| rdfs:comment
| - Because not all [[w c:internet:World Wide Web|web]] users use the same [[w c:internet:browser|browser]], making pages comprehensible for all (or at least the most popular) browsers is an important goal for web developers. This goal is known as "cross-browser compatibility," and its long-term solution is ECMAScript, the standard for JavaScript. c:code:implementation|implementors]] do not always comply with standards. In such a case, a larger [[w
- Cross-browser compatibility refers to the ability for a website, web application, HTML construct or client-side script to support all the web browsers. The term cross-browser is often confused with multi-browser. Multi-browser means something works with several web browsers. Cross-browser means something works with all versions of all browsers to have existed since the web began. The term is still in use, but to lesser extent. The main reasons for this are:
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| abstract
| - Cross-browser compatibility refers to the ability for a website, web application, HTML construct or client-side script to support all the web browsers. The term cross-browser is often confused with multi-browser. Multi-browser means something works with several web browsers. Cross-browser means something works with all versions of all browsers to have existed since the web began. The term was widely used during the browser wars in the late-1990s. In that context, the term referred to websites and code snippets that worked in both Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. During the browser wars, new features were added to browsers without any coordination between vendors. Thus it often happened that though both browsers supported some particular feature, there were differences in the way the feature worked, ranging from slight cosmetic issues to profound conceptual differences. The term is still in use, but to lesser extent. The main reasons for this are:
* Later versions of both Internet Explorer and Netscape included support for HTML 4.0 and CSS1, proprietary extensions were no longer required to accomplish many commonly desired designs.
* Somewhat more compatible DOM manipulation techniques became the preferred method for writing client-side scripts.
* The browser market has broadened, and to claim cross-browser compatibility, the website is nowadays expected to support browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Safari in addition to Internet Explorer and Netscape.
* There has been an attitude shift towards more compatibility in general. Thus, some degree of cross-browser support is expected and only its absence needs to be noted.
- Because not all [[w c:internet:World Wide Web|web]] users use the same [[w c:internet:browser|browser]], making pages comprehensible for all (or at least the most popular) browsers is an important goal for web developers. This goal is known as "cross-browser compatibility," and its long-term solution is ECMAScript, the standard for JavaScript. Standards are very much like dictionaries in that authorities publish them, everyone is expected to follow them, and their publication is typically an affirmative response to how the technology is being used at the time of publication. However, browser [[w c:code:implementation|implementors]] do not always comply with standards. In such a case, a larger [[w c:code:user-base|user-base]] makes a browser's implementation more likely to be followed by developers (allowing the browser to continue in its error). If two browsers conflict, the developer must either find a way to detect the implementation or decide what his priorities are. When the decision must be made, most developers prioritize their user-base before the standard, so JavaScript is what the browsers say it is. However, the less compliant browsers (most notably Windows Internet Explorer) are being encouraged to fall in line by various organizations and the current cross-browser nightmare should be significantly faded by the summer of 2009 (when Internet Explorer 8 is to be released).
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