The DEFER attribute is an easy way to avoid the bad blocking behavior of scripts with the addition of a single word:
<script defer src='A.js'></script>
Although DEFER is part of the HTML 4 specification, it is implemented only in Internet
Explorer and in some newer browsers.引自第33页
There is a drawback to the synchronous loading of script blocks: If lots of code has to be downloaded and executed while parsing the head of the document, there might be a noticeable lag before the page begins to render.
To alleviate this, we could have used the defer attribute on script elements. This indicates that the browser is allowed to load the script asynchronously. However, we cannot be sure when the script actually will be executed, it could be before or after the page has finished rendering. Opera ignores the defer attribute completely.引自第33页