IE9--the end of the line for browser sniffers?
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From: Dr J R Stockton on 20 May 2010 13:14 In comp.lang.javascript message <ht0nhi$av9$1(a)news.eternal- september.org>, Wed, 19 May 2010 09:02:14, David Mark <dmark.cinsoft(a)gmail.com> posted: >From what I've heard of IE9, it sure seems to spell doom for Dojo, >ExtJs, YUI, etc. And jQuery too (at least to some extent). They all >have tons of rickety branches based on an "isIE" variable. Dojo, for >example, has hundreds of scripts, each with at least a few sniffs (some >have dozens) and they are all interdependent as hell (often one script >tries to work around the mistakes of others). > >IE8 was a major blow, but I think IE9 will be the knockout. What can >they do but scrap the old junk and start over? So much for all of those >pretty widgets. :) I expect that it will still be possible to detect it as an IE by using isIE = !+0.7.toFixed() or S = "1000000000000000000000000" ; +(S+" ") != +(S+".0") ; -- (c) John Stockton, nr London UK. ?@merlyn.demon.co.uk DOS 3.3 6.20 ; WinXP. Web <URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/> - FAQqish topics, acronyms & links. PAS EXE TXT ZIP via <URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/programs/00index.htm> My DOS <URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/batfiles.htm> - also batprogs.htm.
From: David Mark on 20 May 2010 21:19 Dr J R Stockton wrote: > In comp.lang.javascript message <ht0nhi$av9$1(a)news.eternal- > september.org>, Wed, 19 May 2010 09:02:14, David Mark > <dmark.cinsoft(a)gmail.com> posted: > >>From what I've heard of IE9, it sure seems to spell doom for Dojo, >> ExtJs, YUI, etc. And jQuery too (at least to some extent). They all >> have tons of rickety branches based on an "isIE" variable. Dojo, for >> example, has hundreds of scripts, each with at least a few sniffs (some >> have dozens) and they are all interdependent as hell (often one script >> tries to work around the mistakes of others). >> >> IE8 was a major blow, but I think IE9 will be the knockout. What can >> they do but scrap the old junk and start over? So much for all of those >> pretty widgets. :) > > > I expect that it will still be possible to detect it as an IE by using > isIE = !+0.7.toFixed() > or > S = "1000000000000000000000000" ; > +(S+" ") != +(S+".0") ; > But what would you infer from that (other than the obvious?)
From: Dr J R Stockton on 22 May 2010 12:28 In comp.lang.javascript message <ht4n2r$tn8$2(a)news.eternal- september.org>, Thu, 20 May 2010 21:19:27, David Mark <dmark.cinsoft(a)gmail.com> posted: >Dr J R Stockton wrote: >> In comp.lang.javascript message <ht0nhi$av9$1(a)news.eternal- >> september.org>, Wed, 19 May 2010 09:02:14, David Mark >> <dmark.cinsoft(a)gmail.com> posted: >> >>>From what I've heard of IE9, it sure seems to spell doom for Dojo, >>> ExtJs, YUI, etc. And jQuery too (at least to some extent). They all >>> have tons of rickety branches based on an "isIE" variable. Dojo, for >>> example, has hundreds of scripts, each with at least a few sniffs (some >>> have dozens) and they are all interdependent as hell (often one script >>> tries to work around the mistakes of others). >>> >>> IE8 was a major blow, but I think IE9 will be the knockout. What can >>> they do but scrap the old junk and start over? So much for all of those >>> pretty widgets. :) >> >> >> I expect that it will still be possible to detect it as an IE by using >> isIE = !+0.7.toFixed() >> or >> S = "1000000000000000000000000" ; >> +(S+" ") != +(S+".0") ; >> > >But what would you infer from that (other than the obvious?) That the browser is either IE, or a clone so faithful that it ought to be treated as IE. That Microsoft is careless. I don't know whether you consider one of those, or something else, to be obvious. One can also check VBScript DatePart; in IE 4-8 there is a bug that MS have known about for years - their bug fix article contains "Last Review: June 24, 2004 - Revision: 3.0" (the fix routine gives correct results, but is lousy in design). But that's not needed to detect IE, unless any other browsers do VBScript. The bug is, of course, shared with WSH VBS, MS Word, MS Excel at least. However, it is relatively unlikely to affect American residents. -- (c) John Stockton, nr London, UK. ?@merlyn.demon.co.uk Turnpike v6.05. Web <URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/> - w. FAQish topics, links, acronyms PAS EXE etc : <URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/programs/> - see 00index.htm Dates - miscdate.htm estrdate.htm js-dates.htm pas-time.htm critdate.htm etc.
