Opera 12 alpha: HTML5 Parser, Radial Gradients and WebGL

October 13, 2011 · by Tiffany Brown

Our development team has been hard at work readying the next version of Opera. We're proud to announce the release of Opera 12.00 alpha, which is packed with all sorts of lovely things. Here's what's new.

Lightweight Themes: Opera 12.00 introduces lightweight themes. We introduced our Featherweight interface with Opera 11.50, and with Opera 12.00 we have introduced a simplified theme development mechanism. Read Chris Mills' dev.opera article about developing lightweight themes for more.
HTML5 Parser: Opera 12.00 is our first official release to ship with Ragnarök, our HTML5 parser. The HTML5 specification details specific rules for handling markup, particularly malformed markup. These rules help impose a consistent DOM across browsers. Ragnarök means that improperly closed tags (such as <a href="#" />), and mis-nested tags will no longer break pages or the DOM.
Radial Gradients: Yep, another huge addition to Opera. We now have full support for CSS3 radial gradients, including explicit shape settings and multiple keywords. Millsy again has you covered with another dev.opera article — about CSS3 radial gradients.
WebGL: Before WebGL, 3D in the browser required a plug-in to produce any kind of reasonable experience, which was further stunted by lack of processing power. But browsers — including Opera — have now caught up. With our WebGL-enabled build, which draws directly upon the power of your graphics card, you can now create powerful 3D rendering, directly inside the browser! Learn more about WebGL at dev.opera with our newest Dev Rel team member, Luz Caballero.
Hardware Acceleration: As hinted above, Opera 12.00 also includes hardware acceleration, which serves to save 3D graphics from a slow death. And as a bonus, 2D <canvas> rendering and animations also get a performance boost.
Full ES5.1 Support: We've also implemented support for the ECMAScript 5.1 specification. In addition to it, we also now have native implementation of ECMAScript typed arrays. We have previously blogged about it on the Opera Desktop Team Blog and on the ODIN Blog as well, which you can read to find out more information on it.

Previously-mentioned improvements featured in Opera 12.00 alpha include support for rem units and a fix for a <style> parsing bug.

KNOWN ISSUE: You may find that (repeating) radial gradients render oddly, or not at all in this build. We have discovered a bug whereby our hardware acceleration clashes with radial gradients. We are aiming to get it fixed by the next release.

Readers' comments 37

Left under the original article, as archived.

Tiago WakabayashiThursday, October 13, 2011 8:23:45 AM
sorry my question but what will happen with the former "skins"?
HaavardThursday, October 13, 2011 8:35:05 AM
The same old skins are still there.
MaximThursday, October 13, 2011 9:55:17 AM
But where is the link to old themes from new "Get themes"-page?
Steffen WeberThursday, October 13, 2011 10:00:40 AM
Does Opera 12 support HTTP Strict Transport Security? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_Strict_Transport_Security
Insane FrenzyThursday, October 13, 2011 10:09:56 AM
Orgasmic!! xD really awesome job Opera! I am a big Fan and Follower.
Cheers
UtkarshThursday, October 13, 2011 10:22:30 AM
Thank you and a really good job the Dev Team. Opera is again the leader in HTML5Test.com with 346 Points.

Also, the Hardware acceleration even at pre-alpha stage is really good. Further optimization would take it ahead of the market.

Also, I'm pretty sure you are working on stability as well. I hope Opera 12 will be a well polished and very stable release. No need to rush to release.

Btw, when can we expect the DirectX support on Windows?
Эльдар ОсмановThursday, October 13, 2011 10:45:44 AM
Mod edit: No multiposting, please.
Swapnil RustagiThursday, October 13, 2011 12:04:54 PM
Originally posted by Utkarsh1:

Btw, when can we expect the DirectX support on Windows?

Opera's HWA and WebGL implementations are expected to be finalized with Opera 12 Beta. Means Opera 12 Beta SHOULD (ofcourse unless a major technical disaster occurs) include DirectX/Direct3D support. Although, DirectX support could also be in a post-Alpha snapshot.
Charles SchlossFriday, October 14, 2011 5:15:41 AM
Very nice, the themes are coll so far
Cutting SpoonSaturday, October 15, 2011 3:42:29 AM
Stuck in software mode for now, but even that seems faster than before. Weird.
seku86Sunday, October 16, 2011 3:12:38 PM
I have already read on some news sites that Opera 12.00 is going to support native webcam access via getUserMedia. After a small test I had to find out that getUserMedia is still not possible in Opera 12.00.

Is there already a date or milestone for a new version which will support native webcam access?
Charles SchlossSunday, October 16, 2011 3:40:35 PM
Originally posted by seku86:

Is there already a date or milestone for a new version which will support native webcam access?

