Browser detect problem

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  • KoRnDragon
    #1

    Browser detect problem

    I'm using a script to detect which browser is using in order to include
    the correct stylesheet but on this one page
    (http://korndragon.com/ffa5.php) It thinks I'm using Internet Explorer
    when I'm really using FireFox. I have the same script included on all
    pages on my site and it's never messed up before. In fact It's included
    inside the nav, so nothing was changed.

    The script itself: http://korndragon.com/style.php (view source and you
    can see the comment of which stylesheet is being used)

    The source: http://www.sitepoint.com/article/bro...uck-php-rescue

    Anyway, it's just that one page that it's included on thinks I'm using
    Internet Explorer (I've asked others and they said it's doing the same
    thing) I included the script (style.php) at the top of the page so it's
    easier to find the commented source.

    Any ideas?

    Thanks in advance.

    Tags: None
    • John Dunlop
      #2
      Re: Browser detect problem

      KoRnDragon:
      [color=blue]
      > I'm using a script to detect which browser is using in order to include
      > the correct stylesheet but on this one page
      > (http://korndragon.com/ffa5.php) It thinks I'm using Internet Explorer
      > when I'm really using FireFox.[/color]

      Search for (Internet Explorer) conditional comments.

      --
      Jock

        Comment

        • KoRnDragon
          #3
          Re: Browser detect problem

          I'm using FireFox when it does that though. I wouldn't be having a
          problem if I was using IE and it thought I was using IE. I'm using
          FireFox and it thinks I'm using IE.

            Comment

            • Michael Winter
              #4
              Re: Browser detect problem

              On 07/06/2006 20:06, KoRnDragon wrote:
              [color=blue]
              > I'm using a script to detect which browser is using [...][/color]

              Server-side? Good grief! It's bad enough trying to perform browser
              detection client-side.
              [color=blue]
              > in order to include the correct stylesheet but on this one page
              > (http://korndragon.com/ffa5.php)[/color]

              You would be better off rewriting that to trigger 'Standards' mode
              (preferably by using, and authoring to, the Strict HTML document type),
              and writing both valid markup and CSS (you have managed neither). Use a
              decent browser like Opera or Firefox, and fix-up as necessary for IE.

              If you rely on browser quirks to render your site, you are bound to
              encounter problems. Writing different style sheets for various browsers
              requires unnecessary effort, makes ongoing maintenance more taxing, and
              you have no chance of coping with all user agents that might visit your
              site. The point of conforming with interworking standards and guidelines
              is to eliminate all of that[1].

              [snip]
              [color=blue]
              > The source: http://www.sitepoint.com/article/bro...uck-php-rescue[/color]

              Browser detection is unreliable, especially server-side. User agents
              spoof others; Microsoft started it all. It is an inescapable fact.
              Making a site functionally dependent upon browser detection is a serious
              mistake.

              [snip]

              Mike


              [1] I don't pretend that conforming to standards is a panacea,
              but it is surely a better starting point than browser
              detection, or writing unnecessary hacks.

              --
              Michael Winter
              Prefix subject with [News] before replying by e-mail.

                Comment

                • John Dunlop
                  #5
                  Re: Browser detect problem

                  KoRnDragon:
                  [color=blue]
                  > I'm using FireFox when it does that though. I wouldn't be having a
                  > problem if I was using IE and it thought I was using IE. I'm using
                  > FireFox and it thinks I'm using IE.[/color]

                  I realise that. I was suggesting that you could use conditional
                  comments to serve Internet Explorer-only content (including styles
                  overruling non-Internet Explorer styles). Other browsers should treat
                  the content as a comment, since that is what it is as far as HTML4.01
                  is concerned.

                  That said, browser detection is not only doomed to failure but also
                  probably a mistake. As Michael Winter has pointed out, moving browser
                  detection based on the User-Agent header from client-side to
                  server-side does not overcome any of its problems, because browsers
                  still pretend to be each other. The mistake, I think, is making more
                  work for yourself than you really need.

                  --
                  Jock

                    Comment

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