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First Look At the ACID3 Browser Test

ddanier writes "Now that all major browsers have mastered the ACID2 test (at least in some preview versions), work on ACID3 has begun. The new test will focus on ECMAScript, DOM Level 3, Media Queries, and data: URLs. 100 tests will be put into functions each returning either true or false depending on the result of the test. The current preview of ACID3 is still missing 16 tests."

133 comments

  1. Please don't Slashdot it ! by o'reor · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    There are probably a few developers who might find it useful if the site stays up !

    --
    In Soviet Russia, our new overlords are belong to all your base.
    1. Re:Please don't Slashdot it ! by Thornburg · · Score: 2, Funny

      Can't we acid test the ACID Test server?

      If it can't hold up, maybe it needs some work... :-)

  2. From the summary: by u-bend · · Score: 5, Funny

    Te new test... Shouldn't that be Teh new test...?
    --
    u-bend
    1. Re:From the summary: by explosivejared · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, no, no... As anyone can clearly see, that Te is an acronym for test engineering. So get off kdawson's back. We should appreciate his masterful skill at creating what's on the surface a fairly obvious typo, but in reality is a clever reference to the field that the article discusse.

      --
      I got a catholic block.
    2. Re:From the summary: by RobBebop · · Score: 4, Funny

      a clever reference to the field that the article discusse.

      discourse in social choice using selective spelling excuses?

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      Support the 30 Hour Work Week!!!
    3. Re:From the summary: by ShatteredArm · · Score: 5, Funny

      You only saw "Te" because your browser rendered it incorrectly.

    4. Re:From the summary: by cataBob · · Score: 1

      We're now approaching our final destination, Itchy and Scratchy Land: the amusement park of the future where nothing can possi- blye go wrong.

    5. Re:From the summary: by CopaceticOpus · · Score: 1
      In Acid3 the browser must render the following correctly:

      T<span style='display: {can_prove(P = NP)};'>h</span>e

      Acid3 is hard.

  3. I bet some devs are really pissed now by Daimanta · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Finally, the bigger browsers are ACID2 compatible now. But suddenly those fuckers release a new ACID test. Now everybody's standard incompatible again. Let's see who succesfully implements ACID3 first.

    --
    Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
    1. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by cyfer2000 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Just tested, Opera 9.5Beta and Firefox 3 Beta3pre are pretty impressive.

      --
      There is a spark in every single flame bait point.
    2. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by tulmad · · Score: 4, Informative

      Firefox 2.0.0.10 fails the test
      Camino 1.0.3 crashes when starting the test
      Safari 2.0.4 doesn't even get started. It says I need to enable JavaScript, which is enabled.

      --
      "In case of emergency, break glass. Scream. Bleed to death."
    3. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by Bozzio · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Passing the ACID2 Test doesn't imply standard compliance. It just means the browsers implement a certain subset of the standards correctly (or effectively correctly).

      The ACID3 test won't be a test for standards compliance either. The way I see it it's just a tool to motivate developers to work TOWARDS standards compliance.

      The ACID3 test should, therefore, not be seen as a new set of standards. It's just a different subset of standards.

      --
      I just pooped your party.
    4. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by dvice_null · · Score: 4, Informative

      ACID2 and ACID3 tests don't test if browsers are standard compatible. They only test some features. To get better overview of the standards supports, try this page:
      http://www.webdevout.net/browser-support-summary?IE7=on&FX2=on&OP9=on&uas=CUSTOM

    5. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by lemur3 · · Score: 1, Interesting

      It is hard for me to understand the logic that once a new test is created that everything is incompatible again.. Doesn't everything still pass the acid2? I thought that the acid tests were testing stuff that was already supposed to be an included feature to see if it worked. the acid test itself isnt REALLY what determines standards compliance.... is it?!

    6. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by cyfer2000 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Opera 9.5Beta and Firefox Beta3pre failed too. Just FYI.

      --
      There is a spark in every single flame bait point.
    7. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      No, it isn't.

      Which is why the GP shouldn't be modded as "Insightful."

      The ACID Tests are meant to test certain parts of the proposed standards.

      Passing the Test doesn't imply standards compliance.
      BUT
      Standards compliances DOES imply passing the tests.

    8. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by ben+kohler · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Finally, the bigger browsers are ACID2 compatible now. But suddenly those fuckers release a new ACID test. Now everybody's standard incompatible again. Let's see who succesfully implements ACID3 first. these aren't new standards, just a new test that sheds some light on how standards-incompatible our beloved browsers still are
    9. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by somersault · · Score: 1

      But who tests to make sure these tests are standards compliant?


      >:O


      --
      which is totally what she said
    10. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by paulpach · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is an easy to reproduce set of bugs someone else found on their browser.

      I would be glad to receive bug reports with an easy to use test case. It saves me the trouble of determining if it is a bug or not, coming up with a test case, the pain of communicating back and forth with the customer trying to find out what they are doing and how the bug is being triggered, etc. Also, this test suite will improve compatibility with other browsers so it will reduce bug reports in the long run.

