Google Launches the Chrome Browser

Google released the first public beta of Chrome for Windows in September 2008. The browser arrived with a minimalist interface, but its architecture was more radical than the appearance suggested.

Chrome used a multi-process design in which tabs and plug-ins could run in separate processes. That improved isolation: a crash in one tab was less likely to take down the entire browser, and operating-system protection could help contain malicious code. Chrome also introduced the V8 JavaScript engine, which compiled JavaScript to machine code and used techniques such as hidden classes to make dynamic language execution much faster.

The speed of V8 mattered because web applications were becoming more complex. Faster JavaScript helped move software such as email, document editors, and later entire development environments into the browser. Chrome’s release started a new browser performance race and eventually pushed rapid automatic updates into the mainstream.