NOTE: This is issue #023 of my newsletter, which went live on Monday, March 29th. If you find this information useful and interesting and you want to receive future issues as they are published, ahead of everyone else, I invite you to join the subscriber list at frontendnexus.com.
Google and Microsoft are leading a new initiative called Compat2021. This project aims to improve browser compatibility across five main areas. Firefox 87 update is now out, bringing over new features to protect your privacy. And the releases of this week include Bootstrap 5 Beta 3, webpack v5.28.0, and more.
Compat2021: Eliminating five top compatibility pain points on the web
Browser compatibility is a lot better today than it was in the past. But things are not as they should be yet. Community surveys over the last couple of years have identified the following top five areas that cause the most trouble: CSS Flexbox, CSS Grid, position: sticky, aspect-ratio, and CSS transforms.
In response, Google, Microsoft, Igalia, and the larger web community have pledged to solve these issues in a joint effort named Compat2021.
- Compat2021: Eliminating five top compatibility pain points on the web
- Joining forces on better browser compatibility in 2021
- Web Developer Satisfaction
Browser news
Chrome
Chrome will start using HTTPS by default when no protocol is specified. This change will cut down on the initial loading time of websites that support HTTPS, and it will become available in version 90.
Firefox
Firefox 87 is now rolling out to all users. This update brings two major privacy features: SmartBlock and a new default HTTP Referrer policy. Mac users now have complete support for the built-in screen reader (Voice Over). And developers can now simulate prefers-color-scheme media queries without changing the settings of their OS.
SmartBlock improves compatibility with websites that were previously broken by the stronger privacy settings. This new feature provides local stand-ins for the blocked scripts, allowing these websites to continue functioning.
The new changes in the default HTTP Referrer policy will remove user-sensitive information from the URL. It will also trim path and query information for all cross-origin requests. You can see the articles below for more details.
- In March, we see Firefox 87
- Firefox 87 introduces SmartBlock for Private Browsing
- Firefox 87 trims HTTP Referrers by default to protect user privacy
Software updates and Releases
- Bootstrap 5 Beta 3 - popular HTML, CSS, and JavaScript framework
- billboard.js v3.0.0 - Re-usable, easy interface JavaScript chart library based on D3.js
- Delaunator v5.0.0 - an incredibly fast JavaScript library for Delaunay triangulation of 2D points
- faker.js v5.5.0 - generate massive amounts of realistic fake data in Node.js and the browser
- pkg 4.5.0 - package your Node.js project into an executable
- react-spring v9.0.0 - a spring physics based React animation library
- ReacType 6.0 - prototyping tool for exporting React/Typescript applications
- SinonJS v10.0.0 - test spies, stubs and mocks for JavaScript
- webpack v5.28.0 - a bundler for javascript and friends
Wrapping things up
That's all I have prepared for this issue. Have a great and productive week, keep yourselves safe, and I will see you next time!
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