Recently, the likes of Google, Apple, Mozilla, and Microsoft announced Project Interop 2024, which aims to make web browsers more interoperable. The objective is to put the discrepancies behind us rendering from the Web pages that still remain. If on the one hand the lack of adherence to the standards for the Web it’s a thing of the past, the richer applications we have to deal with in recent years can still show different behaviors, with the same code, on the various browsers. With some features that aren’t even supported.
Edge shows differences with other web browsers
The development team of Microsoft Edge presented one dashboard which collects the most “popular” requests from Web developers and photographs the differences that remain with competing products.
The new tool made available by the Redmond company will serve as an additional platform for help developers to make their voices heard on specific critical issues. The goal is once again to to monitor the discrepancies that persist between different browsers and fill the residual sofas in terms of interoperability.
Microsoft explains that, through a process of listening to webmasters and web developers, it was possible to arrive at a more precise understanding of the challenges posed by the lack of broad support for many API (Application Programming Interface) fundamentals. The Redmond company refers above all to APIs that cannot be replaced through techniques polyfilling (i.e., adding code to emulate missing functionality) and those that offer new architectural opportunities.
The areas of greatest interest
According to what Microsoft reports in its note, the areas of greatest interest for Web developers – i.e. those that have attracted the attention of those who create code for sites and applications – have to do with the following categories:
- View Transitions: This expression refers to the ability to smoothly and effectively manage transitions between views and elements within each web page. Think of visual effects such as fading, blurring, and moving elements when switching between one page to another or when certain actions are activated within the page itself.
- Navigation API: It is an application programming interface (API) that allows sites and applications to manage user navigation in an advanced way. This includes controlling browser behavior when a user navigates forward or backward through their browsing session history, managing URL paths, and other features that help sites provide a more personalized and integrated browsing experience.
- Custom Paint API: An API that allows developers to define and use custom rendering modes for web page elements. This means that developers can write code to draw custom graphics or visual effects directly inside an HTML element, providing greater creative control over the appearance and behavior of elements on the page.
- Scroll-driven animations: Animations triggered or changed in response to the user scrolling the page. As the user scrolls down on the page, animations such as changing size, moving, or transitioning elements may occur.
- Container queries: The term refers to the ability to apply CSS styles based on the size and characteristics of the container enclosing the elements, rather than the size of the browser or device. This allows developers to design responsive and adaptive web layouts more precisely.
The dashboard related to Edge, represents Microsoft’s vision for advancing the Web ecosystem toward solving key developer issues and closing key gap in terms of interoperability. The information collected will help shape the future Interop 2025 project.