Internet Explorer (Microsoft®)
= Index DOT Html by Brian Wilson [bloo@blooberry.com] =

Main Index | Element Tree | Element Index | HTML Support History

Platforms Macintosh: 68K, Power Mac
PC: Win95, 3.X, NT [Alpha, Intel, Mips, PPC]
Unix: Sun
About the
Browser
Internet Explorer is created by Microsoft and was originally based on the Spyglass Mosaic code. It has quickly come to prominence with rapid product cycles and is a growing contender in the browser market.

The time line represented below is for the 32 bit versions. Other IE platforms, including 16-bit windows, do not ship simultaneously with the 32-bit versions. Consequently there have been some intermediate version numbers on other platforms that are not detailed here.
IE 1.5: Includes HTML Table support, but no IE 2.0 HTML extensions such as Marquees and BGSounds.
IE 2.1: Supports frames and complex tables but no Javascript, Java or ActiveX ability.
IE 2.5: The features of 2.1 plus Javascript support, but still no Java ability and ActiveX.

Version Released Features



1.0 Aug. 1995 This was the base release included in the Windows 95 PLUS pack release.

2.0B1 Oct. 1995 The Beta release of 2.0 came very soon after the 1.0 version and added support for tables and several new HTML elements.
2.0 Nov. 1995 Version 2.0 Final Release

3.0A1 Mar. 1996 This limited release of 3.0 adds full support for the current HTML tables specification, frames and more HTML elements.
3.0B1 May. 1996 The first public release of 3.0 added scripting support (VB and Java) as well as more HTML support in addition to the features available in the first Alpha
3.0B2 Jul. 1996 The second beta release of 3.0 added support for Cascading Style Sheets and Java applets.
3.0 Aug. 1996 Version 3.0 Final Release
3.01 Oct. 1996 Version 3.0 Update Release. Among other things, fixed a major behavioral bug in style sheet margin treatment.

4.0B1 Apr. 1997 Also known as the Platform Preview 1, this is the first release of a major update to the browser. Improved style sheet support and Microsoft's Document Object Model add many new attributes and display abilities to the browser.
4.0B2 Jul. 1997 Also known as the Platform Preview 2. MANY changes and additions in style sheet support, HTML capabilities and other things.
4.0 Oct. 1997 Version 4.0 Final Release. Many more changes and additions in style sheet support, HTML capabilities and other things.
4.01 Nov. 1997 Version 4.0 update Release.

5.0B1 Jun. 1998 Also known as the Developer Preview, this is a new major update to the browser. Support for more CSS2 features is a highlight of this release.
5.0B2 Nov. 1998 Also known as the Public Preview. Bi-directional text, rubies and direct XML/XSL support are new features included in this release. Also included are many new CSS properties.


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