I've done a bit of frontend and backend development, but I'm mainly focused on systems programming, so I don't always keep up with the latest in web development. I thought that while things have improved significantly over the last decade, there are still notable differences between browser engines when it comes to rendering and standard compliance. However, I recently read a comment suggesting that these differences are now so minimal that developers don't really need to worry about them. Is this the current perspective among frontend developers?
5 Answers
Absolutely! There are still quirks to think about, especially with edge cases or newer APIs. Overall, for everyday projects, things are pretty smooth, but some advanced CSS features can still feel like a wild west.
Not really. While browser quirks are less common now, they still exist and need consideration. For instance, performance can vary widely—something that runs fast in Chrome might be slow in Safari. And viewport units are still wonky across different mobile browsers. If you're building something that goes beyond standard features, you should expect inconsistencies.
Generally speaking, I don't think about browser quirks much these days. Most problems have been fixed, but be careful with specific features like hiding scroll bars; those can still be tricky!
Scroll bars? What do you mean by that?
Yes and no! Things are definitely better than before with more standard compliance, but quirks still exist. For example, Mobile Safari might claim to support certain features, but legacy Web Views can still cause issues. It's a hassle when you have to polyfill for compatibility!
That’s wild! I didn’t realize Web Views could be so different from Mobile Safari.
Mainly, it boils down to feature adoption rates among different browsers. For example, some APIs never make it to certain browsers due to security reasons, like the Battery Status API. Plus, not every user updates their browser or device regularly, which can lead to inconsistencies.
Sounds like testing across browsers is still a must, especially for performance!