


Putting browser makers on notice, again









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By Alexstarfire on 3/6/2008 9:41:43 AM , Rating: 2
How did using different standards even come about? You make a valid point in that you wouldn't really know unless you read more. I believe it shouldn't count, and no I don't know if it does or not. I took one semester of web design and that's it. I don't make any web pages. Of course, I always just tested the stuff out and figured it out myself. I mean, if every browser renders the EXACT same way then you wouldn't have to go read all of the stuff. Why do browsers render stuff differently to begin with?

By BansheeX on 3/6/2008 9:55:21 AM , Rating: 5
There is only one "standard," but if IE is used by 90% of web users, and IE is written outside of the standard, guess what web developers do... they don't follow the standard, they follow IE's flawed deployment of the standard. Otherwise, 90% of the people visiting their site are going to see errors.

By thartist on 3/6/2008 1:22:07 PM , Rating: 2
That's what is trying to be done, thoroughly impulsed by Acid tests and with the compliance of other than MS's browser.

If EVERYONE adheres to the standards, everyone will get things right, besides what IE has already done to webpages.

It had to start sometime.

By robinthakur on 3/7/2008 5:07:28 AM , Rating: 4
Actually most web developers I know, myself included, do make two 'versions' of a site as part of their workflow. One version is for Firefox, IE7, Safari etc. which you might need to tweak and the other is for IE6. Its not quite as simple as writing two seperate style sheets either, its (sometimes) creating two different set of graphical layouts to account for the fact that you never know whether IE6 will even render the transparency properly, even with all the hacks out there (i.e. content on top of transparent CSS background etc.) plus all the issues with the box model which can be worked around with some effort. Its a complete pain and completely unecessary and those days need to end as soon as possible. In the ccontext of an individual project, you wouldn't believe how much time this takes.

While I don't hate Microsoft at all, I in fact develop in, in this situation, if you pack in a browser which 90% of the world uses with the OS, make sure that it doesn't hold back the progress and development of the internet due to not supporting the major standards properly. Considering that an internet browser is possibly the most used computer application this is inexcusable.

I would far rather people adhere to the Acid tests as gospel for CSS implementation than anything else, although they really shouldn't need to. They are built using real world standards compliant code so I don't really see why you wouldnc't want to...

Despite there being differing 'interpretations' of the rules at the end of the day they are pretty clear cut and the functionality which browsers should provide in css2 and css3 is hardly a recent thing. When you consider that virtually no serious refresh was done on the most used web browser out there (I.E.6 was released in 2001) for about 6-7 years, Microsoft opened the way for Firefox themselves and are now having to play catch up. Instead of focussing on bolt-ons like the phishing filter, just render the pages correctly, that is the whole point of a web browser.

By Screwballl on 3/7/2008 12:59:50 PM , Rating: 2
agreed.... too bad it has taken MS 10 years just to come close to standards compliant. Many deployment experts are stepping away from using hacked versions of the code just to work with Internet Explorer and suggesting that if a page doesn't work or render properly, to get Firefox or IE7.

By robinthakur on 3/10/2008 7:15:38 AM , Rating: 2
Unfortunately, these deployment experts are unlikely to convince organisations which are heavily entrenched with Microsoft to use Firefox, despite the benefits. This also does not alter the fact that for extranets and internet pages, the major browser population is still, sadly, IE6. Therefore its simply not feasible to ignore it in all cases. A not inconsiderable number of people still avoid upgrading to IE7, not least because it messes with some games on XP. Its a chicken and egg situation really promulgated by MS's non standards compliance which is going to take a few years even after IE8 is released before we start to see partial resolution.

By jackedupandgoodtogo on 3/6/2008 10:37:50 AM , Rating: 3
Of course if they all rendered exactly the same, you're either following the standards (if all the browsers rendered per the standards) or everyone's created their own standard.

Browsers don't render exactly the same way because each development team interprets, codes, and prioritizes the features differently. The only way to have all browsers act the same is to either interpreted and implemented the rules the same or they copy each other's implementation.


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