Microsoft used IE11 as the basis to create the EdgeHTML rendering engine powering Spartan

[Shawn Knight]

Twenty years is an eternity in tech time but that’s how long it’s been since Microsoft first introduced Internet Explorer. With nearly a dozen major revisions under its belt, the venerable web browser carries a legacy that few have been able to match.

Its successor, Spartan, is a name you’re no doubt familiar with by now. What first surfaced as a rumor late last year was officially confirmed by Microsoft as a brand new web browser during last week’s Windows 10 preview event.

Spartan will be quite different from Internet Explorer primarily because it is going to be powered by a new rendering engine, EdgeHTML. Jacob Rossi, the senior engineer of Microsoft’s web platform team, recently penned an article for Smashing Magazine that details the development process for Spartan.

Rossi and his team used Internet Explorer 11’s standards support as the baseline for Spartan. He notes that much of what bogged down Internet Explorer’s engine, Trident, as of late was legacy support. As such, that was the first thing to go.

Over a period of several months, the team pared-down legacy code in IE. Code that got cut included document modes, the subsystem responsible for emulating IE8 layout quirks, VBScript, attachEvent, X-UA-Compatible and currentStyle.

What was left was more or less a clean slate to work with which provided the basis for a modern browser built with interoperability and standards at its core. Rossi highlights the fact that his team has fixed more than 3,000 interoperability issues – some of which date back to the 90s. All of that is in addition to the 40+ new standards they’re adding.

Of course, eliminating a ton of legacy code means you’re doing away with a ton of compatibility. For that reason, Microsoft isn’t ditching its Trident engine but instead is going with a dual-engine approach where either engine can be loaded. Windows 10 will use EdgeHTML as its default for the web, only reverting to Trident when necessary for legacy enterprise sites.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/59540-microsoft-used-ie11-basis-create-edgehtml-rendering-engine.html

 

[treeski]

This plus confirmed extension support and other cool features should make for a great browser.

 

[Railman]

Cutting out all that legacy code will mean that it is very unlikely it will be adopted by business for the foreseeable future. It will probably be 3 to 5 years before any Oracle application will work with it!

 

[yorro]

I thought they would rebrand IE?

 

[cliffordcooley]

Cutting out all that legacy code will mean that it is very unlikely it will be adopted by business for the foreseeable future. It will probably be 3 to 5 years before any Oracle application will work with it!

It is my understanding that is not a concern, because Spartan open IE11 when needed. Unless IE11 doesn't handle legacy code, I don't see this as a problem.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I read a lot about this new browser of their's but somehow I doubt it'll entice me to ditch Chrome, it's just too good, spying and all. It'll probably be a good alternative to Firefox though, most browsers usually are.

 

[Guest]

Whence the multiple engine approach . . . it will retain the legacy compatibility but only initialize it if there is requirement to do so from the page.

It will be interesting to see how it works, I.e. what will pull the Trident engine to be started.
1) If it sees a particular type of coding on the page
2) manual
3) maybe an option to code in the css/html to do this?

 

[cliffordcooley]

somehow I doubt it'll entice me to ditch Chrome, it's just too good, spying and all. It'll probably be a good alternative to Firefox though, most browsers usually are.

All browsers are good alternatives to each other. They are all good in their own way, which is why they all have followers. But to talk about IE spying while using Chrome is a bit hypocritical.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

All browsers are good alternatives to each other. They are all good in their own way, which is why they all have followers. But to talk about IE spying while using Chrome is a bit hypocritical.

I was talking about Chrome spying, not IE. Although all browsers spy you have to use something, it's just a matter of choosing between the lesser of the evils so you're typically left with Hobson's Choice.

 

[SNGX1275]

Cutting out all that legacy code will mean that it is very unlikely it will be adopted by business for the foreseeable future. It will probably be 3 to 5 years before any Oracle application will work with it!

It is my understanding that is not a concern, because Spartan open IE11 when needed. Unless IE11 doesn't handle legacy code, I don't see this as a problem.

The article said it will retain MSHTML for legacy enterprise applications, FTA

Of course, eliminating a ton of legacy code means you’re doing away with a ton of compatibility. For that reason, Microsoft isn’t ditching its Trident engine but instead is going with a dual-engine approach where either engine can be loaded. Windows 10 will use EdgeHTML as its default for the web, only reverting to Trident when necessary for legacy enterprise sites.

Sounds to me like it isn't an issue AND it won't open IE11 - perhaps you could argue that is essentially what is happening (opening IE11), but the way that reads indicates it will be in the same window, not opening something different.

 

[Kibaruk]

I giggle everytime someone "prefers" Chrome over other browsers.

And yes, it says it will have two different engines for speed/compatibility purposes, so I doubt it will have problems with legacy and it won't "open" two different explorers as someones suggested.

Only time will tell. I do have to use IE on my company computer and it's not bad at all but the customization other clients have is way better (Or I'm simply used to them).