Tryangled Solutions web designing tips tricks

JavaScript is not a programming language in strict sense. Instead, it is a scripting language because it uses the browser to do the dirty work. If you command an image to be replaced by another one, JavaScript tells the browser to go do it. Because the browser actually does the work, you only need to pull some strings by writing some relatively easy lines of code. That’s what makes JavaScript an easy language to start with.

But don’t be fooled by some beginner’s luck: JavaScript can be pretty difficult, too. First of all, despite its simple appearance it is a full fledged programming language: it is possible to write quite complex programs in JavaScript. This is rarely necessary when dealing with web pages, but it is possible. This means that there are some complex programming structures that you’ll only understand after protracted studies.

Secondly, and more importantly, there are the browser differences. Though modern web browsers all support JavaScript, there is no sacred law that says they should support exactly the same JavaScript. A large part of this site is devoted to exploring and explaining these browser differences and finding ways to cope with them.

So basic JavaScript is easy to learn, but when you start writing advanced scripts browser differences (and occasionally syntactic problems) will creep up.

IE 7 boasts a new slimmed-down appearance which can take some getting used to, even for the most experienced users. In its initial state, the browser hides many of the buttons and options that a lot of us have become accustomed to seeing in earlier versions. However, once you get comfortable with where everything is located, things are not as bad as they appear and Microsoft’s self-proclaimed streamlined interface seems like just that. Feedback regarding the new design has been lukewarm so far, but over time I feel that IE users can grow to appreciate it.

Like Mozilla’s latest release, IE 7 also offers multiple searches via a large grouping of search engines, encyclopedias, etc. While both browsers allow you to add more search engines from a predefined list, it is much easier to create your own in IE as opposed to Firefox. Microsoft provides a few easy steps to install your own search engines, while Mozilla requires you to create an OpenSearch plug-in to achieve the same result.

As it seems to be the case with every other browser release nowadays, IE 7 claims to “Put safety first”. There is some truth to this, as the folks at Microsoft definitely paid careful attention here especially when it comes to phishing protection. Some exploits were discovered early on, including personal data possibly being compromised, making it seem that the hackers were once again a step ahead. In fairness to Microsoft, Firefox 2.0 has also fallen victims to similar attacks during its first few months.

Do you know how many web browsers your website works in?

Do you know how many web browsers there actually are?

The correct answer is: Lots. Hundreds! Thousands more likely.

Thankfully for us, however, there are really only two types of browsers you need to consider. If you run a fairly standard website, these will probably account for 99% of your audience.

* Firefox, Safari, Opera & Internet Explorer 7. These are the most modern and standard compliant ones. Chances are if your site works in FF and IE7 it will be fine in the others too. These browsers generally hold about 70% of the market.
* Internet Explorer 6. The name that will send a shiver up every web developer’s spine. IE6 still holds something like 28% market share. It is also incredibly bad at rendering websites the way they were intended.

So what are the other browsers, you ask? Usually mobile phones, email/newsreader clients or other devices that can access the web. There are also hundreds of smaller name browsers out there, but personally I think you’d be mad to use them (for security reasons).

At Kintek, we test in Firefox, IE7 and IE6. This means we can guarantee support in about 90% of browsers, and fairly confidently state that the remaining few percent will work, too. Safari and Opera are very good browsers, which means you don’t need to pull your hair out making your sites work in them.

There are also resources out there you can submit your website to that will show you what that site will look like in hundreds of different browsers, which we use from time to time.

Very soon we will see the release of Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3. When that happens, the browsers will all be so good at following Web Standards, that all this worrying about Cross-Browser-Compatibility should hopefully become a thing of the past.