W3C reveals first HTML5 conformance tests, IE9 surprises

[Jos]

The Worldwide Web Consortium has released the first test results for browsers’ HTML5 conformance and it looks like Microsoft has been doing a great job supporting the latest set of web standards. Taking into account seven aspects of HTML5 specifications -- "attributes", "audio", "video", "canvas", "getElementsByClassName", "foreigncontent," and "xhtml5" -- the latest development milestone of Internet Explorer 9 (Platform Preview 6) managed a perfect score in no less than five categories and overall showed the best adherence to HTML5 standards of all tested browsers.

According to W3C results, the only rival to come close to IE9 is Google Chrome 7.0.517.41 Beta, with a perfect score for compliance in four categories. Next in line are Firefox 4 Beta 6 and Opera 10.60 with 100% scores for three categories, while Safari 5.0.7533.16 sits at the bottom with the lowest HTML5 compliance level of all browsers – which is ironic considering Apple has been championing the new standard as a possible replacement for Adobe Flash.

Feature	IE Platform Preview 6	Chrome 7.0.517.41 beta	Firefox 4 Beta 6	Opera 11.00 alpha (build 1029)	Safari 5.0.2 (6533.18.5)
attributes	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
audio	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
canvas	89.55%	80.6%	75.32%	85.35%	86.16%
getElementsByClassName	83.33%	100%	94.12%	94.44%	88.89%
foreigncontent	100%	100%	100%	0%	10%
video	100%	92.86%	71.43%	78.57%	71.43%
xhtml5	100%	42.86%	85.71%	100%	42.86%

The tests do not yet cover other aspects of the HTML5 spec such as web workers, the file API or local storage. Nevertheless it goes to show how much Microsoft’s attitude towards web standards has changed in recent months and that the company is ready to challenge IE’s reputation as the thorn in the side of web developers.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/40956-w3c-reveals-first-html5-conformance-tests-ie9-surprises.html

 

[63Jax]

maybe i will adopt ie if all thing run smooth

 

[Demons]

I've been a big fan of chrome since it came out but I still find the need to open up IE every now and again with certain sites. This is good news for M$.

 

[frodough]

AMD is coming back w/ they new CPUs, WinMo is coming back with WP7, IE is coming back with 9... everything is upside down again.

 

[TwiztidSef]

I still don't think i will be switching from mozilla and chrome. I don't see IE9 being much use on a desktop. They still have to get user generated addons and such.

I do, however, see IE9 being really good on ipad and other mobile devices. Mainly stuff that doesn't support flash or java for whatever reason.

 

[uttaradhaka]

This shows that all the browsers are taking HTML5 into serious consideration as an emerging technology. This means that when the transition is in full force, most internet users will be able to jump on the bandwagon, no matter which browser they are using.

And also, I think geeks everywhere have dreams about the day when Adobe Flash Player crashes and vulnerabilities will be a thing of the past.

Bring on the future!!

 

[treeski]

I'm still hopeful for IE9! The current beta LOOKS good... just lacking in functionality majorly.

 

[peterbezemer]

well, if it's as fast as chrome (or opera) i'll take it!

 

[Burty117]

I have to admit, this does look promising! SO far (i'm using the beta) IE9 seems rather promising.
Although it doesn't have user generated content like FF does it is actually suprisingly quick!

It would be nice to install Windows and NOT have a rubish browser to deal with.

Plus when all my clients update to IE9 far less crashing and a faster experience I will have no work left to do!

 

[motrin]

Demons said:
I've been a big fan of chrome since it came out but I still find the need to open up IE every now and again with certain sites. This is good news for MS.

this is also me. But i do wan't to use IE more it just feels sluggish.

 

[Guest]

I have always used IE, so I will be continueing to use IE9 when it comes out. I hate to switch browsers to look at certain websites. IE shows them all, and that is why I like it.

 

[hassaan]

Doesn't look like a fair test to me. It says Chrome and Firefox are in beta and it looks like IE9 is a stable release. So how can you test each one when only one of them is a stable version and the others are in text phase?

 

[OneArmedScissor]

That is actually the current "stable" version of Chrome. The current "preview" channel is actually well into version 8, and even those almost never have usability issues.

As for Firefox, I don't know, as I haven't even seen version 4, but I would think a 6th beta that they've been sitting on for a bit ought to have the kinks worked out by now.

They're probably just testing what's common for people who update browsers to use. Nobody said it had to be fair. If they test everything, you just get a big mess of a chart that still won't be relevant once these things actually are in the real world.

 

[Guest]

Since chrome doesnt have a default zoom feature or a print preview funtion, I hope some day IE isnt so %&$" slow in comparison.

 

[Rick IE Team]

For anyone who hasn't tested the IE9 Beta yet you can go to http://www.beautyoftheweb.com and download the Beta and test it out on HTML5 pages you find. Or for those of you who are developers you can go to http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/ and download the Platform Preview 6 and test your designs performance there.

Cheers,
Rick
IE Outreach Team

 

[kevin1212]

Using ie9 beta and am pretty satisfied. Chrome is my backup. Not a mozilla fan. Regardless what browser i use really doesn't matter much to me. As ie is readily available, i'll use that. If it aint broke dont fix it. In terms of speed and features, i really couldn't ask for much more from any browser. I like chrome since it asks for very little system resources.

 

[lawfer]

That's pretty impressive, I must admit. But...

These tests mean almost nothing, performance-wise. Which is exactly where IE is lacking. HTML5 compliance? Meh, that's just a matter of adapting to an still-in-development web standard.

But high performance and functionality? That's not that easy, now is it Microsoft?

 

[MervynBrittan]

I was waiting for it

 

[Guest]

@lawfur: you're right, these tests don't describe performance. But if you'd maybe read some performance reviews or try it out yourself before you spew unrelated garbage, you'd see IE9 is not "lacking" performance. In fact, quite the contrary.

@hassan: Platform Preview means the same as "stable release"? I musta missed that memo.

 

[crzydave]

IE surprises. Have been a chrome user myself for a while now but used IE before that. Will see what the future has to hold for these web browsers.

 

[Razerblade]

I can't say I am hugely surprised as all of the IE 9 previews were showing how good the browser was with HTML5 etc. I have been using the beta build of this, and I must say I am very impressed. I was using Chrome and Firefox before IE 9 as the previous version of IE were horrible. Microsoft really have done it again, just like they did with Windows 7!

 

[madboyv1]

When something bad happens to IE all the IE haters/FF+Chrome lovers come out to say something, and when something "good" happens to IE, the IE lovers/hopeful come out of the woodworks. Just an interesting observation.

 

[blimp01]

ive always used IE and hope it gets better

 

[Elitassj4]

I'm sticking to Firefox, in the final version it will be much better

 

[TeamworkGuy2]

Impressive. The options for browsers are really opening up.
I do not like the IE8 layout and I do not like what I have seen of the IE9 layout.
Everything I do works well on Firefox and Chrome, so I still have no reason to switch back to IE.