Mozilla and Google Team Up to Bring Rust-Based JPEG-XL Decoding toFirefox
Mozilla, the organization behind the Firefox web browser, has announced its intentionto explore a Rust-based implementation of the JPEG-XL image decoding format. This move comes after months of discussions with Google’s JPEG-XL team,highlighting a potential shift in the landscape of image compression technology.
The decision stems from concerns about the security of the current C++-based JPEG-XLdecoder, which has over 100,000 lines of code and presents a large attack surface. Mozilla’s Chief Technology Officer, Bobby Holley, expressed these concerns in a pull request on the Mozilla Standards Positions repository. He stated that Firefox will consider a Rust implementation of JPEG-XL, highlighting the potential benefits of a Rust-based solution.
In the past few months, we’ve had some productive conversations with the JPEG-XL teamat Google Research about the future of the format in Firefox, Holley explained. Our biggest concern has long been the growing attack surface of the reference decoder (currently behind a prefix in Firefox Nightly), with its 100,000+ lines of multi-threaded C++ code. To address this, the Google team has agreed to leverage their expertise to build a secure, high-performance, compact, and compatible JPEG-XL decoder in Rust, and to integrate it into Firefox. If they successfully contribute an implementation that meets these characteristics and our normal production requirements, we will release it.
This collaboration between Mozilla andGoogle is particularly interesting given the history of JPEG-XL and Chrome. Google previously removed support for JPEG-XL from Chrome and Chromium, leaving many to wonder if they would reconsider their stance. The development of a Rust-based JPEG-XL decoder by Google could indicate a renewed interest in the format for Chrome, especially ifit proves to be a secure and efficient solution.
However, the possibility remains that Google’s Rust-based JPEG-XL decoder will only be used by Firefox and other non-Google software. This scenario would be ironic, given Google’s role in the development of the format.
Regardless of the outcome,the collaboration between Mozilla and Google is a positive development for the future of JPEG-XL. The potential for a secure, high-performance, and widely adopted JPEG-XL decoder is significant, and the use of Rust could provide a significant advantage in terms of memory safety and code stability.
The coming months will be crucialin determining the fate of JPEG-XL and its potential impact on the web. If Google does indeed contribute a Rust-based JPEG-XL decoder to Firefox, it could signal a significant shift in the landscape of image compression technology, paving the way for a more secure and efficient web.
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