Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.lang.javascript > #30694

Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version

Show all headers | View raw

On Sunday, June 19, 2016 at 1:40:42 AM UTC-5, Stanimir Stamenkov wrote:

> "As HTML does not rely on a specific scripting language, document 
> authors must explicitly tell user agents the language of each script."
> 
> I suspect this has never been true in reality.  JavaScript has ever 
> been the only scripting language on the Web.

That is just simply false. Internet Explorer versions below 11 support type="text/vbscript" and IE 11 also supports it in compatibility mode. This support is extensible and on a number of Windows machines you can find other languages added (such as Perl). Usually for use in *.hta applications, but once registered, the functionality is available for the regular browser as well. (Both leverage mshtml.dll)

In Firefox, you can trigger different versions of JavaScript explicitly (incompatible with the ECMAScript standard), for example:

type="application/javascript;version=1.8"

Mozilla also experimented with Python embedding for a short period. There is also the skulpt project which tries to do the same.

Let's also not forget the existence of 3D on the web which utilizes:

type="x-shader/x-vertex"

and

type="x-shader/x-fragment"

So while yes, it will PROBABLY be JavaScript if you leave the type attribute implicit, Wouldn't you prefer to have a guarantee by being explicit about your intent?

> If one has to support older browser versions it would need to be 
> tested, and adjusted if not really working there.  Have you 
> experienced a case/browser where it is not working?

Do you only develop for an evergreen browser? If not than you are always supporting an older browser.

Have I experience issues with this behavior? Yes, perhaps a dozen times. Often this has been due to upgrading a website while still leveraging existing server infrastructure (which will send unexpected headers to the client), other times due to the necessity of developing larger enterprise applications which extend across intranets and extranets, which gives you a very large range of browsers you have to support.

This is one less thing to test if you are explicit, and is also future proof when the standards change again.

> I'm speculating it is implemented in all recent version browsers, 
> and probably supported by older version browsers, but I would like 
> to see some representative stats, also.

Explicit Is Better Than Implicit (EIBTI) in this case. I don't need to test for edge cases, and don't need to see statistics.

Back to comp.lang.javascript | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version $Bill <news@todbe.com> - 2016-06-16 23:18 -0700
  Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Evertjan." <exxjxw.hannivoort@inter.nl.net> - 2016-06-17 11:32 +0200
    Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version $Bill <news@todbe.com> - 2016-06-17 19:00 -0700
      Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Evertjan." <exxjxw.hannivoort@inter.nl.net> - 2016-06-18 11:35 +0200
        Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version $Bill <news@todbe.com> - 2016-06-18 19:16 -0700
          Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version Doc O'Leary  <droleary@2015usenet1.subsume.com> - 2016-06-19 14:23 +0000
            Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version $Bill <news@todbe.com> - 2016-06-20 04:13 -0700
              Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version $Bill <news@todbe.com> - 2016-06-20 04:16 -0700
                Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Evertjan." <exxjxw.hannivoort@inter.nl.net> - 2016-06-26 12:53 +0200
                Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version $Bill <news@todbe.com> - 2016-06-26 16:22 -0700
                Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Evertjan." <exxjxw.hannivoort@inter.nl.net> - 2016-06-27 10:49 +0200
                Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version Doc O'Leary  <droleary@2015usenet1.subsume.com> - 2016-06-27 13:58 +0000
                Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2016-06-27 05:43 +0200
                Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version John Harris <niam@jghnorth.org.uk.invalid> - 2016-06-27 09:38 +0100
                Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Evertjan." <exxjxw.hannivoort@inter.nl.net> - 2016-06-27 11:00 +0200
                Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version John Harris <niam@jghnorth.org.uk.invalid> - 2016-06-28 10:04 +0100
                Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Evertjan." <exxjxw.hannivoort@inter.nl.net> - 2016-06-28 12:13 +0200
                Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version John Harris <niam@jghnorth.org.uk.invalid> - 2016-06-29 16:16 +0100
                Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Evertjan." <exxjxw.hannivoort@inter.nl.net> - 2016-06-29 19:48 +0200
          Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Evertjan." <exxjxw.hannivoort@inter.nl.net> - 2016-06-25 16:40 +0200
    Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Michael Haufe (TNO)" <tno@thenewobjective.com> - 2016-06-18 10:59 -0700
      Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version Stanimir Stamenkov <s7an10@netscape.net> - 2016-06-18 22:32 +0300
        Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Michael Haufe (TNO)" <tno@thenewobjective.com> - 2016-06-18 13:50 -0700
          Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version Stanimir Stamenkov <s7an10@netscape.net> - 2016-06-19 09:40 +0300
            Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Michael Haufe (TNO)" <tno@thenewobjective.com> - 2016-06-19 12:21 -0700
            Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2016-06-25 18:37 +0200
    Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version Stanimir Stamenkov <s7an10@netscape.net> - 2016-06-18 22:17 +0300
      Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Evertjan." <exxjxw.hannivoort@inter.nl.net> - 2016-06-25 16:45 +0200
        Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Christoph M. Becker" <cmbecker69@arcor.de> - 2016-06-25 17:17 +0200
          Re: Failing to get DIV content to flip between initial and alternate version "Evertjan." <exxjxw.hannivoort@inter.nl.net> - 2016-06-25 19:02 +0200

csiph-web