      Why the heck would they be pissed?

    11. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by gsnedders · · Score: 3, Informative

      The ACID Tests are meant to test certain parts of the proposed standards.

      Everything in the ACID3 test is at an implementable stage (look at Anne's blog post in the summary (i.e., RTFA)), and has been since 2004.

    12. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by stewby18 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      > Firefox 2.0.0.10 fails the test
      > Camino 1.0.3 crashes when starting the test
      > Safari 2.0.4 doesn't even get started.

      Those aren't the current versions of any of those browsers--not even close in the case of Camino and Safari--so that's not a terribly interesting test list.

    13. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by kat_skan · · Score: 1

      Why the heck would they be pissed?

      Because their manager is pissed that they have to spend more money shoring up their shoddy product and is taking it out on the dev team?

    14. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by tulmad · · Score: 0

      Firefox is one minor-minor-minor version off
      Camino... I'll give you that one. I apparently need to upgrade.
      Safari is the latest version available for Tiger, which is the latest available version of the OS that can run on the laptop I have here.

      --
      "In case of emergency, break glass. Scream. Bleed to death."
    15. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by Dak+RIT · · Score: 3, Informative

      Safari 3 is available for both Tiger and Leopard. The 10.4.11 update includes Safari 3.

    16. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by nuzak · · Score: 1

      Or how ill-specified the standards are that this is what has to pass for a validation suite.

      --
      Done with slashdot, done with nerds, getting a life.
    17. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you kidding? I'd love it if someone wrote my test suites for me.

    18. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by nine-times · · Score: 2, Insightful

      AFAIK, the purpose of the ACID tests were basically to demonstrate a specific set of rendering bugs, supposedly bugs chosen because they were common complaints of web developers. So the purpose wasn't to test standards compliance, but to give browser developers a target to hit in order to help web developers with some of their more common problems.

    19. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by CastrTroy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But it didn't really give any indication on what was actually going wrong. You get this smiley face, or some messed up rendering of one, and you're supposed to guess at what's not working right. I would like it better if they had a lot of HTML+CSS in ways it would generally be used, with an image beside it of what it should look like. Don't give me any smiley face junk. That tells neither the developers or users what does and doesn't work.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    20. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by Phil06 · · Score: 0

      Please don't include malformed HTML in ACID3!

      --
      "...and yet, I blame society" Duke - Repo Man
    21. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by jimbojw · · Score: 4, Informative

      After prompting me if I wanted to open empty.txt, it segfaulted my Konqueror with this backtrace:

      Using host libthread_db library "/lib/tls/i686/cmov/libthread_db.so.1".
      [Thread debugging using libthread_db enabled]
      [New Thread -1232832304 (LWP 8079)]
      [KCrash handler]
      #6 0xb609a9a1 in ?? () from /usr/lib/libkhtml.so.4
      #7 0xb5f325d4 in ?? () from /usr/lib/libkhtml.so.4
      #8 0x081e1f38 in ?? ()
      #9 0xbfcde5a4 in ?? ()
      #10 0xbfcde588 in ?? ()
      #11 0xb60fe4fd in DOM::NodeFilter::acceptNode () from /usr/lib/libkhtml.so.4
      Backtrace stopped: frame did not save the PC


      I think we have a zeroday on our hands boys!

    22. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >> Those aren't the current versions of any of those browsers

      OK, just a bone to pick with those always-connected bleeding-edge update-first-ask-questions-later techs who don't know better.

      I don't know about the non Firefox ones, but... I rolled out the NEWEST 2.0.0.6 and can tell you it was up to date this past august. It's only been 6 months, and it's very possible for guys everywhere to be falling behind like that.

      Right now 2.0.0.11 is out but even numerically it doesn't merit getting pushed manually to my users: Because it's not even a decent fraction of a point release, you can't expect the actual rendering engine to have reworked itself into acing an ACID test. You'll only find bugfixes in fractional increases. Beta software like FF3 can't be used for comparisons, so the GP is OK. Unless the others are incredibly outdated...

    23. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by u38cg · · Score: 1

      I do agree with you that that would be useful. But the great thing about ACID is that it has a cool name and it is pretty damned easy to understand if a browser passes or not. End users don't really care about IE's broken box model, or whatever, but you can make them care about a snappy test. Some of 'em, anyway.

      --
      [FUCK BETA]
    24. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by kestasjk · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You should see the channel9 interview with some of the IE8 team which worked on the ACID2 test. The standard is documented in a huge book, and the ACID tests test any number of them all in one document.

      It's hard enough to write one of these tests (have you seen their source code?!), let alone write it in such a way that when it fails it presents a clear message explaining why it isn't rendering correctly and giving helpful hints to the rendering engine developers.

