{{Short description|Open source browser engine}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Infobox software | name = Blink | logo = Chromium Logo.svg | logo size = 100px | screenshot = | caption = | developer = The Chromium Project | released = {{start date and age|df=yes|2013|4|3}}<ref name="blink_announcement">{{cite web |last=Barth |first=Adam |url=https://blog.chromium.org/2013/04/blink-rendering-engine-for-chromium.html |title=Blink: A rendering engine for the Chromium project |website=blog.chromium.org |date=3 April 2013 |access-date=12 March 2024 |archive-date=11 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511104842/https://blog.chromium.org/2013/04/blink-rendering-engine-for-chromium.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | latest release version = | latest release date = | latest preview version = | latest preview date = | programming language = C++ | genre = Browser engine | license = BSD and LGPLv2.1 | website = {{URL|https://www.chromium.org/blink/}} }}
'''Blink''' is a browser engine developed as part of the free and open-source Chromium project. Blink is by far the most-used browser engine, due to the market share dominance of Google Chrome and the fact that many other browsers are based on the Chromium code.
To create Chrome, Google initially chose to use Apple's WebKit engine.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fisher |first=Darin |url=https://blog.chromium.org/2008/09/chrome-3s-webkit.html |title=Chrome <3s WebKit |website=blog.chromium.org |date=5 September 2008 |access-date=12 March 2024 |archive-date=12 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312120850/https://blog.chromium.org/2008/09/chrome-3s-webkit.html |url-status=live }}</ref> However, Google needed to make substantial changes to its code to support Chrome's novel multi-process browser architecture.<ref name="blink_announcement"/><ref name="blink_ars">{{cite web |first=Peter |last=Bright |title=Google going its own way, forking WebKit rendering engine |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/04/google-going-its-own-way-forking-webkit-rendering-engine/ |website=Ars Technica |publisher=Conde Nast |date=3 April 2013 |access-date=9 March 2017 |archive-date=21 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221222631/https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/04/google-going-its-own-way-forking-webkit-rendering-engine/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Over the course of several years, the divergence from Apple's version increased, so Google decided to officially fork its version as Blink in 2013.<ref name="blink_announcement"/><ref name="blink_ars"/>
Blink's name was influenced by two factors: the implication of speed, and a reference to the non-standard blink HTML element,<ref name="techcrunch13">{{cite news |last=Lardinois |first=Frederic |date=2013-04-03 |title=Google Forks WebKit And Launches Blink, A New Rendering Engine That Will Soon Power Chrome And Chrome OS |publisher=TechCrunch |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/03/google-forks-webkit-and-launches-blink-its-own-rendering-engine-that-will-soon-power-chrome-and-chromeos/ |access-date=2013-11-25 |archive-date=25 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131125154909/http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/03/google-forks-webkit-and-launches-blink-its-own-rendering-engine-that-will-soon-power-chrome-and-chromeos/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="cnet13">{{cite news |last=Shankland |first=Stephen |date=2013-04-03 |title=Google parts ways with Apple over WebKit, launches Blink |publisher=CNet |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/google-parts-ways-with-apple-over-webkit-launches-blink/ |access-date=2013-11-25}}</ref> popularised by Netscape Navigator, but which was never actually implemented within Blink.<ref name="pcpro13">{{cite news |last=Kobie |first=Nicole |date=2013-08-07 |title=Firefox 23 finally kills "blink" tag |publisher=PC Pro |url=https://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/383512/firefox-23-finally-kills-blink-tag |url-status=dead |access-date=2013-11-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202221923/http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/383512/firefox-23-finally-kills-blink-tag |archive-date=2 December 2013}}</ref>
By commit count, Google was the largest contributor to the WebKit project from late 2009 until the fork in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |last=Siracusa |first=John |title=Hypercritical: Code Hard or Go Home |publisher=Hypercritical.co |date=2013-04-12 |url=http://hypercritical.co/2013/04/12/code-hard-or-go-home |access-date=2013-06-15 |archive-date=1 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501003500/http://hypercritical.co/2013/04/12/code-hard-or-go-home |url-status=live }}</ref> One of the first changes of the new fork was to deprecate CSS vendor prefixes, including WebKit's; experimental Blink functionality is instead enabled on an opt-in basis.<ref>{{cite web |title=Blink Developer FAQ |website=The Chromium Projects |url=https://www.chromium.org/blink/developer-faq#TOC-Will-we-see-a--chrome--vendor-prefix-now- |access-date=22 October 2014}}</ref>
== See also == {{Portal|Free and open-source software}} * Brave * Comparison of browser engines * V8, the Chromium JavaScript engine * {{slink|Chromium (web browser)#Use in app frameworks|nopage=y}}, software frameworks that use Blink by way of Chromium
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website}}
{{Web browser engines}} {{Web browsers|desktop}} {{Google LLC}}
Category:2013 software Category:Free layout engines Category:Free software programmed in C++ Category:Google Chrome Category:Software based on WebKit Category:Software using the BSD license Category:Software using the GNU Lesser General Public License Category:Software forks