Browser Compatibility

Web developers and designers nowadays are digging their damn skulls out for just the right gray matter to help them on their internet site designing ventures. This is because people demand both visual appeal and accessibility on their internet site browsing exploits. People are now used to doing things all at the same time, with all those digital mobile devices, you know. But now this combination is like joy and pain, life and death, pot and cocaine, get it? They just don't go together damn well! Yet, there's something which has eventually tied up the knot between those two aspects. That's right - CSS.

But now there's something that's totally out of whack. Yes, after that damn combination of visual appeal and accessibility can now co-exist on a single internet site, the combination of an internet site browser and CSS styled pages seem to provide us with even more problems than what we had before CSS! I don't know about those jokers back at Microsoft, but I think Bill Gates just fed them too much that they have such a hard time moving those fat-asses of theirs! Well, if they can't seem to give the people a formidable solution for these problems that pop up with CSS styled pages and IE, I bet someone else would, you know.

Now there seems to be a problem with fixed width pages that were styled using CSS and the IE internet site browser. Now this trick is used to align an element on the center of a page, and it uses CSS styling techniques to do just so. But if you view a page that has been designed using this CSS trick on IE, the damn elements just can't seem to sit still in the center of the damn page! Totally fuming CSS experts have spent their precious time to solve this issue, and I now present you with a damn fix for fixed width page problems with IE. The damn CSS hack below should help you solve this problem once and for all.



Codes for this CSS Hack



< - start of code - >



body {

text-align: center

}

#container {

width: 770px;

margin: 0 auto;

text-align: left

}



< - start of code - >

There are certain compatibility issues in the world of digital information technology. I think this is because of those damn developers and programmers trying their best to outdo one another! One developer tries to create a program well-suited to the needs of most people that the issue of interoperability with other developed programs is forgotten. This is even evident in the development and design of the pages of internet sites posted on cyberspace. A web developer answers to the whims of a web publisher that he unwittingly discovers a new development language. Then, another designer exploits this newly found language for his own purposes, and ends up creating a compatibility problem with a technique he has already done on the pages of the internet site he is designing. This coupled with an internet site browser he has forgotten to think of. After posting his internet site on the world wide web, other web developers and designers follow suit, proliferating stupidity in their wake!

For instance, have you experienced a page loading on your internet site browser, specifically Microsoft's Internet Explorer, that seems to change once the page fully loads on your internet site browser? Wasn't the first thing you've seen an unstyled actual version of the very page you are now viewing? Damn your eyes, they're not the problem, not at all! Instead of blaming your eye doctor for those prescription pills that seem not to work, listen first to what I have to say. The problem lies with the CSS codes within the damn page!

Yes, those damn CSS codes! Since you're using Microsoft's Internet Explorer, expect much more of these occurrences, for you're using an internet site browser that I think is very much likely the joker among the pack of internet site browsers! I don't know what those programmer fools are doing back in the Microsoft base, but I think they're just biding their time so as to market their products as perfectly as possible. You see, in the world of capitalism, a product just seems to be perpetually developing, but, in fact, those manufacturers and developers could easily provide the people with a top-rated line of products and services! Anyway, if you're a web developer who uses CSS in styling the pages of the internet sites you're working on, I think the code below would come in handy! Yes, it'll functionally get rid of this damn flashing problem of unstyled versions of your styled pages with IE!

< - start of code - >

<link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css" type="text/css" media="print" />

< - end of sample - >

The internet site browser wars have developed into a full-fledged outcry for compatibility with various web design and development languages. Specially now with fast internet connections since more people can now fully access the additional functions and features such improvements on various web design and development languages have gone through after years of painstaking development. No wonder the programmers of each internet site browser have gone weary and bruised to the bone! But, nevertheless, I think they're better off today than the lifestyle that they had way back when the word internet was first heard from the mouth of Bill Gates. It was a myth back then, or many people viewed it as something from the fertile mind of either a loon or a genius!

