Netscape 4 Research

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So, I decided that it would be a good idea to look into NS4 development. This, not because I like it, mind you, but because I think it’s really necessary in order to open up the site to a larger audience, and that it would be a great learning experiment for content presentation (nevermind that I’ll be able to tell my kids that I had to come up with clever ways to deliver my content over this antique web-thing, in the freezing snow, up hill both ways, etc.). The first thing I did was hit Netscape’s site for old versions of NS. Yes, I downloaded 4.76. Yes, I feel dirty.

As usual, the next step was to scope out what Mark Pilgrim had to say about NS4. Here were some articles I ran across.

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  • A List Apart: Backwards Compatible Stylesheet Switcher. Ridiculous! Impossible! Why on earth would you want to? Go back to your cave, Neanderthal! All these responses are valid, but I have a peculiar angle on the situation. I do all my web design, however impractical it sounds, using CSS layout that displays reasonably well in Netscape 4. And I saw no reason to change now. This ALA article seems to express that the best way to handle the issue is JavaScript. This might be a good idea (figuring out the browser signature and doing a document.write() wouldn’t be that hard).
  • Mark Howells Online: CSS and Netscape 4. It is possible to create some quite good sites for NN4.x using just CSS for layout, but there are a few things that you need to be aware of, even before you open Photoshop to do the initial graphic design. Brief list of pointers.
  • Website Tips: CSS (Style Sheets). The CSS Section below is filled with links to some of the best articles, tips, tutorials, editors, and templates on cascading style sheets (CSS). Some nice articles referenced here, including some of the above.
  • Mark Pilgrim: The neverending saga of Netscape 4 compatibility. CSS and Netscape 4 Issues. I’m battling this in my day job. (Yes, I have a day job, and yes, it currently involves creating a web-based application that works in Netscape 4. Life is full of little ironies.) A brief commentary on Mark’s NS4 adventures.

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All in all, I may just serve up raw content (i.e. not formatted with CSS) for anyone who is using Netscape 4. This is similar to what already happens for users using, say, EudoraWeb for Palm. The message being to NS4 users: the site might look boring, but at least it doesn’t look like garbage.

4 thoughts on “Netscape 4 Research”

  2. Um, no thanks. :) I’m already having my share of development challenges with web browsers that break the rules–I don’t need to add another to the fray (I just found out my site looks cheesy in Opera). I’ll be posting up my decision about handling NN4 soon.

  4. Netscape 4 is a bitch, and I’ve tried tackling it on many levels. Gotta love HTML 4.01 strict, although the w3 is pissing me off with their negative attitude towards frames for which there is no subsitute.

    For all those who are trying to center tables in HTML 4.01 strict for Netscape 4, there is only one way, or at least technique. Create a document write in through javascript to insert a center command if document.layers is detected of course. And you also need to make a 2nd javascript command to close the center command. The HTML Validator passes right over the code but it still centers the table in Netscape 4.

    Have a good one…