When I design a website, every browser looks a bit differently, I design mostly on Safari and Google Chrome, looks perfect but when I look at my design in Fire Fox and Opera, there are always some minor details on the layout in CSS to make it look like $**t. Especially he gosh darn different versions of IEs, each version of IE has its bugs.
My question is just how many browsers does the world need? Why can't there be one browser that sticks with one standard in stead of so many "standards"?
I can't help to say WTF!!
** Profanity edited by site staff.
Last edited by Steve R Jones; 01-26-2012 at 05:45 AM.
Well, the problem is that the world actually needs one browser, and all development companies push hard to prove customers that this promised one is THEIR product.
There is more than one browser because not everyone likes the same product. There are over 6 billion humans on Earth; of course, not ALL of them use computers, or browse the internet, but there are enough. Some prefer Internet Explorer (some will even prefer specific versions of IE - some will not leave v6; some love v7; others won't do with anything other than v8, or v9; there is supposedly a v10, now); others prefer FireFox; some love Chrome, or Safari, or Opera, or Konqueror. It's all a matter of preference; the companies are pushing to get users to use THEIR product over a competitors' because it generates revenue, which is what companies are all about, anymore - making the shareholders happy.
It's funny. I used to make fat-client/server applications. Then the web was invented and it seemed like a great idea to make the client run in a browser, because it was instant and easy portability. Now the situation is almost reversed - instead of writing for 2 platforms (native Windows and Mac) we're writing for 10 platforms (all the different kinds of browsers). In some ways it's much more difficult to make an industrial strength client application now than it was back in the 80s.
One reason we have multiple browser options is so that we don't have to settle for whatever one single source decides to give us. Another is that competition fosters innovation. If there were only one browser, we might not be much past Netscape Navigator 2 at this point.
"Please give us a simple answer, so that we don't have to think, because if we think, we might find answers that don't fit the way we want the world to be."
~ Terry Pratchett in Nation
Well, the problem is that the world actually needs one browser, and all development companies push hard to prove customers that this promised one is THEIR product.
The world needs one standard, not one browser. In all fairness, we're getting there slowly but surely. Compared to the bad old days of if (document.all), we don't have much to complain about anymore!
Great wit and madness are near allied, and fine a line their bounds divide.
When I design a website, every browser looks a bit differently, I design mostly on Safari and Google Chrome, looks perfect but when I look at my design in Fire Fox and Opera, there are always some minor details on the layout in CSS to make it look like $**t. Especially he gosh darn different versions of IEs, each version of IE has its bugs.
My question is just how many browsers does the world need? Why can't there be one browser that sticks with one standard in stead of so many "standards"?
I can't help to say WTF!!
** Profanity edited by site staff.
I like how there is a consensus for IE sucking.
This is the thing that got me out of web development and into general software development. I'm sick of designing around how these stupid browsers interpret the CSS. Even when I use the yahoo RESET CSS, they still don't agree!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Infact, if someone asks for a webpage type application, I will tell them "fine, but it will only work in one browser, you can pick which one you want it to work in, but I'm only going to support one browser. If it happens to work in another browser, that's not really intended... I will only be testing it with the one you pick. I will even put a big disclaimer up about it so that everyone knows.". Which is OK with some people (they are actually glad to have me not spend time on things like CSS) and to other people it sounds like I'm from outer space.
All I know is that this is such a big problem that I literally will not touch it. It is just so unfun, and life is too short.
I use (, ; : -) as I please- instead of learning the English language specification: I decided to learn Scheme and Java;
People who know how to write HTML and CSS properly don't hate IE, they find v7 a slight bother at a few times a layout and v8 a slight bother once every other layout, but they don't hate it.
I sat down and counted that I've coded (CSS/HTML/JS) around 45 sites in the last 18 months that are now live. I am not exaggerating when I am telling you that not a single site uses a conditional OR reset stylesheet, although there are a probably 2 or 3 * hacks to target IE7 in each one - simple things like top: 25px; *top: 30px;.
Last edited by aj_nsc; 02-06-2012 at 01:50 PM.
I've switched careers...
I'm NO LONGER a scientist,
but now a web developer...
awesome.
I haven't performed any conditional styling on anything I've developed either. The closest I get is some conditional code used for determining node coordinates and so forth.
Honestly, I don't think I've even written any conditional AJAX. I use dynamic script tags.
Years ago I asked this very same question. I don't use conditions either, however, I do like to include a disclaimer in the footer as to system requirements and browser usage.
Keep your code as straight forward as possible without getting way out of control. Previously I would spend a lot of time trying to please IE and thought if IE will handle my code then other browsers should. Now it's the other way around for me. I design the way I want the site to look in other mainstream browsers then I use IE to keep my code honest. If something is way out of control in IE I can "sometimes" make it work for most all browser. Oh, I do agree, there are times when I was unable to get my code to work in IE and had to just let it slide and get the code to work as close as I can for IE as long as it works properly in other mainstream browsers.
Having too many browsers does stink and it sure takes far too much time to work though the issues they pose, but as was stated it does induce competition to develop better software and I'm all for that!
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Anton Zaleski
Bookmarks