Since I believe we now know which exactly makes up for a bonafide term for the man's ideas, I think we also expect the same from the developers under his name. No, his real name isn't Microsoft. But with Bill Gates, Microsoft and his name are one and the same thing, for without the other, such household names are nothing! Yet, there's this sort of problem regarding the developers of the Internet Explorer internet site browser being shorthanded when it actually comes to accessibility and compatibility with newly developed design tactics and languages. Such is the case when the comments well within inline styles following the CSS pre-defined rules are set on the pages of an internet site.

You see, if it weren't for the tweaks that were developed by various web developers and designers, the Microsoft Internet Explorer internet site browser would still be regarded as the joker among the pack of internet site browsers growing more and more compatible with most newly developed design techniques and languages. This is because the other internet site browsers understand that the pre-defined CSS rules apply each time comments can be found well within the inline styles of a page on an internet site. But it seems that IE has problems with this easy to understand concept! To think that all IE needs to do is to understand that the comments should be ignored when such is applied to XHTML documents! I don't know what his programmers are doing, but I think they're doing absolutely nothing to answer this problem!

I'm no Houdini, but I know a good disappearing act when I see one, or don't see one, that is! Who would've guessed the digital information platform known as cyberspace could come up with such an illusion popularized by primetime TV? Well, I think these web developers and designers didn't really intend this to happen. This may very well be caused by actual numerous blunders committed by those who regard themselves as superiors when it comes to the design and development of the pages on the internet sites that populate the world wide web.

Well, I have known that in using the CSS development language, you make your internet site as accessible and as customizable as possible. Logically, you would think that using this web development language would generally make the pages of your internet site virtually compatible with most, if not all, internet site browsers. I don't know where you got that idea, but I sure am sorry for you, my man. Thus, I give you the codes below so as to provide you a solution for the disappearing background image problem you usually encounter with CSS developed pages. If Microsoft claims to have the most used internet site browser in the whole wide world, then you should believe that. But if they also claim to have the most efficient, secure, and totally compatible internet site browser to the most number of internet sites posted on the world wide web, then send them a copy of a CSS developed page viewed using their Internet Explorer browser which you saved as an offline web document. Well, you won't be able to see nothing, and neither would them! Plus, they could refresh the page all they want, to no avail, that is!

< - start of code - >

.foo {
background: url(filename.jpg);
position: relative
}

< - end of sample - >

The information on the internet has been rapidly developing with the technology itself. With faster internet connections, the information on the pages of the internet sites on cyberspace have turned from purely textual to extremely graphical. Then, there are those internet sites which tend to mix textual styles with graphical layoutting. These internet sites generally have CSS and a mixture of some web development languages as well. With this, certain inconsistencies and compatibility issues have popped up.

Yes, some pages of certain internet sites seem to have spilt text flowing right out, oozing outside its containers that were set to be held within its bounds. This usually happens with CSS developed pages, and are usually seen to happen when using non-Internet Explorer internet site browsers. This is because the Internet Explorer site browser expands background colors and borders so as to perfectly hold the textual contents contained within the set elements. A good CSS hack is all it takes to resolve this issue with non-Internet Explorer internet site browsers. Do a search on the internet for the piece of code needed to resolve this non-Internet Explorer compatibility issue with CSS developed pages. I do hope you find it, for I don't want to spoonfeed people who don't seem to have enough time helping themselves!

< - start of code - >

div {
margin: 5em;
padding: 4em;
border: 1em solid green;
width: 30em
}

< - end of sample - >

With affordable and highly reliable internet connections, more people now have access to the information on the internet sites which heavily populate the world wide web. With this, web developers and designers are pushed to use various tactics and techniques in designing and developing the pages of such internet sites. The codes above are a prime example of what CSS can do to the pages of your internet site. Yes, you can define the border width and height of the elements on the pages of your internet sites with much ease and full customization prowess.

But, the CSS codes above are viewed differently by Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The page elements that are embedded on the pages of internet sites using such codes appear to be much narrower than how it should appear to be. Since a lot of people uses Microsoft's Internet Explorer in their internet site browsing ventures, this fact has been well-discussed and argued by the developers and designers of the world wide web. In order to provide a solution for this problem, you would need to put in a purposeful CSS hack which sends different values to the overall presentation of your web document. But, the hack values are dependent on the ISO values you have used on your web document.