From: David Mark on 22 May 2010 19:28 On May 22, 12:28 pm, Dr J R Stockton <reply1...(a)merlyn.demon.co.uk> wrote: > In comp.lang.javascript message <ht4n2r$tn...(a)news.eternal- > september.org>, Thu, 20 May 2010 21:19:27, David Mark > <dmark.cins...(a)gmail.com> posted: > > > > > > >Dr J R Stockton wrote: > >> In comp.lang.javascript message <ht0nhi$av...(a)news.eternal- > >> september.org>, Wed, 19 May 2010 09:02:14, David Mark > >> <dmark.cins...(a)gmail.com> posted: > > >>>From what I've heard of IE9, it sure seems to spell doom for Dojo, > >>> ExtJs, YUI, etc. And jQuery too (at least to some extent). They all > >>> have tons of rickety branches based on an "isIE" variable. Dojo, for > >>> example, has hundreds of scripts, each with at least a few sniffs (some > >>> have dozens) and they are all interdependent as hell (often one script > >>> tries to work around the mistakes of others). > > >>> IE8 was a major blow, but I think IE9 will be the knockout. What can > >>> they do but scrap the old junk and start over? So much for all of those > >>> pretty widgets. :) > > >> I expect that it will still be possible to detect it as an IE by using > >> isIE = !+0.7.toFixed() > >> or > >> S = "1000000000000000000000000" ; > >> +(S+" ") != +(S+".0") ; > > >But what would you infer from that (other than the obvious?) > > That the browser is either IE, or a clone so faithful that it ought to > be treated as IE. What does "treated as IE" mean? Assume that other observations you made today are going to be valid in the future? This is what I'm talking about. > > That Microsoft is careless. Yes, that and a buck fifty will buy you a cup of coffee. > > I don't know whether you consider one of those, or something else, to be > obvious. Why are you trying to sniff out IE in the first place? That's the rub. > > One can also check VBScript DatePart; in IE 4-8 there is a bug that MS > have known about for years - their bug fix article contains "Last > Review: June 24, 2004 - Revision: 3.0" (the fix routine gives correct > results, but is lousy in design). But that's not needed to detect IE, > unless any other browsers do VBScript. The bug is, of course, shared > with WSH VBS, MS Word, MS Excel at least. However, it is relatively > unlikely to affect American residents. Oh good. :)
From: Dr J R Stockton on 24 May 2010 12:08
In comp.lang.javascript message <b9bfa123-c3fb-4e0c-86ae-ef2cfa6548fc(a)m3 3g2000vbi.googlegroups.com>, Sat, 22 May 2010 16:28:33, David Mark <dmark.cinsoft(a)gmail.com> posted: >On May 22, 12:28�pm, Dr J R Stockton <reply1...(a)merlyn.demon.co.uk> >wrote: >> >> I expect that it will still be possible to detect it as an IE by using >> >> � � � � isIE = !+0.7.toFixed() >> >> or >> >> � � � � S = "1000000000000000000000000" ; >> >> � � � � +(S+" �") != +(S+".0") ; >> >> >But what would you infer from that (other than the obvious?) >> >> That the browser is either IE, or a clone so faithful that it ought to >> be treated as IE. > >What does "treated as IE" mean? Assume that other observations you >made today are going to be valid in the future? This is what I'm >talking about. One can never trust the future. For example, I know of at least one case in which a browser was 262-compliant, but did not in later versions remain so. >> That Microsoft is careless. > >Yes, that and a buck fifty will buy you a cup of coffee. Not round here. It would be of more than $1.50 quality; and they'd want proper money too. >> I don't know whether you consider one of those, or something else, to be >> obvious. > >Why are you trying to sniff out IE in the first place? That's the >rub. It should not be done in finished code, but it can be rather useful in cross-browser testing : switch off one part that gives difficulty in IE and continue on easier IE work, knowing that the expert on IE will be back tomorrow or hoping that the newsgroup will be able to help. Never trust anyone here who types faster than he can think. -- (c) John Stockton, nr London UK. ?@merlyn.demon.co.uk Turnpike v6.05 MIME. Web <URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/> - FAQish topics, acronyms, & links. Proper <= 4-line sig. separator as above, a line exactly "-- " (RFCs 5536/7) Do not Mail News to me. Before a reply, quote with ">" or "> " (RFCs 5536/7) |