3 ms·

He touched on something that few will appreciate. UIWebView, (and android's webview) is on older implementations of webkit, and the gatekeepers of modern apps

He touched on something that few will appreciate. UIWebView, (and android's webview) is on older implementations of webkit, and the gatekeepers of modern apps (Google included) have incentive to keep it that way. They want devs to build apps for their own 'ecosystem' that are not interoperable on all platforms (eg: the web). They have disincentive to push for adoption of newer versions of browser tech as it encroaches on their respective babies (the OS').

eridius 14y ago
No it's not. Both you and the original article author are astoundingly wrong here (with regards to UIWebView; I don't know anything about android). I don't even know where you got the idea that it's somehow older. UIWebView is precisely the same WebKit that powers MobileSafari, which is typically kept in sync with WebKit for the corresponding OS X release (so iOS 6.0 and Mac OS X 10.8 have roughly equivalent WebKits). Pretty much the only difference between UIWebView and MobileSafari is the fact that MobileSafari runs JavaScript faster (by virtue of being allowed to mprotect pages, which almost no other app on the system, including 3rd-party apps, are allowed to do). But aside from a speed difference in JS execution, UIWebView is the same WebKit that's used in MobileSafari.
- MatthewPhillips 14y ago
  Mobile Safari is only updated once a year.
  - lukeman 14y ago
    Nope, it's usually updated with every single minor and security release as well.
    - MatthewPhillips 14y ago
      Only receives new features once a year. Safari (mobile or desktop) isn't exactly a model for rapid releases. It's missing a lot of stuff that Chrome has had for months, sometimes years.
  - eridius 14y ago
    Which is a very different thing to say than "UIWebView is an older implementation". Especially when you're talking about removing something from jQuery that was meant for older versions of WebKit only to have to put it back when you discover that, shockingly, there exist browsers out there that aren't on the bleeding edge of WebKit! Not everybody runs Chrome.
bdash 14y ago
I'm not sure what you mean by UIWebView being an "older implementation of webkit". UIWebView uses the same version of WebKit as Safari on iOS, which is essentially the same version of WebKit as is shipped with Safari on OS X.
- lukeman 14y ago
  Right, the difference is Mobile Safari and home screen web apps use the Nitro engine while UIWebView still uses JavaScriptCore IIRC.
  - bdash 14y ago
    Nitro is Apple's marketing name for JavaScriptCore, so UIWebView and Safari both make use of Nitro. The difference you're thinking of is whether a JIT compiler is used. That difference has nothing to do with the age of the version of WebKit used in UIWebView vs Safari.
hayksaakian 14y ago
For android webkit versions I'm using: http://jimbergman.net/webkit-version-in-android-version/ http://jimbergman.net/webkit-version-in-android-version/ and iOS and the rest: http://www.quirksmode.org/webkit_mobile.html http://www.quirksmode.org/webkit_mobile.html and good luck actually finding a sold version history of webkit on iOS, 30 minutes of googling have led me nowhere.

eridius 14y ago

No it's not. Both you and the original article author are astoundingly wrong here (with regards to UIWebView; I don't know anything about android). I don't even know where you got the idea that it's somehow older. UIWebView is precisely the same WebKit that powers MobileSafari, which is typically kept in sync with WebKit for the corresponding OS X release (so iOS 6.0 and Mac OS X 10.8 have roughly equivalent WebKits). Pretty much the only difference between UIWebView and MobileSafari is the fact that MobileSafari runs JavaScript faster (by virtue of being allowed to mprotect pages, which almost no other app on the system, including 3rd-party apps, are allowed to do). But aside from a speed difference in JS execution, UIWebView is the same WebKit that's used in MobileSafari.

MatthewPhillips 14y ago
Mobile Safari is only updated once a year.
- lukeman 14y ago
  Nope, it's usually updated with every single minor and security release as well.
  - MatthewPhillips 14y ago
    Only receives new features once a year. Safari (mobile or desktop) isn't exactly a model for rapid releases. It's missing a lot of stuff that Chrome has had for months, sometimes years.
- eridius 14y ago
  Which is a very different thing to say than "UIWebView is an older implementation". Especially when you're talking about removing something from jQuery that was meant for older versions of WebKit only to have to put it back when you discover that, shockingly, there exist browsers out there that aren't on the bleeding edge of WebKit! Not everybody runs Chrome.

bdash 14y ago

I'm not sure what you mean by UIWebView being an "older implementation of webkit". UIWebView uses the same version of WebKit as Safari on iOS, which is essentially the same version of WebKit as is shipped with Safari on OS X.

lukeman 14y ago
Right, the difference is Mobile Safari and home screen web apps use the Nitro engine while UIWebView still uses JavaScriptCore IIRC.
- bdash 14y ago
  Nitro is Apple's marketing name for JavaScriptCore, so UIWebView and Safari both make use of Nitro. The difference you're thinking of is whether a JIT compiler is used. That difference has nothing to do with the age of the version of WebKit used in UIWebView vs Safari.

hayksaakian 14y ago

For android webkit versions I'm using: http://jimbergman.net/webkit-version-in-android-version/ http://jimbergman.net/webkit-version-in-android-version/ and iOS and the rest: http://www.quirksmode.org/webkit_mobile.html http://www.quirksmode.org/webkit_mobile.html and good luck actually finding a sold version history of webkit on iOS, 30 minutes of googling have led me nowhere.