When you are using a screen reader to support you on your internet browsing ventures, the issue on browser compatibility should not be limited only to the browser you're using. Using a screen reader requires more detailed compatibility on the formats of the pages on the websites you frequently visit. Such issues like scrollbars, navigation panels, embedded Flash objects, Java applets, etc. are but something to consider despite using high-end information tools. What would be something to consider next would be your screen reader's compatibility with your internet browser.

If you're using JAWS for Windows as your screen reader, then chances are you're also using Microsoft's Internet Explorer during your happy moments of internet connectivity! 'Cause if your using Firefox with JAWS, you're better off with IBM's Home Page Reader! In addition, you should check out which CSS styled pages are more accessible than non-CSS styled ones so as for you to know what to suggest next either to the JAWS developers or to the W3C!

Screen reader accessibility to CSS web pages aren't much of a question as opposed to internet browser compatibility with JAWS. Microsoft's Internet Explorer has been tested to be compatible with JAWS, and the new versions of IE can be fully navigated through JAWS as well with the use of JfW scripts. CSS styled web pages are compatible to Microsoft IE, and show no problems whatsoever regarding accessibility and usability. If this is the case, then CSS styled web documents are fully accessible and compatible with IE internet browsing using the JAWS screen reader!

CSS, or cascading style sheet web design, provides web designers customizability to the pages of most websites, including graphical sites such as Flash sites and those with javascript, which makes the pages accessible and more intuitive. This web designing language also gives the pages on the websites a more definitive look of what the site is designed for, specifically the purpose of the web designers and web publishers for the site, apart from providing interactivity and compatibility to most web browsers. So, most internet browsers can now be used so as to properly view the pages on most websites, including those with a lot of digital images, animations, multimedia content, and custom controls, specifically Flash sites and those sites with embedded javascript codes.

Oregan Networks, developers of communication and information tools and services, have released a multimedia TV browser with an embedded internet browser. Yes, it is compatible with CSS styled pages, and promotes flexibility as well as increased interactivity, due to its multimedia browsing capabilities, in browsing Flash sites aside from other graphical websites. Because of faster internet connections nowadays, which brought about a new perspective when it comes to accessing information and communications, it is definitely a must-have for those who want interactivity aside from accessibility. So, for those who want to frequently browse most media websites while having the capabilities of accessing Oregon Networks' multimedia browsing features, it would be best to download the installation package of the Oregon TV browser so as to set forth on browsing those graphical websites and accessing multimedia networks provided by the developer.

CSS-compliant web browsers are the internet browsers which support web pages with CSS codes and features. Current versions of Internet Explorer, Netscape, and Mozilla Firefox, among a few, are the most CSS-compliant web browsers to date. These browsers allow proper navigation through websites with pages developed and designed using CSS, and are available as free downloadable applications from the internet.

With CSS, a web developer can manipulate the position of any text element within the web page. It also allows the development of several text effects that are not possible with using just HTML codes. This is why most web designers and developers these days prefer using CSS formatting on the pages of their websites.

Thus, it would be best if you choose the internet browser which support CSS formatted web pages. This is because the advent of CSS layout formatting changed the perspective of both web designers and publishers due to the accessibility and customizability CSS formatting offers. So, when looking for an internet browser, make sure that it supports CSS-formatted web pages or websites.

The World-Wide Web Consortium has recommended 3 CSS specifications. These three are: css 1, css2 and css 2.1. The fourth specification, css3, is also included in the list but since it has not yet been released and few details are known about it, so I don't think there's any need to include it. CSS 1 is supported completely by nearly every modern browsers available. CSS level 1 is a style sheet mechanism that gives both authors and readers the opportunity to attach styles to HTML documents. The most important feature of CSS is that the style sheets cascade, hence its name. This means that the author may attach his or her style sheet on the page while the reader can also have a personal style sheet for the same page.

