Microsoft recently revealed the latest test version of Internet Explorer 10, which is going to be the stock browser to ship with the highly-anticipated Windows 8 system. The current release uses the same IE engine that was displayed in the initial demo of Windows 8.
Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview 2, the formal name for the release, uses a number of new capabilities provided by HTML5, optimizes the performance capabilities of HTML5 and adds a number of security options for various Web-based and Web-dependent applications.
The previews from Microsoft started in delivering a lead-up to IE9, but using bare-bones engines for developers to try site code on. Platform Preview 1 for IE10 was let loose on developers during April’s MIX11 conference for developers to get their hands on it. In a statement, Microsoft IE team member Ryan Gavin said that “we continue to get a lot of good feedback from developers on the balance that we’re striking between openness and transparency, while respecting developers’ time as we deliver meaningful updates with the Platform Previews.”
The current strategy is a contrast to the strategy of open source browsers, usually described as “nightly release.”
HTML5 as a developer platform is a bit of a contradiction, however. For one thing, while it was designed and meant to be used as a cross-platform compatible specification, the disparity among the browsers that do support it is greater than almost anything else on the market. Every browser has instead chosen to use some variation of the standard, such that an HTML5 page will display incorrectly except for one specific browser. The problem isn’t getting browsers to respond to HTML5 calls – that has never been that much of a concern – but whether or not the features can be implemented correctly.
Incidentally, despite Windows 8 using HTML5 as a main developer platform, IE10 actually scores very poorly on HTML5Test.com – the site used to measure how compatible a browser is with the code – compared to the currently-available competition. The Microsoft team has apparently worked extensively with the governing standards body of the Internet, the @3C. The second Platform Preview does bring in features new to HTML5 support, but many of them were updates for functionality other browsers already had.
HTML5 for IE has played catch-up in the form of drag-and-drop functionality, file readers and Web workers. The last is a function that lets Web-based applications to run processes in the background without affecting front-end performance. New features in IE10 that use HTML5 support include Channel Messaging and Page visibility, which allows developers to see when a page is visible, rather than in the background or kept minimized. The last tool is useful because it allows developers to allocate processing power more effectively, improving the performance of other software while browsing.
A new – and so far, unique – feature for IE10 is the HTML5 Sandbox and iframe isation. This allows developers to effectively “box off” elements of a site, preventing it from initiating any actions or effects – or doing damage. The Sandbox can, for instance, be used to cut off third=party ad services and protect users from potential malware that might be present.
As per their standard methodology, Microsoft has chosen to let the new browser engine become available and published a few demos to show off what it can do.
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