A short history of ADsafe

ADsafe addressed a concrete web problem: how could a page include useful guest scripts without giving them the whole page? The historical project associated with Douglas Crockford answered with a restricted language and carefully granted capabilities.

The original project

The original site described a JavaScript subset for third-party advertising and widgets. Its documentation linked the verifier to JSLint and described the runtime object supplied by the host. The emphasis was useful guest interaction within a bounded fragment, rather than allowing arbitrary JavaScript and trying to undo its effects afterward.

The 2020 homepage capture retains the original green presentation, an ALPHA label, widget and DOM documentation links, and Roman and Sudoku examples. That label belongs to the captured page. It should not be interpreted as a modern release channel, a measured security rating or a statement that a particular saved source file is current.

The records used in this edition

The restoration brief identifies the original ADsafe era as 2007–2020. A supplied archive index records a homepage capture in 2007; the selected homepage snapshot is from 12 May 2020. Captures establish what the archive observed at particular URLs and times. They do not establish an uninterrupted maintenance history or an exact first release date.

The saved widget documentation explains the root DIV, prefixed IDs, final startup script and approved-library sequence. The saved DOM documentation explains query hunters and filters, bunch objects, setters, getters and events. Those documents provide the basis for the new getting-started guide and API reference.

The bundled unminified runtime has a header dated 2017-06-12. It includes a public-domain notice and an express warranty disclaimer. That date identifies this source artifact; it is not a version number or evidence of the project’s last update. The source page keeps the files and notices available for inspection.

A subject of security research

The archived homepage links papers about JavaScript sandboxing, API analysis and capability leakage, including work titled ADsafety: Type-Based Verification of JavaScript Sandboxing. Their presence shows the research context presented by the original site. This history does not infer security guarantees from a paper title or claim that every research result applies to the bundled source.

What the current edition represents

This independent educational reference is edited by ADsafe Editorial. New explanations distinguish original documentation, observations from the saved source and modern conceptual comparisons. The interactive exercises are newly written and labeled accordingly. They are not original archived widgets, verified guests or a security certification.

Original-era routes such as widget.html and dom.html lead to their corresponding reference pages. The purpose is to make the original JavaScript subject understandable while preserving useful historical paths. For the conceptual background, continue with JavaScript sandboxing explained.