WebKit becomes first browser engine to fully pass Acid3 test

[AppleInsider]

Maciej Stachowiak of the WebKit team has announced that the browser engine behind Safari is the first to fully pass the Acid3 test, including the test's condition of smooth animation rendering.

Acid3 is a test page from the Web Standards Project that scores how well a rendering engine follows defined web standards, particularly DOM and JavaScript. The test provided a metric for standards compliance that has resulted in rapid advancement among various rendering engines as each works to earn the top score.

In March, both Safari's WebKit and Opera's Presto announced earning a 100% score in developer builds of their browser. In addition to the numbered score, the test also requires the browser render a test page with pixel perfect accuracy using its default settings and that it render a smooth test animation.

Today, the development build of WebKit passed that last hurdle, which Stachowiak reported was due to "recent speedups in JavaScript, DOM and rendering."

Actual shipping builds of the world's various web browsers haven't yet reached 100%. According to figures in Wikipedia, the latest Safari 3.1.2 has a score of 75, while Firefox 3.0.2 has reached 71, Opera 9.52 has reached 84, and Internet Explorer 7 is at 14.

In internal builds, the Safari 4.0 Developer Preview has reached 100, while the latest build of Firefox Gecko engine has reached 87, the latest build of Opera earns 99, Google's new Chrome beta has reached 79, and the Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 scores 21.

Among mobile browsers, the shipping version of Safari in iPhone 2.1 reaches 74, while the Netfront browser hits 11, Opera Mobile reaches 2, Opera Mini has hit 79. Pocket Internet Explorer can't run the test due to a lack of JavaScript support.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[aruiz0255]

blah blah blah blah blah.

[aruiz0255]

Internet Explorer 7 is at 14.
Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 scores 21.
Pocket Internet Explorer can't run the test due to a lack of JavaScript support.
shows how good Microsoft really is.

[VinitaBoy]

How erudite of you, aruiz0255! (No doubt your comment was written on a PC using IE; but, then again, you DO know how to use copy and paste, huh?)

[sfitzjava]

http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog...the-acid3-test

Right, so like March 2quarter ago doesn't really matter.....

So like 100/100 isn't like a perfect score, and doing it in record time is like so yesterday.

Nice try apple. sorry but too late once again.

Oh hows that java working on your iphone.... oh that's right you can't figure out how to support that.... lazy bastards!!!!!!

=TheJava!!

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by sfitzjava

http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog...the-acid3-test

Right, so like March 2quarter ago doesn't really matter.....

So like 100/100 isn't like a perfect score, and doing it in record time is like so yesterday.

Nice try apple. sorry but too late once again. ...

Wrong!

Actually, Safari hit 100/100 just *before* the Opera event you quote.

This latest milestone is 100/100 with the smooth animation on top. Of course if you read the article and knew anything about the race to beat Acid 3, you might know that.

[ascii]

Originally Posted by sfitzjava

So like 100/100 isn't like a perfect score, and doing it in record time is like so yesterday.

100/100 is a perfect score, but just getting a perfect score does not pass the test. You have to get a perfect score and do it smoothly. This was what the test creators said, otherwise you don't pass.

[aruiz0255]

Originally Posted by VinitaBoy

How erudite of you, aruiz0255! (No doubt your comment was written on a PC using IE; but, then again, you DO know how to use copy and paste, huh?)

pc until oct.14 hopefully..firefox.
troll'd.

[Paolo Bosetti]

For what it worths, I downloaded Safari beta 4 (build 5526.11.2) on 12 aug 2008, and it passes Acid3 with a perfect score and smooth animation...
Cheers,
-P.

[wheelhot]

Who cares with who gets 100 in Acid3 first? The point is, WebKit and Presto is fully standard compliant.

Oh yea, erm...when people mention the major browsers, people only mention, IE, Firefox and Safari. Its a lil bit sad that eventhough Opera Presto passed Acid3 test with flying colors, no one really talk about it.

[knightlie]

Originally Posted by wheelhot

Who cares with who gets 100 in Acid3 first? The point is, WebKit and Presto is fully standard compliant.

It's a test of the user experience. Browsers have a lot of work to do with images, animations and Javascript, the Acid test demonstrates how well they can do that work.

Oh yea, erm...when people mention the major browsers, people only mention, IE, Firefox and Safari. Its a lil bit sad that eventhough Opera Presto passed Acid3 test with flying colors, no one really talk about it.

I agree, I used to love Opera and still do. They just don't seem to do enough to publicise it. It's a shame really, I only stopped using it because of problems using some secure sites like PayPal, otherwise I would replace Firefox with it.

