Microsoft Removes Legacy Baggage From Internet Explorer 10

News
By Wolfgang Gruener
published

Microsoft has come a long way in supporting standardized web technologies in favor of proprietary technologies in its web browser.

The company just announced another step and tells web developers to stop using VML and DX filters as IE10 will not support those components anymore.

DX filters are based on DirectX and were first included in IE back in 1996 with IE4. Microsoft said that the most popular "multimedia-style" effects that are made possible via DX can now be created using CSS3 and are covered by CSS3 working drafts and standard recommendations. This change mainly affects effects such as gradients, shadows as well as opacity.

SVG is officially replacing VML (vector markup language) in Microsoft's world as well. VML was proposed to become a web standard by Autodesk, Hewlett-Packard, Macromedia, Microsoft, and Visio back in 1998. Several more proposals targeting vector graphics on the web were submitted to the W3C in the same time frame, which resulted in the creation of SVG, which is not compatible with VML. Microsoft never discarded VML officially, but there has been no active development on VML since 1998.

IE9 still supports DX filters as well as VML, but it's certainly good news for developers to see Microsoft dropping legacy baggage and moving its browser closer to the standards line.

Wolfgang Gruener
23 Comments Comment from the forums
  • memadmax
    Yea, but can it play....
    Nevermind....
    Anyways, will this lower the memory footprint?
    I doubt it...
    Reply
  • nukemaster
    One step towards an open web.
    Reply
  • jamie_1318
    still doesn't stop web developers from being forced to support IE6/7 in short they would still be forced to support it for another 4-5 years.
    Reply
  • mayankleoboy1
    where i work, ie6 and above are still the targeted browsers for all development.
    Reply
  • 11796pcs
    I like what Microsoft has been doing lately, they have realized that they won't survive on their Windows/Office monopoly forever and support for their products has been declining. In fact MSFT has been doing a lot of good. IE9 was a huge step, everyone loves Windows 7, the Zune brand has been dropped, and Windows 8 may become a serious contender in the tablet sector. Steps like these show that Microsoft employees haven't been snoozing on the job.
    Reply
  • SteelCity1981
    Sad MS has only moved IE 5 generations in 15 years and they wonder why they are far behind other browsers.
    Reply
  • A Bad Day
    jamie_1318still doesn't stop web developers from being forced to support IE6/7 in short they would still be forced to support it for another 4-5 years.
    "Why are the websites broken when I use the little blue E?"

    -Your typical ignorant web user
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    jamie_1318still doesn't stop web developers from being forced to support IE6/7 in short they would still be forced to support it for another 4-5 years.This isn't the fault of Microsoft, they have moved on and are actively pushing for companies to stop using ancient versions of IE.
    Reply
  • firekraker
    The Zune player has been dropped but the "Zune" software/service is still going strong. FYI. Windows Phone 7 has excellent Zune integration for example.
    Reply
  • teodoreh
    Next stop: ActiveX
    Reply