I can't believe it. Have my hopes and dreams come true? Word has it, Internet Explorer 8 will be standards compatible. So they say.
What does this mean to a Web developer like myself? For one, it means my life just might be so much easier. For too long I (and so many Web developers alike) have had to battle incompatible browser behaviors of IE6 and IE7 (which is so much better than IE6) by jumping through hoops to fool the browser. That's right, we have to use hacks. Although we try to avoid them, some/most times, hacks are essential. If only everyone used Firefox or Safari. But maybe, just maybe, soon enough I won't mind if people are using IE, so long as it's IE8.
For those of you not familiar with Web development, imagine you're trying to please everyone in your family by building a new family room. You spec it out so that it's 10'x10' and customize all the furniture and entertainment around those measurements. Measurements should be pretty standard, right? Wrong.
Imagine now if the males in your family over 35 see 10'x10' as 9'.7"x11.2"; the males 34 and under see 10'x10' as what it actually is (because that's my demographic!). Now, the women are another story. They see 10'x10' as 10'1"x9'9". You know, just to be difficult. However, the males over 35 and all the women see all the furniture as their proper measurements. So, how do you fit custom-sized furniture into their non-standard size rooms?
You have to fool them. For the males over 35 you figure out a way to secretly change their prescriptions on their glasses so they see the world in focus. For the women, well, good luck. You might have to change your vision to meet theirs. Whichever route you take, the end result has to be a 10'x10' room (or rather, a 10'1"x9'9" room since you won't win the battle). Then you can customize your furniture and entertainment to fit inside it.
Now try to imagine a world where everyone sees the same; all is in focus. That is what Web standards tries to ensure. There will always be little browser differences that most of us can live with. And if IE8 really does see straight, all that tomfoolery won't have to happen.
We'll see what happens, and how long it'll take people to dump their older version of IE. In the meantime, I will keep my dream alive.
1 comment:
Your just dealing with unreasonable women, because after all, if they were reasonable, they would be using Firefox.
The new Renegade site is THE BOMB. Though it pains me to see the Mass section in there, but only because I still harbor prejudices against bodybuilders. Which is funny, because I want to put some mass on myself. At least I recognize my hypocrisy.
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