b3697. Executable: 78,080 bytes. SHA256: 77d8bef423f030e78cf76c17c052984ab84a0af41a2bb7b3b27d663ce9786519.