browsers
posted by Development
Among the ramifications of being a front-end Web developer is that we’re
constantly introduced to unusual new quirks from Web browsers. Today,
we bring you a strange rendering quirk from some of the least-quirky
browsers. We've observed it on iPad's Safari and on newer versions of
Firefox for the Mac. Need a refresher on how browsers affect the way a
page displays? Read our recent post on Web pages.
Identifying the problem
We’ve noticed when we zoom in or out on a Web page to a ratio that isn't
a multiple of two (such as 150 percent or 66 percent), the site will
sometimes have strange lines running through it. Sometimes not. What's
going on? The browser is rounding.
Read More...
TAGS:
thundertech, Development, web, Internet, browsers, quirk, zooming, lines, web page, pages, browser, issues, zoom, error, sub-pixel rendering, developerEach week, one of thunder::tech’s different departments will provide some insight into their field. This week, our development team shares some insight on Web browsers.
We have been involved in too many Web projects to count, and in each project there can be hundreds of items to iron out before designing and developing. From determining the look of the site to deciding what information should be required on contact forms, there are many vital questions to be answered. The one question that tends to be overlooked is, “Which browsers are we aiming to be compatible with?”
The obvious answer would be “All of ‘em!” While this may be a heroic statement, it really isn’t suitable for all projects and could lead to spiraling budgets and blown deadlines.
Any developer (thunder::tech developer anyway) knows that there are an almost infinite number of browsers available with their own ideas on how to render styles, html code and images.
The rules of browsers have evolved over time. Old coding languages changed to accommodate new methods and new languages are added to fill voids in the technology's capabilities. The organizations releasing browsers occasionally disagree on which capabilities are necessary and how the language should implement them.
Specific information has not always been available with regards to the interpretation of the rules and small details have fallen through the cracks. The W3C now publishes recommendations for Web development languages and specifies these details.
There is a reluctance to fix interpretation issues and to standardize all browsers together in newer versions because complex sites may have - either intentionally or inadvertently - used these inconsistencies to build a working Web site; thus, fixing one problem may break several existing sites.
As is true of all industries, Web browsers will continue to grow towards standardization; however, bugs and interpretation details will always exist. New capability requirements will lead to new languages which will not have every interpretation detail ironed out, likely causing the next generation of user-experience features to be equally disjointed. Nonetheless, organizations have begun to realize the power, convenience and potential of standardization, which is, we believe, the most necessary step towards solving the problem of browser diversity.
So, where does that leave us? Which browsers should you choose before a Web project?
Start by examining your core audience/users to find out what the purpose of your site is by asking questions such as:
- Is it an internal company-only intranet?
- Will it be a corporate Web site?
- Will the Web site be geared toward customers?
- Does the Web site include ecommerce?
To develop a company-only intranet, you can develop for a specific browser, but to develop a site with wider reach, you should remember the most popular browsers such as FireFox, Safari, Opera and Chrome.
Make sure to also educate the designers and developers of your Web site on your goals, purpose and core users. They should also be able to recommend the best possible direction.
As you are developing your new Web site, test on a variety of browsers to not only help you recognize where your development issues are, but to make sure that your goals and the needs of your audience align.
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