Conflict-Driven Synthesis for Layout Engines

Explore a 22-minute conference talk from PLDI 2023 that introduces Medea, a groundbreaking framework for automatically generating incremental layout engines. Learn how this innovative approach separates layout engine specification from implementation, ensuring correctness through synthesis. Discover the conflict-driven iterative algorithm that powers Medea's synthesis process, enabling the creation of efficient and bug-free layout engines. Examine the framework's performance on complex HTML layout features, including margin collapse, floating layout, and absolute positioning. Gain insights into how the synthesized layout engine outperforms naive incremental baselines and avoids real-world bugs found in major browsers. Understand the potential impact of this research on improving web browser performance and maintainability.