Comparison of layout engines (graphics)

The following tables compare graphics compatibility and support for a number of layout engines. Please see the individual products' articles for further information. This article is not all-inclusive or necessarily up-to-date. Unless otherwise specified in footnotes, comparisons are based on the stable versions without any add-ons, extensions or external programs.

Version numbers, if possible, are provided for features that are fully supported. Proprietary extensions are not included.

Explanation of the tables

Engine nomenclature

Rather than the names of web browsers, the names of the underlying engines are used. The browsers that use the various engines are listed below.

Layout engine	Used by
Trident	Internet Explorer and other Internet Explorer shells (Microsoft Windows operating systems only)
Tasman	Mac OS X versions of Internet Explorer and MSN
Gecko	All Mozilla software, including Firefox; SeaMonkey; Galeon; Camino; K-Meleon; Flock; also Epiphany-gecko
WebKit	Apple Safari; Google Chrome; Shiira; iCab 4; OmniWeb 5.5+; Epiphany; Adobe AIR; Midori; Adobe Dreamweaver CS4
KHTML	Konqueror
Presto	Opera; Opera Mobile, Nintendo DS Browser; Internet Channel; future Adobe Systems products
iCab	iCab 1-3
Prince XML	Prince

Values

Values indicate the level of support in the most recent version of the layout engine, or (if a version number is given) in the specified version. Version numbers without any other value indicate the version at which the layout engine first fully supported the feature.

Value	Meaning
Yes	Indicates that the layout engine fully supports this property/element when valid values are used.
No	Indicates that the property/element is completely ignored.
Partial	Indicates that the property/element is understood, but that not all values are supported. Supported values are implemented correctly.
Incorrect	Indicates that the property/element is understood, but that it is not implemented correctly in all cases.
Experimental	Indicates that the property/element is understood, but supported under an alternate name. May be incomplete or buggy.
Dropped	Indicates that the property/element is no longer supported.
Nightly build	Indicates that the property/element is supported to some extent in an experimental/nightly build. Future support is expected.

Image format support

		Trident	Tasman	Gecko	WebKit	KHTML	Presto	iCab	Prince XML
JPEG/JFIF		3.0	Yes	1.0	85	Yes	1.0	Yes	3.0
JPEG 2000 (.jp2)		No	No	No	412	No	No	No	No
GIF	GIF 89a	3.0	Yes	1.0	85	Yes	1.0	Yes	5.0
	GIF 87a
PNG	1.2 (W3C/ISO/IEC version)	7.0	Yes	1.0	85	Yes	1.0	Yes	3.0
	1.1
	1.0
MNG	1.0	No	No	Dropped	No	Yes	No	No	No
JNG	1.0				No
APNG	1.0			1.9	No	No	2.1
bitmap		Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	1.0	?	?
WBMP		No	?	No	?	?	1.0	?	?
ICO		Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	1.0	Yes	?
TIFF		No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	3.0
XBM		6.0	?	1.9.2	Yes	?	1.0	?	No

KHTML general overview notes

1. KHTML — Does not have any native image support. This is by design: in Konqueror, multimedia files are handled by KParts.

Gecko general overview notes

1. Gecko — uses the libpr0n-library to render images.

Prince TIFF overview notes

1. Prince — uses the libtiff-library to load TIFF images.

JPEG support

Comparison of various JPEG/JFIF feature support.

		Trident	Tasman	Gecko	WebKit	KParts	Presto	iCab	Prince XML
Operation mode	Progressive	3.0	Yes	1.0	85	Yes	1.0	Yes	3.0
	Baseline	3.0
	Hierarchical								?
	Lossless								No

Trident JPEG support notes

1. Progressive — The Trident layout engine only displays the image once it has been completely downloaded.

Prince JPEG support notes

1. Prince uses libjpeg-library from the Independent JPEG Group to load JPEG pictures

GIF support

Comparison of various GIF feature support.

		Trident	Tasman	Gecko	WebKit	KParts	Presto	iCab	Prince XML
GIF 87a	Interlacing	3.0	Yes	1.0	85	Yes	1.0	Yes	3.0
GIF 89a	Binary transparency
	Animation

Prince Gif support notes

1. Prince uses the libungif-library to load Gif images

PNG support

Comparison of various PNG feature support.

		Trident	Tasman	Gecko	WebKit	KParts	Presto	iCab	Prince XML
Color mode	True color	4.0	Yes	1.0	85	Yes	1.0	Yes	3.0
	Grayscale
	Palette-based (max. 256 colors)
Alpha channel		7.0	Yes	1.0	85	Yes	1.0	1.8	3.0
Gamma correction		No		Partial	Incorrect	No	Partial	No	?
Color correction				1.9	?	?	No	?	3.0
Interlacing		Incorrect		1.0	?	4.0	1.0	?	?
Integrity checking		?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?

General PNG support notes

1. Color mode — There are 15 combinations of the color modes in PNG. Not all modes are available in every image tool though.
2. Gamma correction — Gecko and Presto currently support gamma correction for all color profiles except for ICC-profile.

Trident PNG support notes

1. Interlacing — Interlaced PNG is displayed progressively, but in 1D instead of 2D.

WebKit PNG support notes

1. Gamma correction — It is incorrectly applied to unlabeled PNGs.

Prince PNG support notes

1. Prince uses libpng-library to load PNG pictures.

References

• "Netadvies". Interlaced GIF demo. http://www.netadvies.nl/advies/igifdemo.html. Retrieved May 1 2005. 
• "Jason Summers's web site". Browser test / demonstration pages. http://entropymine.com/jason/testbed/. Retrieved May 1 2005. 
• "PNG and MNG tools". Browser gamma test. http://pmt.sourceforge.net/gamma_test/. Retrieved May 1 2005. 
• "PNG (Portable Network Graphics) Home Site". PNG-supporting Browsers. http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/pngapbr.html. Retrieved May 1 2005.