News

IE 8 Finishes Last on Google JavaScript Test

Google last week provided an additional means for users to test JavaScript performance in Web browsers.

Users can now access a Web page that taps into the 5,000-plus tests in Google's open source Sputnik conformance test suite version 1. Running tests via this page will check the performance of JavaScript as defined in the third edition of the ECMA-262 spec, according to a Google blog.

The big winner of the Sputnik tests so far is the Opera browser, with 78 failures, according to Google's bull's-eye comparison chart. Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 browser performed the worst (463 failures) relative to the four other browsers tested by Google.

Clumped next to Opera in the center position of the chart were Apple's Safari (159 failures), Google's Chrome (218 failures) and Mozilla's Firefox (259 failures).

The use of WebKit technology in Safari and Chrome may explain their relatively close scores in Google's Sputnik conformance test. WebKit-based browsers typically have shown high marks in Acid3 testing as well. Acid3 is a set of 100 tests designed to assess JavaScript performance and other Web technologies, such as support for CSS 3 and scalable vector graphics.

According to Google's blog, the Sputnik test runner "can be seen as a continuation of and a complement to existing browser conformance testing tools, such as the Acid3 test."

Internet Explorer 8 shows a low score (20/100) on Acid3, but Microsoft has tended to disparage that test and the company still tends to ignore it. A Microsoft official even described a low Acid3 score (32/100) for its forthcoming Internet Explorer 9 browser, which is still under wraps.

Google is currently working to make the Sputnik test suite compatible with ECMAScript 5, according to the blog. Microsoft has also initiated an effort to test ECMAScript 5 through a Microsoft CodePlex project. ("ECMAScript" is the nomenclature used in the ECMA standard, but it's more commonly known as "JavaScript.")

ECMAScript 5 was published on December 3, 2009 as part of the ECMA-262 spec. The technology in ECMAScript 5 is based on ECMAScript 3 and came about after Microsoft and Yahoo dissented against ECMAScript 4, according to Wikipedia's account.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

Featured

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.

  • Report: Security Initiatives Can't Keep Pace with Cloud, AI Boom

    The increasingly fast adoption of hybrid, multicloud, and AI systems is easily outgrowing existing security measures, according to a recent global survey by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) and exposure management firm Tenable.

  • World Map Image

    Microsoft Taps Nebius in $17B AI Infrastructure Deal To Alleviate Cloud Strain

    Microsoft has signed a five-year, $17.4 billion agreement with Amsterdam-based Nebius Group to expand its AI computing capabilities through third-party GPU infrastructure.

  • Microsoft Brings Copilot AI Into Viva Engage

    Microsoft 365 Copilot in Viva Engage is now generally available, extending Copilot's AI-powered assistant capabilities deeper into the Viva platform.

Most   Popular