NetMechanic Inc. this week
announced that administrators of sites that utilize Dynamic HTML (DHTML)
scripts need to be aware that the latest release of the Netscape browser,
version 6.0, is causing significant incompatibility problems.
Since the
browser was released in April, it has been triggering a backlash from users
because of its handling of Dynamic HTML.
NetMechanic said it is releasing information about the problem in the hopes
of preventing Web site developers from unknowingly becoming the victims of
browser incompatibility, one of the most significant problems faced by
those who manage a Web site. The main cause of incompatibility on a Web
site tends to be a lack of the resources that are required to continually
view and test a site using each of the many available browsers.
Netscape officials could not be reached to comment on NetMechanic’s charges.
NetMechanic’s online maintenance tools, such as its HTML Toolbox version
2.0 help to identify such browser incompatibility issues along with other
maintenance problems, removing the burden of diagnosis from the person in
charge of the site. Sites that use typical cut-and-paste DHTML scripts from
a script archive can resolve browser compatibility issues by searching for
newer versions of the script or by contacting the author of the script.
DHTML scripting enables the use of JavaScript to dynamically change
Cascading Style Sheet properties–allowing the use and display of hidden,
visible or animated parts of a Web page. These scripts enable effects
including drop-down menus and scrolling text. As more people have adopted
the use of newer Web browsers, cut-and-paste versions of these scripts from
sites such as JavaScriptSource.com have
become increasingly popular with developers.
Mozilla.org is the non-profit group
that supervises the Navigator browser’s development. The group decided not
to support the older, non-standard versions of the Document Object Model,
or DOM. This is the cause of most of the problems with DHTML scripts under
Netscape’s new browser. Since the browser is still a preview release,
backward compatibility issues may be corrected at the time of the official
release date. If you are interested in verifying that your code still
works, you can download a copy of Netscape Navigator 6.0 from the Mozilla
Web site.
