Browser
Critical Rendering Path, Storage Internals, Web/Service Workers, and Network Protocols (HTTP/2, HTTP/3, Preload).
4 In-Depth TopicsBrowser Rendering Pipeline & Critical Rendering Path
The Critical Rendering Path (CRP) is the sequence of steps the browser executes to convert HTML, CSS, and JavaScript into actual visual pixels on the screen: DOM + CSSOM -> Render Tree -> Layout (Reflow) -> Paint -> Composite.
Browser Storage: localStorage, Cookies, IndexedDB & Cache API
Browser storage mechanisms provide client-side persistence with distinct capacity, lifecycle, accessibility, and security characteristics: Cookies (server-sync auth), localStorage (sync key-value), IndexedDB (async structured database), and Cache API (network requests for PWAs).
Web Workers vs Service Workers vs Worklets
Web Workers offload CPU-intensive calculations to background threads; Service Workers act as programmable network proxies for offline caching, background sync, and push notifications.
Network Protocols & Resource Hints (HTTP/2, HTTP/3, Caching, Preload)
Network protocols (HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2 multiplexing, HTTP/3 QUIC) and browser resource hints (preload, prefetch, preconnect) dictate how fast assets are fetched, compressed, and negotiated across the network.