It might come in a later snapshot
Josh RobertsonMonday, October 17, 2011 1:54:16 AM
I just tried it.
It was a big clunky pile of mess which crashed. But, I'll let it off since it's the Alpha
It's unfortunate that I couldn't try anything out on it.
Mickaël CeldranWednesday, October 19, 2011 10:40:39 PM
Is this next version going to be compatible with NVidia's 3D Vision technology ? For YouTube pages in HTML5 mostly, because I can figure out why 3dvisionlive.com only works well on IE, with that Silverlight thing)
MartinFriday, October 28, 2011 2:24:06 PM
Where's X3DOM support? I know it was present in one of the first test builds with webgl support, I think it was either 10.50 or 11.50. in 12 alpha X3DOM is simply not displaying 3D objects.
Cutting SpoonTuesday, November 1, 2011 2:06:58 AM
Probably on the todo, I think they want HTML5 parsing and ECMA 5.1 as close to bug-free as possible before adding more to the DOM. But I agree that this is important on a level similar to the promised DirectX/Direct2D support.
Besleaga ValentinFriday, November 4, 2011 4:09:52 PM
Thank you for your fantastic browser
Unregistered userWednesday, November 9, 2011 7:18:06 AM
Anonymous writes: Keep the hard work
Unregistered userWednesday, November 9, 2011 7:20:15 AM
Anonymous writes: I cannot live without this browser
Unregistered userThursday, November 10, 2011 2:32:45 AM
Anonymous writes: Still waiting for the calendar... calendar that in-cooperate with email with task and reminder. Something like outlook. Thanks.
Unregistered userThursday, November 10, 2011 1:03:10 PM
Anonymous writes:
Joshua FanTuesday, December 6, 2011 11:50:37 AM
Yay for hardware acceleration!
Jarosław KotlińskiTuesday, December 6, 2011 11:35:05 PM
Still no support for MAPI for M2 ?
operaalpha12Sunday, December 11, 2011 7:08:58 PM
when is opera 12 going to full release?
operaalpha12Sunday, December 11, 2011 7:12:05 PM
I think Opera should make their focal point on making sites actually viewed properly.
linxingling1990Monday, December 12, 2011 4:46:24 PM
i think that opera for windows should be with 64 bit originally.
Jorge CamposSunday, December 18, 2011 6:36:43 PM
i also wanted to point out that for the lightweight theming system, the user should be able to select the background through the configuration box in the speed dial, because it would increase this browser usage stats vastly. the user knows best. customization, rendering, and speed are the keys.
ChirpieMonday, December 19, 2011 4:34:07 PM
Originally posted by operaalpha12:

I think Opera should make their focal point on making sites actually viewed properly.
I think you are clueless.
jonnaz88Wednesday, December 28, 2011 3:46:02 AM
The panel toggle used to be clickable, showing and hiding the panel. It isn't working in 12.00. Just thought I'd let you know!

Otherwise, I'm loving the speed of Opera 12. Keep up the excellent work!
DavidGPetersWednesday, February 1, 2012 7:14:06 AM
Bummer! No hardware acceleration on Intel GMA500 (e.g. Netbooks)!
coppolajjWednesday, February 1, 2012 12:27:47 PM
any plans to fix autoproxy?
pielover88888Monday, February 6, 2012 2:57:53 AM
Umm, if you go all the way to the top with the mouse, you cant click on the tabs, same with going all the way to the right, you cant scroll! I hate ie for this, and i pray as an athiest that you fix this! XD and the scroll bar doesnt look.. decent. and please tell me when it is released, it will be red not.. silver.. xD I will defend: for scroll bar skins, just like in opera 11.x!... and i will for all-the-way-to-the-top tabs >: D .. lol
Oh, and if you are clicked into some text boxes you cannot scroll, perhaps. (seems.. random..)
Any way to report bugs, or will that be in beta?
(multi edits, since multipost=no) .. Also, webGL doesnt seem to work.. I tried every site i could find that uses it, and it just is.. blank.
EDIT: Had to have hw acceleration on.. sorry!
Oh, and the scroll bar can only be used on the right half of it.. a skinny bar. with half usable.. fixie?
imperviseMonday, February 6, 2012 11:27:39 PM
Will there be themes that just change the colour? Like Firefox Personas?
However, i think opera is doing great on Opera Next:yes:
Trond AndresenThursday, March 1, 2012 7:45:19 AM
I hope you can make some modifications so that he rich text editor in Confluence 4.x(www.atlassian.com/Confluence) will work again. It is based on HTML5.
Thank you for all your great work.
Cutting SpoonSaturday, March 3, 2012 5:44:29 AM
Originally posted by impervise:

Will there be themes that just change the colour? Like Firefox Personas?

Shift-F12 gives you access to recoloring the stock skin, and zooming icons in/out.

You can also choose/move buttons and toolbars, and select whether button names are displayed.
mprnairWednesday, March 28, 2012 8:01:54 PM
Good
Mot01Monday, April 16, 2012 8:45:05 PM
I am waiting with hope for this update, Opera really needs it - I'm suffering more and more crashes/troubles with viewing some particular pages recently...