The next Internet Explorer (IE) browser version is due in 2008 or 2009, according to a rough timetable released by Microsoft. Priorities for the version include further work on usability, security, and support for growing uses of the Web, such as blogs, as well as new client scripting APIs and better standards support for developers. However, Microsoft did not commit to a stand-alone release of "IE 8" (not yet officially named). If the next browser version is tied to the next version of the Windows Client OS, it could see significant delays.

New Web Usage, APIs a Priority

Speaking at Microsoft's MIX '07 conference for Web developers, IE Group Program Manager Chris Wilson laid out the following general priorities for the next IE:

Browsing usability and security. IE 8 will include general usability improvements, including better support for growing Web activities, such as blogging. Security will remain a high priority; despite significant improvements in IE 7 (such as its antiphishing features) attackers continue to find security vulnerabilities in the browser.

Client-side Web programming. IE 8 will include improved APIs for client-side scripting, particularly to support Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) applications, such as Outlook Web Access and Google Maps. A key goal will be to enable browser scripts to save data into a limited-capacity, restricted store on the client. This API, currently under design by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), could help AJAX applications to operate reliably offline, removing one of their main limitations compared to desktop applications. Other likely priorities will be an improved security model to support local storage as well as "mashup" sites (which merge content from multiple sources), and implementation of the W3C's client-side event API.

Standards support. Wilson said that Microsoft would continue to improve IE support for W3C standards, particularly the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) layout rules. IE 7 delivered significant improvements on standards, but still lags behind competing browsers according to some tests. IE 8 could also be one of the first browsers to implement the HTML 5 standards, under development in a W3C working group co-chaired by Wilson. However, Wilson emphasized that IE 8 will continue to support backward compatibility with earlier browser versions, even where compatible behavior deviates from standards, because doing otherwise would "break the Web" for a huge proportion of its users. (IE retains user share around 80% despite continued gains by competitors like Firefox and Apple's Safari.)

Wilson also suggested that Web page authors seeking standards-compliant behavior, rather than backward compatibility, should have a clearer way to request standards compliance than IE's existing "quirks mode" rules. Today, he observed, "We can't tell if authors intended standards, or if they expect behavior not to change."

Schedule Probably Tied to Windows

Wilson dodged the question of whether IE 8 would ship separately from the Windows client OS. He did say that the company hopes to ship the next version in fewer than the five years required for IE 7, and other Microsoft executives have said the same for the Windows client OS. Most likely, IE 8 and the Windows client OS will ship together, probably in late 2008 or 2009.

A recording of Chris Wilson's MIX '07 presentation is at sessions.visitmix.com; select Breakouts-Business Decision Maker-session XBD04.

The IE team blog is blogs.msdn.com/ie.

Browser standards support data appears at www.webdevout.net/browser-support-summary.

IE quirks mode is explained at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirks_mode.

The W3C working group for local storage and other client-side Web API standards is www.w3.org/2006/webapi.

The W3C HTML 5 working group is at www.w3.org/html.