Firefox 1.5 is now a fully fledged release and it’s well worth a look, especially if you’re a web developer.
There are plenty of CSS improvements, including proper nested quotes (in other words better support for styling the <q> element), custom cursors (woo hoo!), counters (enabling automatic heading numbering) and best of all outlines.
Outlines have been in Safari for ages and are essentially borders that don’t take up space. They are invaluable for identifying blocks on the page without affecting the layout.
There’s also some CSS3 additions including column layout which was mentioned earlier on these pages.
Of particular note is the addition of keyboard access to focusable elements. This is best explained by Mozilla but essentially bends tabindex rules in line with Internet Explorer to allow for negative tab indexes which in turn can aid keyboard access to drop down navigation and the like.
And finally there’s the whole canvas thing. The canvas element is also supported by Safari and Opera. It was developed by WHATWG and provides non-standard 2D graphics mark-up ability, particularly for web applications, as currently seen in Apple’s Tiger Dashboard. And on a related note, Firefox 1.5 also comes with SVG support built in.
The Burning Edge has put together a comprehensive list of all the changes and bug fixes. Oh, did I mention there are draggable tabs now?
Eric Meyer wrote:
IE5/Mac had outlines from the day of its release, which I think is a lot more of a forever than Safari’s even existed. I know, nobody really cares about IE5/Mac any more, but the historian in me just wanted to note it.
jim wrote:
well its two weeks later and i’m drowning in ff1.5 bugs…
...yah it’s fine if you’ve got a standard page or a standard system, but try doing something like a CSS centered inline dropdown menu using floated lists that used to work fine on 1.07 – and validates i may add, and see what happens…
...or how about that dissapearing scrollbar on dual monitor systems?...
...canvas?... very pretty – don’t validate – so is illegal to use on most of my clients sites (i build for UK publlic funded and large financial sites, AA is a must…)
...seriously thinking of ditching it.