portability question

[Neil Zanella]

Hello,

I would like to ask: how portable is JavaScript these days? Last time I used it
you had to do all kinds of checks to see if the client is running IE or Netscape.
Now we have MS Windows with IE, Linux with Mozilla, and many more browsers like
Opera, Konqueror, etc...

So, how portable is JavaScript these days? Are those stupid browser-specific
extensions gone. If not, I'm probably not interested.

Anyways, I just wanted to have a few buttons pop up context sensitive help
windows with close buttons. Can I do this these days in a portable way?

Thanks,

Neil

[Andrew Thompson]

On 6 Oct 2004 11:29:45 -0700, Neil Zanella wrote:

I would like to ask: how portable is JavaScript these days?
Extremely, & allways has been, if written properly,
which it rarely is.
..Last time I used it
you had to do all kinds of checks to see if the client is running IE or Netscape.
Badly written scripts use browser sniffing.
Well written scripts test for features - feature detection.
.. Are those stupid browser-specific
extensions gone.
Nope, and no sign of it in the near future.
..If not, I'm probably not interested.

Anyways, I just wanted to have a few buttons pop up ..
*
..context sensitive help
windows with close buttons. Can I do this these days in a portable way?

* Pop-ups are not only inherently unreliable, but becoming
more so by the minute. If that's what you intended to use it
for, it is probably best you dump the idea.

--
Andrew Thompson
http://www.PhySci.org/codes/ Web & IT Help
http://www.PhySci.org/ Open-source software suite
http://www.1point1C.org/ Science & Technology
http://www.lensescapes.com/ Images that escape the mundane

[Jc]

Context sensitive help? Try using the HTML title property, it will
display a tooltip when the user hovers over the item. As far as I know
this should work across most browsers (IE for sure), without being
prone to being blocked by popup blockers (for example, XP SP2 upgrades
IE with one that is turned on by default).

Displaying a window with close buttons that works across browsers? Look
at the source of the many popups you encounter to get an idea of what's
involved. Depending on the intended application for your "help window",
java may be an option.

[Andrew Thompson]

On 6 Oct 2004 20:27:38 -0700, Jc wrote:

Context sensitive help? Try using the HTML title property,
it will display a tooltip when the user hovers over the item.
*That* is a good idea.
Depending on the intended application for your "help window",
java may be an option.

Only if you keep the entire help content within a Java
component such as a (Java) Dialog or Frame, which will have
a 'Warning Java Applet Window' message unless the code is
signed and accepted by the user.

OTOH, using Java 'showDoucument(URL, "_blank")' to get a new
web-page is probably slightly *less* reliable than a JS solution,
since there are fewer strategies in Java to check for the existence
of the new window. Check this thread for further details..
<http://google.com/groups?selm=1ckv2s0ptm6x6.10olqq0hzfo18%24.dlg%404 0tude.net>

JS would also be able to hook into the buttons and other
elements of HTML forms far better than Java. ..which would
probably need help from Javascript to do so, as I understand it.

Besides, a Java applet is overkill for 'words in a square'
to help the user, it is better not to invoke the JVM for
things as straight-forward as that..

--
Andrew Thompson
http://www.PhySci.org/codes/ Web & IT Help
http://www.PhySci.org/ Open-source software suite
http://www.1point1C.org/ Science & Technology
http://www.lensescapes.com/ Images that escape the mundane