Browser Compatibility: Browser Detection - Doc JavaScript
Browser Detection
JavaScript features several properties that reflect the user's browser and platform specifications. These properties belong to the navigator
object, which is supported by all JavaScript-enabled browsers.
Take a look at the following script:
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
<!--
var bName = navigator.appName;
var bVer = parseFloat(navigator.appVersion);
if (bName == "Netscape")
var browser = "Netscape Navigator"
else
var browser = bName;
document.write("You are currently using ", browser, " ", bVer, ".");
// -->
</SCRIPT>
This script prints the name of the browser and its version (as an integer). For example, it might print:
You are currently using Netscape Navigator 4.
The property navigator.appName
is a string that reflects the name of the user's browser, such as "Netscape"
or "Microsoft Internet Explorer"
.
The property navigator.appVersion
reflects the browser's version. However, it is a string because it contains more than just the version number. For example, the value of this property might be "4.03 [en] (Win95; I)"
. Use the parseFloat()
function to convert this property into a floating-point number that represents the version number only (e.g., 4.03).
Take a look at the following functions:
function bName() {
// return 1 for Internet Explorer
if (navigator.appName == "Microsoft Internet Explorer")
return 1;
// return 2 for Navigator
if (navigator.appName == "Netscape")
return 2;
// return 0 for other browsers
return 0;
}
function bVer() {
// return version number (e.g., 4.03)
return parseFloat(navigator.appVersion)
}
You can use these functions to execute a script segment only if the user is running Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0+ or Netscape Navigator 4.0+:
var nameCode = bName();
var versionCode = bVer();
if ((nameCode != 0) && (versionCode >= 4)) {
// additional statements here
}
Created: November 4, 1997
Revised: December 4, 1997
URL: https://www.webreference.com/js/column6/browser.html