Browser Wars v.2004: Part 1 Moving Ahead Lee Underwood
Moving Ahead
Trying to code for both Netscape and Internet Explorer is not easy. Sometimes it means giving up something in order to comply with both W3C and Microsoft standards. This issue is an ongoing problem, and occasionally means having to write kludges for web code in an attempt to make it work in both browsers, often with imperfect results. What works in IE might look awful in Netscape and vice versa. Occasionally things work for both, but not always. Given the tools we have to work with, there's only so much we can do.
What's in store for the future? It's hard to tell. With Microsoft embedding IE even deeper into its operating system — and refusing to comply with W3C standards — it could be the beginning of the end for IE ... or maybe not.
Meanwhile, there are still a host of other browsers that the web developer must contend with. Although they have a much smaller marketing share, they're
out there — and are slowly gaining in popularity. Next week we'll look at these other browsers and see what challenges (and benefits) they offer the developer. Till next time...
