Isn't this targeting of specific browsers, be it server side or client side, what happened in the IE v NN browser wars, and one of the main reasons that standards are being pushed? Regardless of how efficient your detection is you are still writing multiple style sheets for different browsers, and the number of style sheets you need will increase with new releases. Updates to stylistic elements of the site must take place over many style sheets rather than one and development time may actually increase.
I'm not arguing that it isn't a solution in some cases, but as a default position it seems to go against the grain of standards. James -----Original Message----- From: Ben Boyle [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, 9 October 2003 10:02 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [WSG] Targeting IE5 I would have thought the best way to target a browser (be it IE5 or other) was content negotiation. Detect the browser and serve content in the appropriate format. Does anyone else get the feeling this technique is rarely used whilst cruder methods proliferate? IMHO, web servers can do a lot more than just serve files and should be exploited for all they are worth - and that's plenty. I feel this cornerstone of the web is oft overlooked, much to the detriment of the online experience when cruder technologies are called on to compensate. Maybe it's just too difficult for developers to get access to webserver configuration, or too tedious to produce content in multiple formats? Gotta weight that against the time and effort we've all invested in workarounds and hacks though ... The right tool for the job. One can't solve every problem with a hammer. cheers Ben ***************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ ***************************************************** ***************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ *****************************************************
