We use a web browser to surf the internet. Have you ever thought about how the browser works? What walks behind the browser to render your favorite website? It’s all because of the browser engine. Like a car needs an engine to run. Similarly, a web browser also needs an engine to render a website. Today, we are going to discuss What is Browser Engine and the Types of Browser Engines?
10 years before, we hardly have been known of any other name than Internet Explorer to surf the internet. Internet Explorer is pre-installed with every Windows operating system until now. However, the recent release of several other browsers has made web browsing much easier and more customized. In other words, they provide unprecedented service with a lot of advanced features embedded in it. The most popular browsers are Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera Browser, and Safari. These browsers use their own browser engine to render a website.
What is Browser Engine?
A browser engine is one of the crucial technologies that power your browser to such insane speed. Do you know without a browser engine, web browsers will not work.
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the only things that we will get to see when we visit any website without a browser engine. Besides that, the content on the website will be hidden and the browser will not be attractive without any multimedia attachments.
Frankly speaking it all depends on the browser about how it can imbibe all of the codes to bring out the best information to the user.
Now the fact is, all the web browser available today has been built around five main types of browser engines. Gecko, WebKit, Presto, Trident, and Blink are five of them that have been the reason for unparalleled service from such eminent web browsers.
Every web browser comprises of core software component which is known as a browser engine. A browser engine is one of the crucial technologies that power the browser. The basic task of an engine is to convert the source code such as HTML documents of the webpage into a visual representation that a user finds interactive.
If you are confused between browser engine and search engine. Then check out our guide on the difference between Browser Engine and Search Engine to get a better idea.
Types of Browser Engines
Here in this section, we are going to discuss the different types of browser engines. There are mainly five different types of browser engines. Trident (Internet Explorer), Gecko (Firefox), Webkit (Safari), Presto (Opera), and Blink (Google Chrome) all render most websites in very similar ways at very similar speeds.
Now let us discuss all these browser engines in brief.
1. Trident
Trident browser engine was first seen with Internet Explorer 4.0 and due to its remarkable performance, it has been used in full-fledged today. This engine has been exclusively designed for the Windows Operating System and developed by Microsoft. Especially for software developers which would ease the web browsing functionality within the Windows Operating System.
Besides, Trident has been used as an engine in web browsers(Internet Explorer). It has also got its applications in software that has direct integration with web browsers like Google Chrome Browser, Maxthon, etc. This browser engine has also been used in programs like Google talk, valve steam, Pandion, etc.
Trident has been very much popular with Microsoft products. However, at present Microsoft’s newest browser Microsoft Edge uses Blink engines.
2. Gecko
Another popular web browser engine that has got wide appreciation from many software developers and programmers is the Gecko engine which was first seen in Netscape in the year 1997. The actual version of the Gecko engine was found to be slow and does not meet the W3 standard where Trident for Microsoft Internet Explorer was found at that time.
Gecko engine is developed by Mozilla and It is used in the Firefox browser. The fact it the Gecko engine is an open-source software project. That makes the developers drive into its further development.
In the recent past, it has been seen that Gecko has replaced the Trident engine. This is because the major drawbacks of the Trident engine are that it is cross-platform and it does not provide better security to the web browser whereas Gecko is a better choice than its counterparts.
3. Webkit
WebKit has been the first application that has been built around KHTML and it was launched in October 2000. It has a major contribution to Apple, Nokia, and WebKit foundation as well as other industries.
Google came with a Chrome browser that features a WebKit engine as is used in the Android mobile phone for the first time in the Google Chrome version.
It has been this recently that WebKit has been seen in any Android version, however, it has a good amount of contribution to Apple’s iPhone, iPad and is responsible to render content and email software within the web browser.
Besides giants like Google and Apple, WebKit also features Adobe applications that have been used extensively to render HTML and JavaScript inside Adobe applications.
4. Presto
Presto engine was first introduced in Opera Browser 7 on 28 January 2003. It has a major contribution to Opera software and it is developed by Opera. Previously web browsers used Elektra Engine in its 4-6 versions but after that, it came up with its alternative named Presto. However, it is limited to only the Opera web browser and its product.
Presto is used in Opera Opera 7 to 12, Opera Mobile 9.5 to 12, and Opera Mini browser. Recently, opera switched to Blink engine.
5. Blink
Blink engine is used in the most popular web browser that is Google Chrome. It is developed as part of the Chromium project with contributions from Google, Opera Software, and Adobe.
Initially, the Blink engine was used on Google Chrome and Chromium browsers. However recently Blink engine is gaining more popularity, it is been used on Microsoft Edge, Opera Browser, and Avast Secure Browser. And it is also been used on browsers, which are based on Chromium such as Brave and Yandex Browser.
Conclusion
That’s it, this is all about what is browser engines and the types of browser engines. Blink is the most popular browser engine out there. Almost every browser use Blink. I hope this article was helpful to you. If you liked the article then you can share it with your friends. Now, if you have any doubt then you can leave a comment in the comment section.
