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

Groups > comp.lang.javascript > #15108

Re: JQuery 2.0 drops support for IE < 9

Show all headers | View raw

On 2012-07-19 16:18, Matt McDonald wrote:
> On 12-07-18 11:18 PM, Stefan Weiss wrote:
>> The collection of tools and methods that I use
>> (and sometimes call a "library") has dropped support for quirks mode
>> some years ago. It works because I know where it's deployed - in
>> websites where I have control over the markup. Supporting quirks mode
>> would serve no purpose at all, it would only add a lot of unnecessary
>> code branches. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of being able to
>> ignore older browsers just yet. As soon as the last of those clients is
>> gone, I'll be removing code and dropping support, too.
> 
> It's a reflection of a poor design. An API that couples itself to
> a certain subset of browsers will always be unstable. Optimally,
> the developer should be able to choose what features to support
> when implementing the API.

The developer of a library can decide what features to offer and which
clients to support. The potential users of a library can then decide if
they agree with the developer's choices, and use the library or look
elsewhere.

There is a difference between being reasonably future-proof and
providing backward compatibility for every browser since the dawn of
time*. In my experience, it's inevitable that a line has to be drawn
somewhere. I see no point in offering support for clients which are so
different or so broken that a significant amount of workaround code
would have to be added (and tested and maintained) just for them.
Especially when those clients have all but vanished from the net, and
don't even show up in UA-statistics anymore.

In my case, my "library" is currently not even deployed on the general
Web anymore. It's used in a number of intranet applications, and the
user agents are known. The percentage of unsupported browsers loading
the library is 0.

I think I know where you're coming from with your criticism, and for
general purpose libraries I would agree with you. Where I disagree is
that any library that drops support for obsolete browsers (in its niche)
is inherently unstable.

I don't know enough about jQuery and its development model to comment on
how this decision will affect it. All I'm saying is that making a clean
break can be a healthy choice for a software project. The intended users
of jQuery 2.x will have no use for backward compatibility with IE7. If
anybody outside that target group uses it, they deserve what they get.

>> The drawback is that the jQuery devs will have to support two different
>> code bases, likely for a very long time, and that they will have to deal
>> with the inevitable complaints by people who downloaded the newest
>> version without bothering to read the instructions.
> 
> Their ignorance does not merit my pity, nor anyone else's.

I don't use jQuery myself, so I don't care much one way or the other. I
do kind of envy those working on v2, because they get to rewrite and
streamline their software and focus on modern methods. This is something
most developers dream of, but will rarely get paid to do.


- stefan


*) For the purposes of this discussion, I'm defining the dawn of time as
1995 :)


PS, just as I was about to hit "send", I noticed that your email address
has been added as CC. They *did* change something in the latest
Thunderbird update.

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

Thread

JQuery 2.0 drops support for IE < 9 perryv@gmail.com - 2012-07-18 20:43 -0700
  Re: JQuery 2.0 drops support for IE < 9 Stefan Weiss <krewecherl@gmail.com> - 2012-07-19 07:18 +0200
    Re: JQuery 2.0 drops support for IE < 9 John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-07-19 08:53 +0100
    Re: JQuery 2.0 drops support for IE < 9 Matt McDonald <matt@fortybelow.ca> - 2012-07-19 08:18 -0600
      Re: JQuery 2.0 drops support for IE < 9 Stefan Weiss <krewecherl@gmail.com> - 2012-07-19 23:20 +0200
        Thunderbird's posting behaviour (was Re: JQuery 2.0 drops support for IE < 9) Mike Winter <usenet@michael-winter.me.invalid> - 2012-07-19 22:37 +0100
        Re: JQuery 2.0 drops support for IE < 9 Hans-Georg Michna <hans-georgNoEmailPlease@michna.com> - 2012-07-20 15:11 +0200
  Re: JQuery 2.0 drops support for IE < 9 Gregor Kofler <usenet@gregorkofler.com> - 2012-07-19 12:46 +0200
    Re: JQuery 2.0 drops support for IE < 9 Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-07-19 11:01 -0700

csiph-web