      --
      // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
    25. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by ketilwaa · · Score: 1

      Safari 3.04 in Wine stops at 50/100

    26. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by hixie · · Score: 5, Interesting

      We write those tests too, they're called test suites and if you look at my site you'll find literally hundreds if not thousands of them:

            http://hixie.ch/tests/adhoc/

      The Acid tests are easier for the less technically inclined to get a hold of. In practice, the browser vendors take Acid tests and turn them into small tests of the kind you describe before fixing them. For Acid2, I was the one who did a number of those small tests for Opera (I worked for Opera at the time) -- you can see them here:

            http://www.hixie.ch/tests/evil/acid/002/opera001.html
            http://www.hixie.ch/tests/evil/acid/002/opera002.html
            http://www.hixie.ch/tests/evil/acid/002/opera003.html
            http://www.hixie.ch/tests/evil/acid/002/opera004.html
            http://www.hixie.ch/tests/evil/acid/002/opera005.html
            http://www.hixie.ch/tests/evil/acid/002/opera006.html
            http://www.hixie.ch/tests/evil/acid/002/opera007.html
            http://www.hixie.ch/tests/evil/acid/002/opera008.html
            http://www.hixie.ch/tests/evil/acid/002/opera009.html
            http://www.hixie.ch/tests/evil/acid/002/opera010.html
            http://www.hixie.ch/tests/evil/acid/002/opera011.html

      They're not as exciting as the smiley face, so they don't get the media's attention in the same way.

    27. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by x_MeRLiN_x · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Do you really think that their test would be so widely used if it didn't use such a novel method to display the results?

    28. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      fyi
      konqueror from kde3 crashes
      konqueror from kde4 does a pretty good job (compared to ie7 and ff2)

    29. Re:I bet some devs are really pissed now by Pr0xY · · Score: 1

      the crash is a null pointer dereference (on a read operation). Something like this:

      mov ebx, dword [eax]

      where eax == 0.

      It's a crash, but fortunately, a non-exploitable one.

  4. Various Scores by The+MAZZTer · · Score: 5, Informative

    Final scores of course are subject to change on the final test:

    • Firefox 3 beta 2 @ Windows XP: 62%*
    • Internet Explorer 7 @ Windows XP: Dear God... you need to try it yourself. Viewing the generated source is needed to see the result is 24%
    • Opera 9.5 build 9721 @ Windows XP: 65%
    • lynx and elinks @ Windows XP: No JavaScript support. :(
    • Opera 9.3 @ Wii: 61%
    • Opera 8.5 @ Nintendo DS: 1%

    * - script takes long enough to run that browser prompts you to kill it.

    1. Re:Various Scores by mzs · · Score: 4, Informative

      Safari 3.0.3 on Mac OS X 10.5.1 does 50%. It does not have the little colored squares as in the reference though.

    2. Re:Various Scores by dougisfunny · · Score: 1

      IE 6 supports 100% if the standards, or so it claims.

      And the IE6 version, you don't even have to compare it to the reference rendering.

      --
      This is not the funny you're looking for.
    3. Re:Various Scores by Laebshade · · Score: 4, Informative

      lynx and elinks @ Windows XP: No JavaScript support. :(

      I don't know what versions you're using, but at least for elinks (and links), they both support javascript. Just has to be compiled in.

      eix elinks
      * www-client/elinks
                Available versions: 0.11.2 0.11.2-r1 0.11.3 {X bittorrent bzip2 debug finger ftp gopher gpm guile idn ipv6 javascript lua nls nntp perl ruby ssl unicode zlib}
                Homepage: http://elinks.or.cz/
                Description: Advanced and well-established text-mode web browser

      eix ^links$
      [I] www-client/links
                Available versions: (2) 2.1_pre26 2.1_pre28-r1
                      {X directfb fbcon gpm javascript jpeg livecd png sdl ssl svga tiff unicode}
                Installed versions: 2.1_pre28-r1(2)(21:18:19 11/07/07)(javascript ssl tiff unicode -X -directfb -fbcon -gpm -jpeg -livecd -png -sdl -svga)
                Homepage: http://links.twibright.com/
                Description: links is a fast lightweight text and graphic web-browser

      So while they do support javascript, they don't support iframes, and the test uses 3 of those.

    4. Re:Various Scores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      I ran the newest versions of IE, Opera, and FireFox, same scores as you but w/o any hanging... might want to fix your computer!

    5. Re:Various Scores by glpierce · · Score: 1

      Firefox 2.0.0.11 on Windows XP: 59%

      --
      G
    6. Re:Various Scores by powerlord · · Score: 1

      Generic Web Browser @ PS3: 34% ... no little reference boxes though, so YMMV.

      --
      This space for rent. All reasonable inquiries will be entertained at proprietors discretion.
    7. Re:Various Scores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FF3.0a8 on gutsy ubuntu linux gets 64%
      Opera 9.0b1 on same gets 65% and a FAIL in the upper left corner.

    8. Re:Various Scores by ortholattice · · Score: 1

      Opera 9.12 on OLPC (One Laptop Per Child): 55%

    9. Re:Various Scores by SteveAyre · · Score: 1

      # Firefox 3 beta 2 @ Windows XP: 62%*
      Same here, although it always says it should be 'smooth', and I'd say it's nowhere close that.

