IE9 preview touts enhanced HTML5

 

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By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 24 Jun 2010 at 12:06

Microsoft has released a third platform preview update for Internet Explorer 9, showing off improved HTML5 performance and hardware acceleration.

According to Microsoft, the work-in-progress Internet Explorer 9 will support Canvas graphics technology and other audio-visual tags laid out in the HTML 5 standard.

As part of its schedule of releasing developer updates every eight weeks, Microsoft showed off performance enhancements and said that deeper integration of IE9 into the Windows operating system made better use of a PC’s power.

“Because some browsers run on many different operating systems, there can be a tendency to use a “least common denominator” approach to implementing HTML5,” said Dean Hachamovitch, Internet Explorer general manager in a blog post.

“By using more of the underlying operating system, and taking advantage of the power of the whole PC, IE9 enables developers to do more with HTML5. Running through Windows, instead of just on Windows, makes a big difference; the web runs more like a native application," Hachamovitch said.

“This is consistent with our approach of architecting HTML5 support in, from the ground up, rather than just grafting in some HTML5 features,” he said, adding that interested developer could take a test drive of the new additions.

Rival browser manufacturers, however, said that Microsoft’s HTML5 improvements were simply a sign that the company was catching up.

“When Opera began the work that became the HTML5 specification, we were dreaming of a truly interoperable web,” said Opera’s Bruce Lawson. “We are delighted that six years later, Microsoft is starting to share our vision.”

As well as HTML5, Microsoft also said the update included JavaScript performance gains and that a test drive was available for developers.