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| Browser compatibility brings Microsoft and Google closer together |
Microsoft and Google today announced that they will work together to identify and resolve important inconsistencies in the web browser.
The two companies have joined forces with Compat2021, a new, multi-browser program designed to improve browser compatibility for web developers.
Microsoft said: We are very excited to work with Google, Igalia and the wider web community to allocate resources for Compat 2021. The goal is to make key improvements in five areas, one of which is browser compatibility.
She added: Our joint working group has identified the priority areas mentioned above based on feature usage data, number of bugs in each vendor tracking system, various survey opinions, CanIUse data and test results for web platforms.
Web developers are familiar with these five main areas and they all relate to a technology called Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), which is used to describe the visual design of web applications and websites.
The five most important areas are:
- Flexbox CSS.
- CSS Grid.
- CSS position: Pinned.
- CSS aspect ratio property.
- CSS Transform.
According to Google, these new efforts build on the earlier work of companies like Microsoft, Mozilla, and Google.
Google said: In 2020, Chromium will start addressing key areas to improve Chromium browser compatibility, and in 2021 we will start moving forward.
This year, the team is working to help Chromium pass 100% CSS Grid testing, improve interoperability between browsers, and help filter web platform tests.
Project progress in web platform testing can be tracked through the Compat 2021 dashboard, and Edge users can report compatibility issues through the Submit Web Browser Feedback tool for assistance.
She added: Google and Microsoft are working with Igalia to solve major Chromium issues. Igalia frequently contributes to Chromium and WebKit and monitors official WebKit ports for in-car devices. Igalia has always supported and shared this alignment. Work to help solve problems that are discovered and tracked.
There are many areas that Microsoft and Google can compete with. However, after Microsoft chooses an open source project as the basis for the new Edge browser, the two companies are working together to improve Chromium browser compatibility.
The old Edge browser that started with Windows 10 in 2015 is out of date. With Microsoft's update this month, the browser has been removed from all supported OS versions.