Microsoft rolled out several features and improvements to its F12 Developer Tools suite as part of the August Internet Explorer update.
Internet Explorer program managers Sharon Meramore and Charles Morris detailed the updates in a blog post, including feature improvements to the F12 tools, WebGL renderer, IE11 support for WebDriver, and blocking out-of-date ActiveX controls, as well as security fixes. Breaking down the new additions, the August update contains:
• F12 Developer Tool improvements: Features and bug fixes for the UI, console, DOM explorer, debugger, emulation tool, UI responsiveness, and memory-profiling tools.
• WebGL renderer: Added support for ANGLE instanced arrays, OES element index unit, and WebGL debug renderer info extensions; the failIfMajorPerformanceCaveat context creation attribute; 16-bit textures; more GLSL conformance; and line loop and triangle fan primitives.
• WebDriver support: A standard for writing and automating browser tests with a remote control for running user scenarios.
• ActiveX blocking and security updates: The update blocks out-of-date ActiveX controls, provides a security update to Adobe Flash player on IE10 and 11, and includes 25 other bug fixes to privately disclosed vulnerabilities.
More information on the IE11 and F12 Developer Tool improvements is available at Microsoft’s Knowledge Base.
