14 DAY TRIAL // A very intriguing aspect has come to light regarding Google Chrome's using several elements from the Apple system framework version of the WebKit engine - Safari is likely going to borrow some of the neat stuff Chrome sports, thanks to the merits of Open Source.
TUAW's Christina Warren explains how one of the biggest innovations in Google's recently-released web browser, Chrome, is the V8 JavaScript engine. But, although the V8 is fast, the WebKit project, as some of you may already know, has its own JavaScript engine. It is called SquirrelFish and we've heard of it mostly in relation to Mobile Safari.
However, with “the code base for V8 along with the Skia graphics library [...] making their way into the main WebKit repository,” while “the Skia graphics library may already be in some of the newest nightly builds,” the author believes that the Safari team of developers can “choose to implement any of the Chrome features that have been added back to the repository.”
The Google team confirmed last week that Google Chrome for Mac was indeed under heavy development, noting that “a team of engineers is working hard to bring it to you as soon as possible.” Chrome for Mac is actually said to emerge as a “faster” and “more robust” web browser than the currently-available (Windows) version.
“This is just the beginning - Google Chrome is far from done,” said VP Product Management, Sundar Pichai, and Engineering Director, Linus Upson, on the Official Google Blog, at the time of the announcement. “We're releasing this beta for Windows to start the broader discussion and hear from you as quickly as possible. We're hard at work building versions for Mac and Linux too, and will continue to make it even faster and more robust.”
Google claims their goal with Chrome is to “add value for users and, at the same time, help drive innovation on the web.”