The major browsers are coming together on a new interoperability benchmark

Kevin Okemwa

Microsoft Edge

All major stakeholders in the major browsers, including Microsoft and Google, will be joining forces with the aim of fixing compatibility issues spotted by web developers. The initiative dubbed Interop 2022, will mainly focus on 15 key areas that will ultimately enhance the experience of developing for the web.

This new alliance is in place to enhance the functionality, interoperability, and usability of the web for developers, thus allowing them to focus on their craft without any hindrances caused by compatibility issues. It covers 10 new areas, like cascade layers, color spaces, CSS color functions, scrolling. According to the Interop 2022 team.

Interop 2022 is a benchmark, agreed on by representatives of three major browser implementations, and developed through a process of public nomination and review with input from supporters Apple, Bocoup, Google, Igalia, Microsoft, and Mozilla. The benchmark focuses on 15 areas, identified by developers as being particularly troublesome when they are missing or have compatibility issues across browsers.

Though the major browsers are rivals, this kind of partnership is not new, and dates back to 2019, when Mozilla, Google, and other browsers came together with the aim of trying to understand the shortcomings that web developers go through. The companies then created the MDN Developer Needs Assessment surveys and the deep-dive Browser Compatibility Report which then led up to the Compat 2021 effort. Intercom 2022 covers a lot of the areas from Compat 2021, including 10 new areas, some of which we described.