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Adrian Sandu
Adrian Sandu

Posted on • Originally published at frontendnexus.com

Compat2021 for better developer satisfaction, Firefox 87, and Bootstrap 5 Beta 3 | Front End News #023

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.


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.


Software updates and Releases


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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