Fragmentation of the
installed base of browsers will only get worse. By definition, it can never
improve unless absolutely everyone on the planet threw away their old browsers
and upgraded to the latest gee-whiz versions. But even then, there are plenty
of discrepancies between the scriptability of the latest Netscape Navigator and
Microsoft Internet Explorer.
The situation makes scripting
a challenge, especially for newcomers who may not be aware of the limitations
of earlier browsers. A lot of effort in my books and ancillary material goes
toward helping scripters know what features work in which browsers and how to
either workaround limitations in earlier browsers or raise the compatibility
common denominator.
Designing scripts for a Web
site requires making some hard decisions about if, when, and how to implement
the advantages scripting offers a page to your audience. For public Web sites,
I recommend using scripting in an additive way: let sufficient content stand on
its own, but let scriptable browser users receive an enhanced experience,
preferably with the same HTML document.
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