The CSS 2 builds upon the foundations of CSS 1, with a few improvements. All CSS 1 style sheets are valid CSS 2 style sheets. This specification allows authors to attach styles to HTML and XML documents. With CSS 2, the presentation style of the document' is separated from the of the document's content, making authoring and maintenance of the site easier.

The CSS 2.1 builds upon the foundation of CSS 2 and has few corrections, clarifications and changes. The main changes that this specification had are: All CSS features that are not supported by any web browser are dropped while the non-standard features that are supported by some browsers are added. The added features in CSS 2.1 are the new definitions of the height and width properties of absolutely positioned elements, it also supports table layouts, content positioning and a new calculation of the clip property.

Cascading style sheets are highly suggested for a whole web page renovation. Instead of using the JavaScript program, you should just opt for cascading style sheets. It would be easier to re-do the whole page with this program instead of going through each web page content. The best internet browser for cascading style sheets is Internet Explorer.

Now, why is it that Internet Explorer accommodates some cascading style sheets page elements when several other browsers don't? This is because Internet Explorer allows text spilling. In certain web page parts, there are texts that are longer than the box that confines it. Internet Explorer would expand its borders to make the texts fit the box. The Internet Explorer would also adjust the background colors to make everything fit together.

In the Internet Explorer, the elements of the page would appear narrower. Hence, it would accommodate more web page contents as compared to other browsers. If the CSS width does not fit other browsers, it would turn out to be an error. In the Internet Explorer, the width would definitely be included in the layout. So, if you're using the CSS, you don't have to worry about the Internet Explorer browser. You just have to make sure that you don't go overboard so your page would turn out right in other browsers.

With the continuous expansion of XML in the web development circles, numerous questions have been asked. Is CSS a good language for XML? What place does CSS hold in the XML world? These issues have been the subject of heated debates for numerous web developers. Instead of helping, the discussion about the values and virtues of different style sheets has increased the confusion.

Some developers say that XML still can’t replace HTML because the former lacks user agents that can properly parse and render it. Others feel that XML is unnecessary because the visual stage of the World Wide Web is being served by HTML quite adequately already. Despite this common mind set, several browsers have powerful XML capabilities such as the Mozilla Firefox. Mozilla also permits XML to be rendered in the browser with CSS.

Formatting XML with CSS is simple, just like how you format HTML with CSS. The first order of business is to format the existing XML elements with CSS. As with HTML, this is accomplished with a linked style sheet. Typically an XML style sheet is via an xml-style sheet processing instruction in the prologue of the XML document.

Below is an example of how to use a CSS style sheet to format an XML document:

<! - Code Sample - !>

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" href="cd_catalog.css"?>
<CATALOG>
<CD>
<TITLE>Empire Burlesque</TITLE>
<ARTIST>Bob Dylan</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>USA</COUNTRY>
<COMPANY>Columbia</COMPANY>
<PRICE>10.90</PRICE>
<YEAR>1985</YEAR>
</CD>
<CD>
<TITLE>Hide your heart</TITLE>
<ARTIST>Bonnie Tyler</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>UK</COUNTRY>
<COMPANY>CBS Records</COMPANY>
<PRICE>9.90</PRICE>
<YEAR>1988</YEAR>
</CD>
.
.
.
.
</CATALOG>

<! End Sample ! >
</textarea>

Web developement and browser development are sometimes not in tune with each other. There is this tendency that web development tools are increasingly becoming more sophisticated while browsers are left behind. Many web designs are wasted just because browsers are incapable of reading the codes of a web format.

Browser compatibility is a problem when using cascading style sheets or CSS. A browser may not show a CSS web formatting. While in some cases, CSS web formatting may be displayed totally wrong. This problem may arise with Internet Explorer and Netscape browsers with lower versions.

When you are surfing the Internet you are viewing different web pages designed to attract attention or give information. Most web pages may have simple and straightforward designs which may contain only texts and links.

Some web pages, especially the business web pages, may contain navigation tools such as menus, buttons, forms, etc. These web pages may also contain elaborate graphical and text formatting intended to capture the interest of the viewer. Some web designs, however, are not displayed by web browsers for they may contain CSS formatting that cannot be read by the browser. It would be a waste of effort on the part of the designer when this happens.

