javascript - Which is a better way to detect a client's user-agent? - Stack Overflow

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I am interested if which would be the best place to detect the client's user-agent, client-side (javascript) or server-side? I brought up the question due to the fact that some IE8 users are getting a message saying they're using IE6.

I am interested if which would be the best place to detect the client's user-agent, client-side (javascript) or server-side? I brought up the question due to the fact that some IE8 users are getting a message saying they're using IE6.

• javascript
• ruby-on-rails
• ruby

Share Improve this question Follow edited Jun 3, 2010 at 19:46 John Topley 115k4747 gold badges199199 silver badges240240 bronze badges asked Jun 3, 2010 at 18:30 westoquewestoque 41711 gold badge33 silver badges1010 bronze badges 1

• Tangentially related note: The user agent says MSIE 7.0 instead of MSIE 8.0 when using patibility view in IE8. – Brian Commented Jun 3, 2010 at 18:40

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5 Answers 5

Sorted by: Reset to default 8

The short and correct answer is : do not use anything that relies on UserAgent sniffing.

To reliable be able to adjust code paths you should test for the specific 'thing' that the codepath is adjusted for, primarily features. This is called Feature Detection.

So if feature X is supported we do this, if not we do that.

Deducing if a feature is supported based on which UserAgent is present will rapidly fail, especially when new browsers e to the marked.
Take the following example, which can actually be found in several major libraries (!)

if (isIE8) {
    // use new feature provided by IE8
} else if (isIE7) {
    // use not so new feature provided by IE7 (and IE8)
} else {
    // use fallback for all others (which also works in IE7 and IE8)
}

What do you think happens when IE9 es along?

The correct pattern in this case would be

if ("addEventListener" in foo) {
    // use DOM level 2 addEventListener to attach events
    foo.addEventListener(...
} else if ("attachEvent" in foo) {
    // use IE's proprietary attachEvent method
    foo.attachEvent(...
} else {
    // fall back to DOM 0
    foo["on" + eventName] = ....
}

The User-agent available on both sides should be the same, unless there's funny stuff going on, which normally isn't.

If you want to show a message to IE6 users, I suggest you use conditional ments. They're an IE-specific feature and work very well for detecting IE versions.

The information found through client or server-side detection is basically the same.

Keep in mind it is extremely easy to spoof what browser you're in. There is no fail-safe way to detect all browser types accurately.

i don't know how you're checking for the user agent, but i'd do this way:

<%=
case request.env['HTTP_USER_AGENT']
when /Safari/
    "it's a Mac!"
when /iPhone/
    "it's a iPhone"
else
    "i don't know :("
end
%>

checking directly in the user request seems to be the most consistent way to verify the user browser. And the request.env is avaliable in your controller and views, so you could pass this to rjs if needed.

For those who need to get the actual user-agent using JavaScript, you can use navigator.userAgent

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