Architecture of Scrolling in Chrome (Blink vs. CC Overview)
Blink28610 Marras 2025

Architecture of Scrolling in Chrome (Blink vs. CC Overview)

The source provides an extensive overview of the Chrome browser's scrolling architecture, detailing the division of labor between the Blink rendering engine (main thread) and the Chromium Compositor (CC). It explains that Blink manages the structure and definition of scrollable areas (ScrollableArea, ScrollManager), while the Compositor handles the actual visual movement via its separate thread for maximum performance, often called threaded scrolling. Critical to this system are Property Trees (specifically the Scroll Tree and Transform Tree) which the Compositor uses to efficiently apply scroll offsets to layers without needing main thread input, and the InputHandlerProxy which intelligently routes scroll events to either the fast Compositor path or the slower Blink path based on criteria like the presence of non-passive event listeners. Finally, the text describes the vital role of the commit lifecycle in synchronizing the actual scroll position between the independent threads to maintain visual and logical consistency.

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8 View Transition Lifecycle, Debugging, and Failure Handling

8 View Transition Lifecycle, Debugging, and Failure Handling

This lecture excerpt explores the technical lifecycle of the View Transition API in the Blink engine, focusing on how transitions conclude and handle errors. It details how specific JavaScript promise...

27 Tammi 30min

7 Blink View Transition Discovery and UA Stylesheet Generation

7 Blink View Transition Discovery and UA Stylesheet Generation

This document details how the Blink rendering engine manages the technical lifecycle of View Transitions by coordinating DOM updates with visual animations. Once a developer triggers a transition, the...

27 Tammi 31min

6 Blink and Compositor Handshake in View Transitions

6 Blink and Compositor Handshake in View Transitions

The provided text explains the technical handshake between the Blink rendering engine and the compositor during a web view transition. To ensure visual continuity, the system captures a snapshot of th...

27 Tammi 30min

Evolution of CSS: Working Group Drafts and Processes

Evolution of CSS: Working Group Drafts and Processes

The provided text outlines the operations and standardizing procedures of the W3C CSS Working Group, which manages the evolution of web presentation through a modular specification system. It details ...

27 Tammi 38min

5 View Transition Mechanics: Pre-paint and Snapshot Coordination

5 View Transition Mechanics: Pre-paint and Snapshot Coordination

The provided text explains how the Blink rendering engine manages view transitions by utilizing a stable coordinate space known as the snapshot root. This mechanism ensures that animations remain cons...

27 Tammi 27min

4 Blink View Transition Pseudo-Element Tree and Layout Integration

4 Blink View Transition Pseudo-Element Tree and Layout Integration

The provided text explains how the Blink rendering engine manages View Transitions by generating a temporary pseudo-element subtree to represent page changes. This system acts as an overlay, capturing...

26 Tammi 39min

GEM Modern CSS Scroll Positioning and Visibility Specifications

GEM Modern CSS Scroll Positioning and Visibility Specifications

These sources detail the CSS and DOM specifications that govern how elements are positioned and animated when moved into a user's visible area. The documentation introduces scroll-padding and scroll-m...

25 Tammi 33min

[GENERAL] Modern CSS Scroll Positioning and Visibility Specifications

[GENERAL] Modern CSS Scroll Positioning and Visibility Specifications

These sources collectively define the technical standards for how web browsers handle scrolling and element visibility. The documentation details the CSSOM View Module's specific algorithm for the scr...

25 Tammi 30min