This technical deep dive explores the Declarative View Transitions API, a web platform feature designed to create smooth, animated transitions between different UI states or pages on the web. The sources thoroughly detail the API's core mechanisms, including the use of the document.startViewTransition() JavaScript method and the crucial view-transition-name CSS property, which labels elements for continuous animation across state changes. Implementation specifics in Chrome are addressed, explaining how the engine uses pseudo-elements (like ::view-transition-old and ::view-transition-new) and the compositor to manage snapshots and GPU-accelerated layer animations efficiently. Finally, the text confirms that the feature is being standardized across all major browser engines, with robust security measures (such as the same-origin requirement) and strong tooling support for debugging and customization via CSS keyframes.
