IE8 to Be Standards-Compliant by Default

In December Microsoft promised that Internet Explorer 8 would be more standards compliant. While that would already be a real change-of-pace, Microsoft has also decided to make the planned standards compatibility mode the default mode for IE8.

Microsoft has already indicated that IE8 is capable of passing the Acid2 rendering test (as shown).

In a blog post, Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager for Internet Explorer said:

We’ve decided that IE8 will, by default, interpret web content in the most standards compliant way it can. This decision is a change from what we’ve posted previously.

Microsoft recently published a set of Interoperability Principles. Thinking about IE8’s behavior with these principles in mind, interpreting web content in the most standards compliant way possible is a better thing to do.

We think that acting in accordance with principles is important, and IE8’s default is a demonstration of the interoperability principles in action. While we do not believe any current legal requirements would dictate which rendering mode a browser must use, this step clearly removes this question as a potential legal and regulatory issue. As stated above, we think it’s the better choice.

Aha, despite their satement about "legal requirements," that last paragraph seems to indicate this might be related somewhat to Opera's complaint to the European Commission over Microsoft's browser practices last year.

Microsoft plans to have three rendering modes: the new standards-compliant mode, the IE7 rendering engine, as well as an option for displaying older Web sites. Because the default mode will be standards-compliant, Web sites that want to use the IE7 engine will have to add a tag to their site's code.

Microsoft hasn't announced the release date for IE8, but the beta is scheduled for the first half of this year. Hachamovitch will also give a keynote speech at the Mix08 conference in Las Vegas later this week, and some speculate an announcement will be made about the beta there.