      # Internet Explorer 7 @ Windows XP
      My eyes! My eyes!

    10. Re:Various Scores by Dak+RIT · · Score: 3, Informative

      Safari 3.0.4 on Windows using WebKit-r29380 (today's nightly build), Safari scores a 70/100.

    11. Re:Various Scores by diegocgteleline.es · · Score: 1

      > Firefox 3 beta 2 @ Windows XP: 62%*

      Firefox 3 nightly @ Linux: 63 %

    12. Re:Various Scores by ddocjohn · · Score: 1

      Safari's nightly build (r29385) has a score of 70%, and fails at the linktest.

    13. Re:Various Scores by Henk+Poley · · Score: 1

      Webkit svn 29385 reaches 70/100. But doesn't show the colored squares either.

    14. Re:Various Scores by laddiebuck · · Score: 1

      Elinks (don't know about links) does support iframes. The support is actually very neatly and intuitively done, if you are used to vim windows. They don't implement CSS though.

    15. Re:Various Scores by WK2 · · Score: 1

      Iceweasel 2.0.0.11-1 @ Debian Linux: 59%

      Firefox probably has similar results. It displays a red box with a weird bunny creature inside. I looked at the "reference redering" and laughed. It's supposed to be a series of boxes, each a different rainbow color.

      It should be noted that the ACID3 test is not ready, and should not really be used for comparison, and certainly should not be used by browser developers yet.

      --
      Write your own Choose Your Own Adventure. http://www.freegameengines.org/gamebook-engine/
    16. Re:Various Scores by sethadam1 · · Score: 1

      Camino nightlies: 58/100

  5. Konqi 3.5.8 crashes, Firefox 2.0.11 fails at 59... by Simon+Brooke · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Safari 3.0.4 (Windows) hangs at 60, Internet Explorer 7.0.5730.11 messes up so badly the result can't be read...

    The test looks interesting, for sure. And it's going to raise the game for standards compliance!

    --
    I'm old enough to remember when discussions on Slashdot were well informed.
  6. Swell, but misses the point by Ancient_Hacker · · Score: 0

    Swell, better than nothing, but tests miss the point. It was pointed out by Dykstra i think, that tests can reveal the presence of errors, but never their absence. So testing is in some sense a pointless pursuit. Being able to display a smiley face tests something like 1 googletillionth of the phase space.

    1. Re:Swell, but misses the point by roggg · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It was pointed out by Dykstra i think, that tests can reveal the presence of errors, but never their absence. So testing is in some sense a pointless pursuit. I got your missing the point right here. It's not necessary to prove the absence of errors. Developers use the presence of errors (and knowledge of those errors) to direct efforts at improving products. In what sense is discovering errors a pointless pursuit?
    2. Re:Swell, but misses the point by Ancient_Hacker · · Score: 1
      >In what sense is discovering errors a pointless pursuit?

      Because it focuses on the tip of the iceberg, the symptoms, not the disease. I wonder how many of the browsers have been tweaked to pass certain tests, instead of being engineered to meet the specs.

    3. Re:Swell, but misses the point by bunratty · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That would be pointless. If browsers are getting mere hacks to display the specific acid test page correctly, the jig will be up when web developers start using the features tested by that acid test and discover that the features don't really work. I suspect that no browsers have been tweaked to pass certain tests, as that tweaking wouldn't fool web developers for any significant period of time.

      --
      What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
    4. Re:Swell, but misses the point by roggg · · Score: 1

      Because it focuses on the tip of the iceberg, the symptoms, not the disease. I wonder how many of the browsers have been tweaked to pass certain tests, instead of being engineered to meet the specs.

      Your medical analogy is apt. Black-box testing is pointless in exactly the same way that going to a doctor when you are sick is pointless. The symptoms are all you have initially to indicate there is any disease or what it's nature might be. Those with clear-box knowledge (doctors or developers) can use the symptoms as a starting point fur further inquiry to diagnose the underlying problem.

      I know what theory says about testing and correctness and all that. It doesn't work that way in the real world. Testing shouldn't be the only technique used to produce quality software, but it is very very far from a pointless pursuit.

  7. Firefox 3 Beta 2 (Windows) gets to 62 by Simon+Brooke · · Score: 2, Informative

    ... and looks somewhat like the reference image...

    Opera 9.2.4 (Windows) reaches 55 (but looks horrible)...

    Firefox 3 looks like the best shot at it so far.

    --
    I'm old enough to remember when discussions on Slashdot were well informed.
  8. Where is the reference image from? by Aaron+Isotton · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Something I always wanted to know (applies to the older Acid tests, too): how do they render the reference image? Is someone creating them by hand? How do we know no mistake was made when creating the reference image?

    1. Re:Where is the reference image from? by patio11 · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's created by an advanced, custom-built browser which, for certain input, correctly renders a perfectly standards-compliant reference image. Just don't ask to use the browser on any other input.