You've made the best looking web page in the Net and you're looking forward to the praise your collaborators will give you, only to be upset by something that is beyond your control--Internet browsers. You've noticed text jumps or blinks, a different layout from the one you made, and overlapping graphics.

It is important for you to equip yourself with the knowledge about current web design issues. The designs keep on changing such that constant update is a necessity. Also, a web designer and programmer like you should understand more about the differences between Internet browsers.

One issue that may be affected by this pet peeve is the background design. Don't you just hate it when you have pictured this nice background in your head, only to have it ruined by tiling into the pictures on your page? I have learned a trick to remedy this situation:

Simply insert the filename of the image, for example, apple.gif into the parenthesis. This would enable your background attribute to line up neatly in a row either vertically or horizontally. You would not have to worry about the background image being splashed over your text or other photos on your website.

Web designers intend to show their web designs in any available browser format. Browser compatibility is very important in making the website available to the largest possible Internet audience. Some browsers, however, are not compatible with the designs implemented using cascading style sheets.

Some web designs such as floats and document layout may not appear correctly when viewed using a particular browser. Some Internet browsers may simply ignore a particular parameter and make compromise adjustments while some may not read parameters as intended and designs are not displayed.

Different browsers detect style sheets depending on the type of web page you create. The simpler it is, the more likely you can use a single style sheet that supports all types of browsers.

If you wish to detect the visitor's browser and apply the right style sheet, here is a code you can use: . You need to copy this line into the top section of the web pages you are designing. Save it in the same directory where your web pages are located.

<! - Code Sample - !>

var browser_used=navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase();

var is_major = parseInt(navigator.appVersion);
var is_minor = parseFloat(navigator.appVersion);

var is_ie = (browser_used.indexOf("msie") != -1);
var is_mac = (browser_used.indexOf("mac")!=-1);


var is_ie5 = (is_ie && (is_major == 4) && (browser_used.indexOf("msie 5.0")!=-1) );

var is_nav = ((browser_used.indexOf('mozilla')!=-1) && (browser_used.indexOf('spoofer')==-1)
&& (browser_used.indexOf('compatible') == -1) && (browser_used.indexOf('opera')==-1)
&& (browser_used.indexOf('webtv')==-1));

if (is_mac)
{
// detect if ie5

if(is_ie5)
{
document.write("<LINK REL=stylesheet HREF='ie5mac.css' TYPE='text/css'>");
}
else
{
// if not load mac
document.write("<LINK REL=stylesheet HREF='macdefault.css' TYPE='text/css'>");
}
}
else
{
// if not mac then

if(is_ie)
{
// if ie5
document.write("<LINK REL=stylesheet HREF='ie.css' TYPE='text/css'>");
}
else
{
// else if netscape or opera
document.write("<LINK REL=stylesheet HREF='ns.css' TYPE='text/css'>");
}


}

<End Sample - !>
</textarea>

This is a simple code from Web's Eye that detects the browser version and creates line incorporating the right style sheet.

When you view a web page, you will see certain features such as text formatting, floats, paragraph layout, table orientation, margins, photographic effects, etc. However, there are instances that these features may not appear properly, graphics may overlap with texts, buttons, menus and other web navigating devices may not work as intended.

No matter how creative the design, or how informative or authoritative the document contents of the web page, all of these may not mean very much when web browsers are unable to present the intended appearance of the site. Hence, it is important that a talented web designer or even avid users, should consider testing the best browser that could support most, if not all, web designs.

Cascading-style-sheets or CSS is a method of formatting text, layout and effects of a web document as it appears on a computer screen. Web pages are designed to appear readable and attractive. Some web formatting such as selectors, text properties, background properties, border properties, margin and padding properties, page layout properties are supported and readable by almost all browsers. Hence, the web design will appear as it is intended by the designer. Browsers such as Internet Explorer for Windows and MacIntosh version four to six as well as Netscape Navigator and Opera are all compatible with CSS.