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Article:
  Cross-Browser Layers, Part One
Subject:   Author's response
Date:   2001-06-07 11:51:30
From:   stignygaard
Response to: Author's response

Actually I agree very much in what you're saying: You can't ignore NS4.x and IE4 just yet. But you didn't mention the W3C standard at all in first part of your serie ! In my opinion you have to code for three platforms if you're coding DHTML today: IE4, NS4.x and the other more or less W3C compliant browsers (IE5.x, IE6, NS6, Opera 5, Konqueror 2.x,...). Yes IE5.x is still compatible with the IE4 model, and IE6 will problably be too, and the marketshare of NS6, Opera and Konqueror ain't that big. But I think it is important to think about tommorow too when developing today. First of all your DHTML code gets obsolete sooner or later; Both MS and Netscape/Mozilla seems to take the W3C standards very seriously now, and the small upcoming browsers like Opera and Konqueror do too.
Besides its a matter of principle to me, to support a open standard that prevents the WWW to turn into a properiatary one-browser network...


Actually the W3C standard isn't that hard to learn. Take your IE4 code and do a search-and-replace on document.all replacing it with document.GetElementById, and you're already pretty far ;-)


Even if you choose not do any W3C code in your article series, I think you at least have to mention the subject. Learning people DHTML today without telling about the W3C standard is a bad idea in my opinion.


Stig