[knightlie]

Originally Posted by sfitzjava

http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog...the-acid3-test

Right, so like March 2quarter ago doesn't really matter.....

So like 100/100 isn't like a perfect score, and doing it in record time is like so yesterday.

Nice try apple. sorry but too late once again.

Oh hows that java working on your iphone.... oh that's right you can't figure out how to support that.... lazy bastards!!!!!!

=TheJava!!

Too many trolls....

[Walter Slocombe]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Internet Explorer 7 is at 14.

just, just

WOW

the WOW starts, now?

[jpellino]

...If the folks in Redmond actually get on the web to see their browser dead last, but I think that statistic illustrates the very problem. They can't stand to sit through a image-intensive / javascript session either.

[supremedesigner]

Originally Posted by VinitaBoy

How erudite of you, aruiz0255! (No doubt your comment was written on a PC using IE; but, then again, you DO know how to use copy and paste, huh?)

How the heck did you know?!

[supremedesigner]

Actually, which Safari? Only on mac, right? I re-read the article and never said if it was 100% on mac or on PC or both? I assumed it's for mac only?

[dacloo]

ACID3 tests a lot of SVG. People often see Acid as 'the thing that makes a browser good/perfect' but in fact it just tests a small part of mostly rendering aspects of the browser.

....Which doesnt mean it's not a good thing. I'm glad there are tests like these.

[Endymion]

Here's a comparison of browsers and Acid3.

http://www.anomalousanomaly.com/2008/03/06/acid-3/

[Galley]

I love Opera, and used it back in my PC days, but they really need to do something about that interface.

[Zandros]

Originally Posted by wheelhot

Who cares with who gets 100 in Acid3 first? The point is, WebKit and Presto is fully standard compliant.

Not yet.

/Adrian

[palegolas]

I can't help smiling when I read this article. It just tries to state fact. But even so my Apple tainted mind smiles, realizing there is no need to direct spicy comments at Microsoft when the fact speak for itself

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by dacloo

ACID3 tests a lot of SVG. People often see Acid as 'the thing that makes a browser good/perfect' but in fact it just tests a small part of mostly rendering aspects of the browser.

....Which doesnt mean it's not a good thing. I'm glad there are tests like these.

It is *a* test of standards compliance, though possibly the most rigorous one available. As I understand it, it tests a lot of corner cases, but hopefully that means that most normal stuff has a better chance of being rendered properly.

Originally Posted by wheelhot

Who cares with who gets 100 in Acid3 first? The point is, WebKit and Presto is fully standard compliant.

Oh yea, erm...when people mention the major browsers, people only mention, IE, Firefox and Safari. Its a lil bit sad that eventhough Opera Presto passed Acid3 test with flying colors, no one really talk about it.

I don't think a bit of competitiveness between those teams hurt.

I don't know about Opera. It's nice that they are out there giving people another option, it's not as if there are too many major programs that do this. Maybe it just means either they can't market themselves out of a paper bag or not many really like their product. It's not a bad program, I just don't like it. Outside of some gimmick a few years ago, it seems like they aren't out promoting their product.

[heffeque]

Originally Posted by Endymion

Here's a comparison of browsers and Acid3.

http://www.anomalousanomaly.com/2008/03/06/acid-3/

LOL! It's funny to see that IE 5.5 does better than IE 6 and 7 xD

[jasenj1]

Sadly, with IE performing so poorly I think it shows ACID doesn't matter - to the universe at large. IE still has the lion's share of the browser market, if it doesn't work in IE, it doesn't work. You can explain till you're blue in the face to any computer illiterate person, manager, or CIO why IE is mockably bad and they won't care or understand. Microsoft is the de facto standard and IE is from MS, therefore whatever IE does is right.

- Jasen.

[Lafe]

Originally Posted by jasenj1

Sadly, with IE performing so poorly I think it shows ACID doesn't matter - to the universe at large. IE still has the lion's share of the browser market, if it doesn't work in IE, it doesn't work. You can explain till you're blue in the face to any computer illiterate person, manager, or CIO why IE is mockably bad and they won't care or understand. Microsoft is the de facto standard and IE is from MS, therefore whatever IE does is right.

- Jasen.

Using the terms "computer illiterate person", "manager", and "CIO" in the same
sentence is somewhat redundant. Any one of those terms would have strongly
implied the other two, right?