    2. Re:Where is the reference image from? by dpilot · · Score: 2

      I'm glad I don't have mod points, at the moment.

      I don't know if you're trying to be Funny(sarcastic) or Informative.

      --
      The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
    3. Re:Where is the reference image from? by thue · · Score: 5, Interesting

      How do we know no mistake was made when creating the reference image?

      You don't

      I remember an article by the Apple guy who made ACID2 work on Safari (I think this was the first browser to make it work). One of the steps to get it working was to fix a bug in the test, when he couldn't make the reference result fit with what the test HTML said.

    4. Re:Where is the reference image from? by Tribbin · · Score: 1

      That is a question of Faith

      You're not supposed to question Faith

      --
      If you mod this up, your slashdot background will turn into a beautiful sunset!
    5. Re:Where is the reference image from? by gsnedders · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yeah, it was David Hyatt who was working on getting Saf to pass (and got it to be the first browser to pass in any build, and the first to have a generally available release (i.e., a non-development build, even if public) -- the latter being the only thing that truly counts for passing the test).

      http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/hyatt/archives/2005_04.html#008011 details the bug (in this case, it was the test itself that was wrong -- not the reference). The reference rendering for Acid3 is likely correct as the actual rendering isn't overly complex (the complexity is in the ECMAScript and DOM support), though with the complexity of some tests there could easily be bugs in the test again.

    6. Re:Where is the reference image from? by Arimus · · Score: 1

      He has a point - most browsers around are designed to cope with the non-standard/flawed/broken crap that passes for some websites these days. Use a standards compliant browser which does not make a best guess at working out what was really meant and rejects any errors you'll have problems with alot of sites.

      --
      --- Users are like bacteria -> Each one causing a thousand tiny crises until the host finally gives up and dies.
    7. Re:Where is the reference image from? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm glad I don't have mod points, at the moment.

      I don't know if you're trying to be Funny(sarcastic) or Informative. It's obvious he's not trying to be sarcastic, otherwise he would be sounding like me.
    8. Re:Where is the reference image from? by Flunitrazepam · · Score: 1

      Can I use the browser on other input?

      --
      1) Your analysis is based on bad assumptions so your result is way off. 2) You're a sick bastard for fucking a horse.
    9. Re:Where is the reference image from? by dotancohen · · Score: 1

      There ARE bugs in the test. Hopefully, when they are finished with it, there won't be.

      --
      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
    10. Re:Where is the reference image from? by nschubach · · Score: 1

      I know this may sound little "preachy"(?) but wouldn't that be one of the biggest benefits to open standards? People reviewing the standards, and fixing possible bugs or "workarounds" the original standard missed.

      I just wish we could get that into the heads of the big software shops... you know who you are. It's unfortunate that money turns against a good idea.

      --
      Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
    11. Re:Where is the reference image from? by gsnedders · · Score: 1

      In my view a test isn't a test until it is finished and can be used as a test, so it isn't yet a test (which means any current bugs are irrelevant).

    12. Re:Where is the reference image from? by Val314 · · Score: 0

      Well.. Safari may pass the original ACID2, but it fails the ACID2 (no Data) test from http://hixie.ch/tests/evil/acid/002-no-data/#top
      In fact, it always downloads a file "data006" when openig this page.

      (tested with Safari 3.0.4 (5523.10.6) on Leopard)

      Firefox 3 Beta passes this test.

    13. Re:Where is the reference image from? by Dan+Ost · · Score: 1

      Is there a plugin for Firefox that will tell me when a page is being rendered using these non-standard coping methods?

      --

      *sigh* back to work...
    14. Re:Where is the reference image from? by swillden · · Score: 1

      In my view a test isn't a test until it is finished and can be used as a test, so it isn't yet a test

      Your view dramatically reduces the value of a test. It's very normal in any test process that every "failure" has to be evaluated to determine if the error is in the implementation, the test or even the specification. Building and running tests is how you find the issues that need to be resolved. Saying they're not tests until both the test and the specification have been proved correct is just a word game that makes it necessary to come up with some other term for the "tests" that aren't quite yet "tests", according to your definition. Because regardless of your view, such imperfect non-tests are extremely important tools in any testing process.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    15. Re:Where is the reference image from? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      It's obvious he's not trying to be sarcastic, otherwise he would be sounding like me.

      my head asplode just now.

    16. Re:Where is the reference image from? by hixie · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure how Todd did it for Acid1 -- I think he may have worked it out by hand and drawn it in photoshop.

      For Acid2, I made a second version of the test that worked around all the bugs in Firefox, and then took a screenshot of Firefox.

      For Acid3, I actually made the background of the reference rendering first as a simple HTML file, took a screenshot of that, made that the background of the reference.html file, and then added some text to the reference file and used absolute positioning to get the text where I wanted it. Then, I made the actual test page have the same theoretical rendering. If you look at the source of the test you'll see some of my notes where I work out the exact pixel alignment of some of the bits to make sure they match the reference rendering.

