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Full ECMAScript 5.1 support in Opera still means that test262 is more than just marketing
Today we released a new Opera 12 "Wahoo" snapshot with full ECMASCript (JavaScript) 5.1 support.
Now that we've added proper ES 5.1 support, including things like strict mode, the test262 test suite looks much better in Opera. However, you may notice that one of the tests fails. As it happens, this particular test seems to be invalid, so it is supposed to fail in browsers with a proper implementation.
And this highlights a point I made a couple of months ago when yet another "benchmark" from Microsoft's marketing department was making the rounds on the web:
The test262 test suite still isn't finished, and there may be faulty or invalid test cases in addition to all the test cases that have yet to be written.
It might be tempting to portray the test262 test suite results as the final word on ECMAScript 5.1 compatibility, but that is far from the case. In fact, there may be other faulty tests in there.
I hope all Opera users out there will be careful not to misrepresent the test results!
In my opinion, the main focus when discussing ECMAScript 5.1 and test262 is how great this is for interoperability. With all the major browsers implementing the same standard and aiming to conform to the official test suite, interoperability on the web will be be greatly enhanced.
So don't get me wrong. If you had the impression that test262 is of no use, this is far from the truth. It will be a great tool to aid interoperability as it develops further, and more tests are added and invalid tests are fixed or removed.
It's just that it goes beyond mere marketing. It's going to be an important tool to keep the web open to all.
Now that we've added proper ES 5.1 support, including things like strict mode, the test262 test suite looks much better in Opera. However, you may notice that one of the tests fails. As it happens, this particular test seems to be invalid, so it is supposed to fail in browsers with a proper implementation.
And this highlights a point I made a couple of months ago when yet another "benchmark" from Microsoft's marketing department was making the rounds on the web:
The test262 test suite still isn't finished, and there may be faulty or invalid test cases in addition to all the test cases that have yet to be written.
It might be tempting to portray the test262 test suite results as the final word on ECMAScript 5.1 compatibility, but that is far from the case. In fact, there may be other faulty tests in there.
I hope all Opera users out there will be careful not to misrepresent the test results!
In my opinion, the main focus when discussing ECMAScript 5.1 and test262 is how great this is for interoperability. With all the major browsers implementing the same standard and aiming to conform to the official test suite, interoperability on the web will be be greatly enhanced.
So don't get me wrong. If you had the impression that test262 is of no use, this is far from the truth. It will be a great tool to aid interoperability as it develops further, and more tests are added and invalid tests are fixed or removed.
It's just that it goes beyond mere marketing. It's going to be an important tool to keep the web open to all.
Readers' comments 10
Left under the original article, as archived.
About this article
| Published in | A Journal from Behind the Trenches |
|---|---|
| Date | September 13, 2011 |
| Author | Haavard |
| Tags | javascript, opera, ecmascript, open standards |
| Original | Internet Archive |
seriousTuesday, September 13, 2011 6:27:54 PM
JimTuesday, September 13, 2011 6:50:48 PM
But the marketing angle is used to push everyone to support the standard properly and to dispel the myth that Opera doesn't work on all web pages.
Swapnil RustagiWednesday, September 14, 2011 3:30:10 AM
Do you mean this - http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/HTML5/TryStrict/Default.html ?
Many many many thanks for the snapshot.
Constantine VesnaWednesday, September 14, 2011 8:32:00 AM
d4rkn1ghtWednesday, September 14, 2011 12:55:12 PM
AsiresWednesday, September 14, 2011 1:47:48 PM
Swapnil RustagiWednesday, September 14, 2011 1:52:05 PM
Originally posted by Asires:
Probably not. Because if it was; then ECMAScript 5.1 support would have landed very early. It's because Opera promised -
In a comment Mr. Hallvord R. M. Steen writes-
Um, Opera doesn't have "holes" in our ES5 support. We have just about no ES5 support at all, the shiny new things like strict mode are simply not implemented yet.
They will be..
The last line - They will be... is important here.
Rafael LuikWednesday, October 5, 2011 7:57:59 AM
Originally posted by Swapnil99pro:
Swapnil RustagiWednesday, October 5, 2011 9:35:17 AM
Originally posted by rafaelluik:
What's there to laugh at?
Rafael LuikWednesday, October 5, 2011 5:53:49 PM