The document summarizes new features and improvements in Internet Explorer 8, including standards compliance, multiple rendering modes, developer tools, AJAX enhancements, and security updates. Key points include improved support for CSS 2.1, HTML 5, and accessibility standards; contextual accelerators and activities; RSS-based WebSlices for content subscription; back/forward navigation and DOM storage for AJAX apps; and integrated HTML, CSS, and JavaScript debugging tools. A timeline outlines the beta and release schedule through 2008.

1. David Chou
david.chou@microsoft.com
blogs.msdn.com/dachou

2. Internet Explorer 8
Standards Interoperability Improvements
 CSS 2.1, HTML 4.01, Acid2, HTML 5 DOM Storage, Web API Selectors, W3C ARIA
 Multiple rendering modes support – IE8 standards (default), IE7 standards
emulation, IE5 backwards compatible, “edge” (latest version)
New Features
 Accelerators / Activities – contextual integration to external services
 WebSlices – RSS-based page content subscription
 Visual Search – integrated search suggestions and providers plug-in model
 Favorites bar – enhanced “Links” toolbar with multiple content types
 AJAX navigations – back/forward stack integration w/ JavaScript
 Automatic crash recovery – restore previous session, tab recovery
 Enhanced adaptive page zoom – content-based zooming, post-zoom layout
 Enhanced phishing filter – domain highlighting, SmartScreen filter
Platform Enhancements
 Performance improvements – HTML parser, CSS rule processing, markup tree
manipulation, garbage collector runtime, memory management, etc.
 Security – cross-domain messaging (XDM), data execution prevention (DEP), per-
site/user ActiveX, phishing filter, cross-site scripting (XSS) filter
 Developer tools – built-in HTML, CSS, JavaScript debuggers

3. Versioning and IE Modes
Compatibility Modes
 IE8 Standard (default) – CSS 2.1-compliant layout engine, DOM/HTML breaking changes
 IE7 Emulation – backward compatibility with IE7 layout and JavaScript behavior
 IE5 Compatible – IE5 rendering behavior
Mode Switches
 Meta tag: <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=7">
 HTTP header: X-UA-Compatible: IE=7
• For example, Web.Config in IIS7:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
<system.webServer>
<httpProtocol>
<customHeaders>
<clear />
<add name="X-UA-Compatible" value="IE=7" />
</customHeaders>
</httpProtocol>
</system.webServer>
</configuration>
 JavaScript: document.documentMode
• IE=8IE8 Standards
• IE=7IE7 Emulation
• IE=5IE5 Compatible
• IE=edgeHighest Possible

4. Accelerators / Activities
Contextual Menu Options
 Based on content selection
 Scenarios: “look up” & “send to” external services
 In-place content preview & lightweight interaction
Implementation
 OpenService Activity XML descriptor
http://www.microsoft.com/schemas/openservicedescription/1.0
 HTTP GET/POST
 JavaScript integration
window.external.AddService() & IsServiceInstalled()
Sample XML descriptor
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<openServiceDescription xmlns="http://www.microsoft.com/schemas/openservicedescription/1.0">
<homepageUrl>http://maps.live.com</homepageUrl>
<display>
<name>Map with Live Maps</name>
<icon> http://www.live.com/favicon.ico</icon>
</display>
<activity category="map">
<activityAction context="selection" >
<preview action="http://maps.live.com/geotager.aspx?b={selection}&clean=true&w=320&h=240"></preview>
<execute action="http://maps.live.com/default.aspx"><parameter name=“w1" value="{selection}" /></execute>
</activityAction>
</activity>
</openServiceDescription>

5. WebSlices
Page Content Subscription
 RSS-based subscriptions to portions of a Web page
 Hosted in Favorites Bar with update notification
 Supports page-wide and content-hover discovery
 Provides in-place content preview
 Enabled content highlighted by the WebSlice icon
Implementation
 Enabled by adding HTML annotations
 Use a combination of hAtom Microformat and WebSlice format
 Refresh interval configurable via “ttl” (Time-to-Live) property
 Supports page-level and individual feed integration
 Supports HTTP authentication and persistent cookies
Sample HTML Annotations
 WebSlice at “<url>#1”
<div class="hslice" id="1">
<p class="entry-title">Item - $66.00</p>
<div class="entry-content">high bidder: buyer1
…
</div>
</div>