    17. Re:Where is the reference image from? by cecil_turtle · · Score: 1

      I don't know if there is a plugin, but you can just right-click the page in Fx and select "View Page Info" and then it will either say "Render Mode: Standards compliance mode" or "Render Mode: Quirks mode".

      Oddly enough, I had trouble finding a site that renders in quirks mode so I could get the exact message that the dialog displays. I tried about a half dozen sites in my bookmarks and they were all rendered in standards compliant mode. So then I tried microsoft.com and bang, I had a site that rendered in quirks mode.

  9. Heh, another type of ACID test... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Willy Wonka's ACID Trip... http://wonkatrip.ytmnd.com/

  10. ECMAScript by tsbiscaro · · Score: 0

    Much better than ivScript

  11. Testing is the best we have by bunratty · · Score: 1

    Yes, testing can never prove a program correct. On the other hand, do you think you'd get anywhere trying to prove that anything about any browser is correct using formal methods? Especially when the source code for most browsers is not even publicly available.

    The Acid tests are also not really about finding obscure bugs, but about demonstrating which basic features work and which ones do not work. After all major browsers pass an Acid test, web developers can attempt to use the features tested by the Acid test. That is when the obscure bugs will be found.

    --
    What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
    1. Re:Testing is the best we have by DiLLeMaN · · Score: 0

      "Especially when the source code for most browsers is not even publicly available."

      Define "most browsers"? The source for IE and Opera isn't available, but for Firefox, Safari, Konqueror and lynx/links it is. Since a lot of browsers that are not in that list are based on either Gecko or WebKit, I'd say that the source code for most browsers is, in fact, available.

      --
      /var/run/twitter.sock is a twitter socket puppet.
    2. Re:Testing is the best we have by bunratty · · Score: 1

      Maybe you're right, due to the fact that open source layout engines have more web browsers designed around them by their very nature. Perhaps it would be more correct to say that the source code for most layout engines is not publicly available.

      --
      What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
  12. So.... by JediTrainer · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Are you telling me Firefox isn't a major browser? I just tried Acid2 on my FF 2.0.0.1.1 on Windows and it still looks like crap. How far behind is it?

    --

    You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
    1. Re:So.... by Arimus · · Score: 4, Informative

      Firefox is a major browser, however the version which passes ACID2 is Firefox 3, I think the first build which passed was around this time last year so either go with the development release (FF3 is currently in Beta).

      --
      --- Users are like bacteria -> Each one causing a thousand tiny crises until the host finally gives up and dies.
    2. Re:So.... by AlgorithMan · · Score: 1

      I just tried Acid2 on my FF 2.0.0.1.1 on Windows and it still looks like crap. How far behind is it?
      well... when is FF3 coming and when is IE8 coming, huh?
      besides the fact that MS cheated in the IE8 demonstration...

      oh and btw: it's FF 2.0.0.11, not FF 2.0.0.1.1
      --
      The MAFIAA is a bunch of mindless jerks who will be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes
  13. IE6 IS 100% OF THE STANDARDS!!!!1111 by nitio · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, for IE6 it reports 100% of the standards as I can prove here! In your face Firefox!

    --
    http://stoploudness.org/
    1. Re:IE6 IS 100% OF THE STANDARDS!!!!1111 by codename.matrix · · Score: 1

      well it runs all tests but looks nothing like the reference - typical IE6

  14. ECMAScript, DOM Level 3 by QuietLagoon · · Score: 2, Informative

    Excellent. These two, especially, need to be tightened up (and in some cases, fixed) across the browsers.

  15. Konqueror fails by ajs318 · · Score: 1

    Konqueror 3.5.8 on KDE 3.5.8 (Debian Sid, AMD64; packages from Debian repository) fails with a segmentation fault.

    But there's a newer version in the repository, so I'm going to upgrade and see what happens.

    --
    Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
    1. Re:Konqueror fails by ajs318 · · Score: 1

      Interesting. The "new" version of Konqueror also claims to be 3.5.8.

      This time, it asks me what to do with a file it is trying to download, then crashes (with a different-looking requester; maybe that also changed between versions).

      --
      Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
    2. Re:Konqueror fails by ajs318 · · Score: 1

      Tits. Missed something important.

      KDE4 isn't in Sid yet (it's a credit to Debian that "unstable" is actually so stable, that they have to have an "experimental" distribution). I'd grab a Kubuntu liveCD and try that, but it wouldn't necessarily prove anything: crashing in Kubuntu is hardly news.

      --
      Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
  16. Undoing moderation by ESqVIP · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    I'm sorry, I screwed up while modding your comment, and I'm commenting to clear it.

    The new AJAX-y moderation system seriously needs an undo feature, a grace period to change your mind (before notifying the server), or at the very least some form of confirmation before submitting.