[heffeque]

Originally Posted by jasenj1

Sadly, with IE performing so poorly I think it shows ACID doesn't matter - to the universe at large. IE still has the lion's share of the browser market, if it doesn't work in IE, it doesn't work. You can explain till you're blue in the face to any computer illiterate person, manager, or CIO why IE is mockably bad and they won't care or understand. Microsoft is the de facto standard and IE is from MS, therefore whatever IE does is right.

- Jasen.

Things are changing though. In some countries Firefox is starting to get more share than IE:
http://www.xitimonitor.com/en-us/bro...1-2-3-127.html

[coolfactor]

Originally Posted by Paolo Bosetti

For what it worths, I downloaded Safari beta 4 (build 5526.11.2) on 12 aug 2008, and it passes Acid3 with a perfect score and smooth animation...
Cheers,
-P.

After running the test, click the "A" in Acid on the page and it will display a summary of the test (ie, timing, etc.). This tells you how well it performed. Just the fact that you "thought" it was smooth doesn't mean it was.

[coolfactor]

Originally Posted by sfitzjava

http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog...the-acid3-test

Right, so like March 2quarter ago doesn't really matter.....

So like 100/100 isn't like a perfect score, and doing it in record time is like so yesterday.

Nice try apple. sorry but too late once again.

Oh hows that java working on your iphone.... oh that's right you can't figure out how to support that.... lazy bastards!!!!!!

=TheJava!!

Who really *wants* Java? The only reason it is still used by some developers is because it has functionality that never used to be available to web developers. But that's changed. You can create almost anything with Javascript and web services now.

[wizard69]

Ok long title but really Safari on IPhone is becoming a sore spot. Mostly due to crashes. I can deal with and sort of exspect a lack of features, but one of the supplied feature shouldn't be a crash every five minutes. Honestly you would think that fewer features would mean more stability!

In any event WebKit on the desktop rocks. It is to bad the web kit people don't have a nightly build for IPhone!

dave

[coolfactor]

Originally Posted by wizard69

Ok long title but really Safari on IPhone is becoming a sore spot. Mostly due to crashes. I can deal with and sort of exspect a lack of features, but one of the supplied feature shouldn't be a crash every five minutes. Honestly you would think that fewer features would mean more stability!

In any event WebKit on the desktop rocks. It is to bad the web kit people don't have a nightly build for IPhone!

dave

Submitting crash-prone sites to bugs.webkit.org is probably the best way for you to help resolve this situation.

[Booga]

Originally Posted by coolfactor

Who really *wants* Java? The only reason it is still used by some developers is because it has functionality that never used to be available to web developers. But that's changed. You can create almost anything with Javascript and web services now.

I want Java. You can do a lot more in JavaScript than you used to, but it's still a lot easier to do in Java and get it right. And it would give us Google Street View on the iPhone.

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally Posted by Booga

I want Java. You can do a lot more in JavaScript than you used to, but it's still a lot easier to do in Java and get it right. And it would give us Google Street View on the iPhone.

I can't believe the guy commenting has the balls to compare Javascript with Java and somehow ignores scalability, n-tier designs, so on and so forth.

Javascript will never be Java, nor will it be ObjC, C++, C, Eiffel, Smalltalk, etc.

[lkrupp]

Originally Posted by jasenj1

Sadly, with IE performing so poorly I think it shows ACID doesn't matter - to the universe at large. IE still has the lion's share of the browser market, if it doesn't work in IE, it doesn't work. You can explain till you're blue in the face to any computer illiterate person, manager, or CIO why IE is mockably bad and they won't care or understand. Microsoft is the de facto standard and IE is from MS, therefore whatever IE does is right.

- Jasen.

My sentiments exactly, and much better said. Nothing matters as long as web developers ignore standards and code to make things work on IE while leaving other browsers to conform. The only solution is increased market share and pressure from customers to FORCE the developers to use standards compliant code. Even then they will still have to make sure things work in IE.

And like the poster said you can't convince someone who sees that a website works with IE but not with Safari that it is the website's fault and not Safari. They can't even comprehend such an argument.

[bloggerblog]

Originally Posted by jasenj1

Sadly, with IE performing so poorly I think it shows ACID doesn't matter - to the universe at large. IE still has the lion's share of the browser market, if it doesn't work in IE, it doesn't work. You can explain till you're blue in the face to any computer illiterate person, manager, or CIO why IE is mockably bad and they won't care or understand. Microsoft is the de facto standard and IE is from MS, therefore whatever IE does is right.

- Jasen.

That is absolutely correct, and I think that is the purpose of browsers such as Chrome, which is to try and dethrone IE. The more browsers pass the ACID test, the more IE would be forced to follow, or maybe not.