Browser Engines

Sep 07, 2021#webdev#lists

A web browser is a software application that enables a user to access and display web pages or other online content through its graphical user interface.

The browser engine is a core software component of every major web browser, combines structure and style together to draw the web page on your screen, and figure out which bits of it are interactive.

  • WebKit - The web browser engine used by Safari, Mail, App Store, and many other apps on macOS, iOS, and Linux.
  • Gecko - The name of the layout engine developed by the Mozilla Project, was originally named NGLayout, used in Firefox and SeaMonkey.
  • Blink - The name of the rendering engine used by Chromium, used in Chrome, Edge, Opera, and other Chromium-based browsers and frameworks.
  • Servo - A modern, high-performance browser engine designed for both application and embedded use. Sponsored by Mozilla and written in the new systems programming language Rust.

The list above mentions browser engines used by a few common browsers:

  • Google Chrome and Opera v.15+: Blink
  • Internet Explorer: Trident
  • Mozilla Firefox: Gecko
  • Chrome for iOS and Safari: WebKit