  17. lol by Marin3 · · Score: 0

    i can't even read the score in IE6 :)

  18. Not in 2.0.0.x. Try Minefield. by tepples · · Score: 1

    Firefox is one minor-minor-minor version off Minor-minor-minor versions of Firefox are on the 2.0 branch. The 2.0 branch contains primarily fixes to defects that result in data loss, crashes, or privacy violations, not major changes to the behavior of the rendering engine. Acid2 compliance is in Minefield and probably in the next beta.
    1. Re:Not in 2.0.0.x. Try Minefield. by PastaLover · · Score: 1

      You are right of course but a beta is not the version of the browser most people should be running, and can not generally be referred to as "the current version" unless you're either google or a developer.

  19. Re:Konqi 3.5.8 crashes, Firefox 2.0.11 fails at 59 by pragma_x · · Score: 1

    The test looks interesting, for sure. And it's going to raise the game for standards compliance!

    Also, with the emphasis on ECMA script and animation, it'll raise standards and compliance for games.
  20. humans by tepples · · Score: 1

    But who tests to make sure these tests are standards compliant? Humans. There was a defect in the first draft of Acid2 that was corrected between the first publication and now. There are other intentional defects in Acid2 intended to test for correct handling of defective CSS.
  21. Not quite a new "subset" ... by davide+marney · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Acid2 tests a particular interpretation of how the standards should be implemented.

    --
    "We receive as friendly that which agrees with, we resist with dislike that which opposes us" - Faraday
    1. Re:Not quite a new "subset" ... by hixie · · Score: 1

      As opposed to...?

  22. Re:Konqi 3.5.8 crashes, Firefox 2.0.11 fails at 59 by Carewolf · · Score: 1

    Funny, in the version of Acid 3 I tested a week ago. Konqueror got to 85%. Konqueror 4.0 now stops on some weird embedding of text/plain assumption the test makes.

    More fun acid hacking for me :)

  23. MOD PARENT UP!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    NT

  24. Re:Konqi 3.5.8 crashes, Firefox 2.0.11 fails at 59 by HappySmileMan · · Score: 1

    I just noticed this now, I tried to view it but it stopped and said 1/100 passed, though i was supre Konqueror couldn't be that wrong sicne KHTML was first engine to display Acid2 correctly (though not in Konqueror).

    I'm wondering whether the Konqueror devs will notice and fix this, since a drop of 84% in that amount of time is definitely messed up.

  25. DiscusseS by AndGodSed · · Score: 1

    You uncultured clod.

  26. This is all just ridiculous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't know how you can make the claim that all browsers currently pass the ACID2 test when most of them can only do it in their latest beta releases. That doesn't count. Wake me when the stable, in-production versions can do it. Even the latest stable version of FF can't do it and IE7 fails like Britney Spears' AA counselors. The Web Standards Project page claims the "internal build of IE 8" passes the ACID2 test. Wow, the internal build passes, let's all get hammered and celebrate. Lot of good that will do anyone for the next 5 years anyways.

  27. bad assumption by HeroreV · · Score: 1

    You are wrong to assume that (real) validation suites do not exist. There are several, and they are very comprehensive. The Acid tests are not validation suites, but that doesn't mean validation suites do not exist.

  28. ACID tests... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yay let the trips begin. LSD for everyone.

  29. Woo hoo! by jpellino · · Score: 1

    Safari displays the reference rendering jes' fine!

    Oh, wait...

    --
    "Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
  30. test by unablepostAC · · Score: 0, Redundant
    Scripting must be enabled to use this test.

    Thats bad, really bad

  31. Re:Konqi 3.5.8 crashes, Firefox 2.0.11 fails at 59 by Badge+17 · · Score: 1

    And it's going to raise the game for standards compliance!

    Look, I don't mean to be getting you down about this, but I'm fairly certain this is the only time such a phrase has been uttered with such enthusiasm. Ever. Congratulations of a sort are in order.
  32. Failed Tests by djlysuc · · Score: 1

    If you hold down shift and click the A in "Acid" you will get a report on the number and details of all the failed tests.

    1. Re:Failed Tests by Riquez · · Score: 1

      oh yeah.
      & in Safari you hold Apple & click - but don't do that, it will open a dialogue that is so tall it disappears off the bottom of the screen & cant be closed. The dialogue also sits on top of all other windows obscuring your view, you can't quit the browser, have to force-quit.

      --
      * Game Over * High Score: 264,846,927 -- Your Score: 14
  33. Who cares? by techno-vampire · · Score: 1

    The Acid Test is all about seeing if browsers can properly render intentionally mis-written, broken code, including things that I find it hard to believe that anybody would do on propose on a real-world page. The important question isn't whether or not browsers can render the Acid Test correctly, but whether or not they can render 99.44% of all pages out there correctly. Personally, I don't care if my browser can render such malformed pages correctly or not, or if any other browser can. If somebody's really going to write such crap code and put it on the web, the only response they deserve is letters to the webmaster telling them their page is garbled.

    --
    Good, inexpensive web hosting
    1. Re:Who cares? by hixie · · Score: 1

      According to my studies, about 93% of all pages out there are syntactically invalid in some way. So to render 99.44% of all pages out there correctly, a browser has to be able to handle syntactically invalid pages. That's why it's important to test handling of correct markup as well as incorrect markup.

