In the rather rarefied atmosphere of web standards compliance, the Acid3 suite of browser tests is like a pro wrestler's chair to the back of the head: if you can take it and keep standing, that's very impressive. The Acid3 suite, first released at the beginning of this month, pushes browsers to the very edges of their rendering, SVG, CSS and DOM scripting capabilities -- all necessary for a consistent and interoperable Web 2.0 experience.
As with the earlier Acid2 test, there's been a bit of a horserace among browser development teams to be the first to the finish line with Acid3, including the WebKit squad responsible for Safari's underlying engine; Acid3 dev Ian Hickson gives major props to Apple and the WebKit devs on his blog, including efforts to clear bugs in the test suite itself (he had to work quite hard to find standards compliance issues in WebKit). On Wednesday evening, both the Opera and WebKit teams declared a 100% score -- not a full pass, as there are minor issues to clean up, but nevertheless the test looks like it should. With the Mac nightly build of WebKit available for download, you too can feel the power of this fully operational web standards battle station.
[A quick clarification: While both Opera and WebKit have claimed 100% on Acid3, only one of the browsers -- WebKit -- has a publicly downloadable version right now that can make that score. Opera's build won't be released for another week or so.]
Thanks Adam
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-27-2008 @ 12:44AM
Will said...
Just a reminder, Acid3 is more focused on 100 specific bugs, most of which are relatively minor. As much as we may wish it wasn't true, this doesn't mean Safari renders perfectly now. It doesn't. Neither does any other browser, but having a perfect score doesn't mean we should stop pushing for further improvements. Same goes for FF and Opera, even if they hit a "perfect" score. Same would go for IE if that were even a remote possibility.
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3-27-2008 @ 3:19AM
Viper007Bond said...
IE8 actually passes the Acid2 test:
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2007/12/19/internet-explorer-8-and-acid2-a-milestone.aspx
No clue about Acid3...
3-27-2008 @ 6:46AM
Brent said...
IE7 actually got a 12! :)
3-27-2008 @ 8:50AM
Michael Rose said...
Also, to be clear, the shipping version of Safari 3.1 for Windows and Mac is NOT passing the Acid3 test -- only the WebKit nightly build is passing it.
3-27-2008 @ 10:27AM
TydalForce said...
IE8 got 18. Compared to Brent's 12 for IE7, I'd say Microsoft really is becoming more standards-compliant!
3-27-2008 @ 11:50AM
Ryan Trevisol said...
I got 51 on Firefox 2.0.13, and 52 on Camino 1.5. Safari 3.1 got 75. I can't install Opera 9.25 or 26 on my iMac (Late 2006), Tiger.11
3-27-2008 @ 1:25AM
Ed said...
Opera claimed to have 100/100 but a bug was found in Acid3 after their claim that will reduce their score to 99/100. As such WebKit wins :)
http://ln.hixie.ch/?start=1206578003&count=1
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3-27-2008 @ 3:10AM
sxtxixtxcxh said...
I have a video of webkit passing acid3 here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=e2SLuJK6M_E
Part of the test is the "smoothness" of the animation as well.
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3-27-2008 @ 3:59AM
Erichd said...
Yeah, so why won't Safari 3.1 work with my bank's Web billpay?
More the point, why won't Apple provide an easy way to downgrade Safari (Safari runs on webkit) for those of us who can't really use it?
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3-27-2008 @ 4:39AM
James Madley said...
Either they don't stick to standards or they're actively blocking WebKit browsers from working.
MySpace, for example, stopped Safari users from using the advanced editor for a while even though it would have technically worked back when Safari 3 first came out.
3-27-2008 @ 5:08AM
Loweded Wookie said...
Actually the new version of Safari has a User Agent list (go to Preferences/Advanced and turn on "Show Develop menu in menu bar" and it is there.
It may be possible to view the site properly by identifying itself as IE or FF.
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3-27-2008 @ 9:08AM
DistortedLoop said...
That user agent setting doesn't seem to work for some sites. Back when Yahoo Mail's "advanced" inbox didn't support Safari, no matter what browser I selected in the user agent menu, I'd get the "unsupported browser" message.
3-27-2008 @ 7:28AM
adammhaile said...
Did Safari for Windows pass as well or just Mac?
I saw tons of rendering issues in the Windows version...Especially with Bank of America's site.
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3-27-2008 @ 7:58AM
KeynoteKen said...
Yes, Safari for Windows passes ACID3 as well. BUT, most existing sites are designed for IE, so rendering issues you may see are likely related to the site providing non-standard HTML specifically for IE.
3-27-2008 @ 8:51AM
Michael Rose said...
Safari has not passed Acid3, on either platform. WebKit's latest nightly build passes. Safari != WebKit. :-)
3-27-2008 @ 9:04AM
Chris Coleman said...
I love Opera, despite the fact that I never use it, and rarely even test my sites in it. My process for making web sites is as follows:
1. Start with Safari and have a perfectly working site.
2. Fix things for Firefox's bugs.
3. Pull my hair out wondering why IE6 and IE7 suck so hard.
4. Open Opera and see what I was expecting.
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3-27-2008 @ 11:55AM
Cyril said...
Well, my freshly downloaded Webkit gives me 99/100 and not the perfect 100... :(
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3-27-2008 @ 12:28PM
Allan MacKenzie-Graham said...
"feel the power of this fully operational web standards battle station."
LOL, I almost snarfed!
Honestly, the best aspect of TUAW is the sense of humor of its contributors. Makes it a pleasure to read. Thanks, Mike. You made my day! :)
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3-27-2008 @ 12:32PM
Nikax said...
68 for Firefox 3.0b4
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3-27-2008 @ 2:12PM
MrG said...
Do not forget "test" #101 !!! ;) The animation must be smooth.
I am sure that Opera will score 100/100 when they get their Opera 9.5 Beta out...
Thus, let's wait and see which one has smoother animation - Opera or WebKit. Only then we will have a true winner!
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