'IE8 compatible' - the cure for web standards headache?

Microsoft is working for a "compatible with IE 8.0" scheme, full standards compliance and backward compatibility. The software giant is preparing to invite community feedback via a blog on how best to square this circle.

According to Chris Wilson, IE group program manager, some IE 8.0 features stem from problems that Microsoft encountered in IE 7.0.

Wilson also said that Microsoft has "lots more to do" in CSS - with bugs persisting in floating point elements and has Layout - scripting and COM, and events and APIs not matching the DOM specification.

A key problem, though, is Microsoft's core layout engine, Trident. This has been updated but remains less compliant with official standards than competing browsers. Prior to shipment of IE 7.0, Microsoft admitted its new browser would fail the Web Standards Project's ACID2 browser compatibility test.

"It's challenging for us to support standards," Wilson said.

IE8 is penciled for release within two years.