      (Based on a study I did at Google using several billion pages.)

    2. Re:Who cares? by WK2 · · Score: 1

      According to my (informal) studies, 90% of all web pages that display the "(X)HTML X.X" compliant logo are non-conformant in some way.

      --
      Write your own Choose Your Own Adventure. http://www.freegameengines.org/gamebook-engine/
    3. Re:Who cares? by techno-vampire · · Score: 1

      The point is that most pages are either correct, or have only minor errors, such as not properly closing a paragraph tag before opening a new one. The Acid Tests, from what I gather, do everything their authors can think of to break the standard. I think it's all well and good that browsers aren't too strict in following the standards and have a little wiggle room included for accidental errors, but to me, the Acid Test goes far beyond that and encourages sloppy coding. In the long run, the Acid Test is a test that nobody can ever pass because as soon as programmers learn how to render it, there's another, even more b90rken implementation of it.

      --
      Good, inexpensive web hosting
    4. Re:Who cares? by Kelson · · Score: 1

      The Acid Test is all about seeing if browsers can properly render intentionally mis-written, broken code, including things that I find it hard to believe that anybody would do on propose on a real-world page.

      This misconception seems to come up every time Acid2 gets mentioned on Slashdot.

      Broken code was part of the Acid2 test, but far from the primary focus. Read the test guide sometime. The first Acid test didn't use broken code at all; it simply tested implementation of the box model.

    5. Re:Who cares? by hixie · · Score: 1

      Oh no, the errors on Web pages are all kinds of things. One of the most common errors was bogus content inside tables, for example (27% of pages had this error). (Like, ...)

      The authors of the Acid2 test (primarily me) didn't actually include any HTML4 parsing error handling tests. There were some CSS ones, but a far cry from all the ones I could think of. (Acid3 has even fewer.) The CSS and HTML5 standards define how you handle errors, by the way -- that's why these things are in the Acid Tests at all, it's all part of testing browser compatibility and conformance with the specs. It's not about wiggle room.

      There are different Acid Tests; you can always pass any given Acid Test by supporting the specs it tests. It's true that we want to keep providing new tests to encourage browser vendors to keep doing better, but it's wrong to say that you can't ever pass an Acid Test. (It's not even true that you can't help doing badly at an Acid Test -- there's a reason Safari and Firefox did better at Acid2 than IE when the test came out, and that's simply that they overall had a better implementation of the specs.)

  34. Re:Anti-MS Hate: Teh New Generation!!! by smittyoneeach · · Score: 1

    I don't know what "pule" is, but we are about a score of IE versions away from seeing conformance with the new test:
    http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=394442&cid=21757950

    --
    Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
  35. mmmmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    acid

  36. IE8 didn't pass by AlgorithMan · · Score: 1

    don't you people remember?
    on the day of that demonstration all other browsers failed the test - all with the same error...

    there is only one explanation for this: the test had been changed on the day of that demonstration
    in effect IE8 did NOT pass the real ACID2 test - only some bogus test that was set up for the media...

    --
    The MAFIAA is a bunch of mindless jerks who will be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes
    1. Re:IE8 didn't pass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gosh... Let go those conspiracy theories already. The problem was that www.webstandards.org server did not return "404 Not Found" statuses properly, which some parts of the test rely on.

    2. Re:IE8 didn't pass by AlgorithMan · · Score: 1

      yes, shure...
      the official version is always correct

      don't you think it's strange that this happened exactly on the day of the IE8 demo? and that IE8 rendered the test correctly despite that "error"?
      even in the (unlikely) case that it was a big coincidence - then IE8 still didn't pass the actual ACID2 test

      btw. - have the weapons of mass destruction been found in iraq yet?

      --
      The MAFIAA is a bunch of mindless jerks who will be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes
  37. Since when is vaporware acceptable as proof? by jbn-o · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Now that all major browsers have mastered the ACID2 test (at least in some preview versions) [...]

    When Firefox makes news on this there are daily builds to test, source code to inspect and compile. One can see the progress first-hand.

    There is no build of Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 to test. You are accepting something unverifiable as reality and thus talking about these browsers as if they're all on the same level. This suggests a new low: believing the illegal monopolist who tells you that their vaporware behaves in accordance with published publicly-implementable standards.

  38. Re:Konqi 3.5.8 crashes, Firefox 2.0.11 fails at 59 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    would've modded you funny if i could've

  39. konqi and 'fox on Ubuntu64 7.10 by pbhj · · Score: 1

    Firefox gives 59/100 - Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux x86_64; en-GB; rv:1.8.1.11) Gecko/20071204 Ubuntu/7.10 (gutsy) Firefox/2.0.0.11
    Konqueror-kde4 gives 1/100 (!) - Konqueror 4.00.00 (KDE 4.0.0)
    Konqueror FAIL - crashes, screencap shows that it says "scripting must be enabled" even when it is

    FWIW