6. AJAX Enhancements
AJAX Navigation
 Back/forward stack navigation w/ AJAX apps
 Treats window.location.hash updates like
navigations and saves document URL
 Fires hashChanged events
 Compliant w/ W3C HTML5 working draft
 Triggers event updates to browser components
such as address bar, back button, etc.
DOM Storage
 Simple storage for key/value pair data
 Each domain has 10MB local storage (default)
 Asynchronous and scoped interactions
 Stored per tab instance for a session
 Can be used to mitigate network loss scenarios
 For example,
var storage = window.globalStorage[<url>];
//or, var storage = sessionStorage[<url>];
storage.begin();
storage.setItem("John","Public");
storage.setItem(“Jane”, “Public”);
storage.commit();
var cptname = storage.getItem("John");
storage.removeItem("John")
Networking
 Network state event notifications
• Methods window.navigator.onLine & offLine
• Event handlers ononline & onoffline
• Compliant w/ W3C HTML5 working draft
 Up to 6 concurrent connections per host in
broadband scenarios; 2 still in narrow-band
 XMLHTTPRequest enhancements
• Added method timeout
• Added event handler ontimeout
Cross-Domain Communication
 Cross-domain Request (XDR)
• XDomainRequest API – new XDomainRequest();
• Anonymous requests by default
• Browser sends XDomainRequest:1 header
• Server responds XDomainRequestAllowed:1 header
 Cross-document Messaging (XDM) APIs
• Can be used to communicate across multiple iFrames
with content from different server domains
• Send with window.postMessage() API
• Receive with document.onmessage event handler
• Compliant w/ W3C HTML5 working draft

7. Developer Tools
Built-In Developer Tools
 Enhanced from IE6 and IE7 versions of toolbar
 Dynamic toggling of rendering modes
 3 modes – HTML, CSS, JavaScript
HTML & CSS Explorer
 Exposes internal representation of DOM tree
and CSS styles
 Real-time editing and rendering
 Element-based style explorer; supports both
cascading and tracing views
 CSS file-based view in CSS mode
JavaScript Debugger
 Execution control
• Source code line and context-based breakpoints
• Step into, over, out, continue; break all (pause)
• Break point tab allows add, delete, enable, disable
individual break points
 Variable Inspection
• Scope sensitive (local, global, etc.)
• Set watch variables (Add Watch)
 Call Stack Manipulation
• Dynamic call stack traversal and execution context-
sensitive inspection
 Custom Script Execution
• Immediate tab allows dynamic custom script code
interpretation

8. Timeline
Mar 5th, 2008 August, 2008 December, 2008
Beta 1 Beta 2 Release
Platform Support
 Windows Vista SP1; x64 and x86
 Windows XP SP2, SP3
 Windows Server 2008 x64 and x86
 Windows Server 2003 SP2 x64 and x86
Memory Requirements
 Windows Vista – 512MB
 Windows XP – 64MB
 Windows Server 2008 – 512MB
 Windows Server 2003 – 64MB x86; 128MB x64

9. Resources
Internet Explorer 8
 IE8 Home – http://www.microsoft.com/ie8/
 IE8 beta 1 download –
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=111416
 IE8 Activities Guide –
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=99193
 IE8 Readiness Toolkit –
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/wi
nfamily/ie/ie8/readiness/default.htm
 IE8 whitepapers –
http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/ie8whitepapers
 IE8 VPC (WinXP sp2) –
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=70868
 IE8 new features HOLs –
http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/iemix08labs
 Defining Document Compatibility –
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/cc288325(VS.85).aspx
 WebSlice Format Specification –
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/cc304073(VS.85).aspx
WebSlice Samples
 eBay – http://ie8.ebay.com
 Facebook Status Updates –
http://www.facebook.com
 Taobao – http://ie8.taobao.com
 Netease – http://ie8.163.com
 StumbleUpon –
http://www.stumbleupon.com/ie8/
 MSN SlideShow –
http://www.msn.com/rss/ie8_slideshow.aspx
Feedback
 Report Web Page Problem Add-on –
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=110518
 IE team blog – http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/
 IE developer forum –
http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowForum.
aspx?ForumID=923&SiteID=1
 IE8 beta newsgroup –
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=110585

10. © 2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market
conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation.
MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.
Thank you
david.chou@microsoft.com
blogs.msdn.com/dachou