Web Browser Engines:
A browser engine (also known as a layout engine or rendering engine) is a core software component of every major web browser.
The primary job of a browser engine is to transform HTML documents and other resources of a web page into an interactive visual representation on a user's device. - Wikipedia (Jan 2025)
It handles rendering all front-end languages (other the JavaScript, which has its own engine), security policies, navigation, etc.
Examples include:
- Google's Blink. Used for any Chromium based browser including but not limited to: Chrome, Vivaldi, Modern Opera, Brave, etc. Started as a fork of WebKit.
- Apple's WebKit: Safari uses it. All iOS web browsers require to use it. GNOME Web, Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, PS3/4, Tizen Also use it. Started as a fork of KHTML.
- KDE's KHTML: Discontinued but original source for most web browser engines.
- Microsoft's Trident/MSHTML: Was the browser engine for Internet Explorer (ie) 4 to 11. Mainly used on Microsoft Devices, Short lived port to Power MAC.
- Microsoft's EdgeHTML: Successor to Trident. Used only on Edge Legacy (Windows 10 / Xbox one only) and UWP apps from 2015-2019
- Mozilla's Gecko: Used in Firefox and software forked from it. Has Quantum update in 2017 to side port modern features from Servo engine
- Mozilla's + Linux Foundation's Servo: Fully modern engine that has been in development for over a decade. Has strong GPU support and mainly written in Rust.
- Opera's Presto: Used in Opera's web browsers before 2013. Also powered the Nintendo Wii, DS, DSi HTML Rendering.
Browser engines may not be fully comparable with rendering web pages designed for other engines. Especially if that web page was full of code that was not based on a open standard (common during the IE days)
Or if the browser is several years out of date.
Date: January 20th 2025
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