Code Viewer Alt - Rounded corners and drop shadow

[Emma Jonsson]

The menu in http://webblabb.iki.his.se/lenasys/Code%20Viewer%20Alt/index.html has rounded corners, gradient background and drop shadow on the menu links in Opera v.12.15 but this features doesn't work in Internet Explorer v.8.0. See screenshot.

The drop shadow and gradient background doesn't work on the headings on the page overall in Internet Explorer.

[Elof Bigestans (elof-bigestans)]

We should have a discussion about what feature requirements we have for legacy browsers.

For example: should we make sure the pages look _exactly the same_ in Internet Explorer 7 as they do in the newest release of Chrome? Or is it enough that they both work with the same functionality?

In my opinion it would be a better idea to make sure they are all usable and functional in older versions of IE, but they do not have to look exactly the same. So things like drop shadows, mounded corners, multiple backgrounds, gradients, etc. would exist in Chrome but not in IE.

The concept of Progressive Enhancement supports this idea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_enhancement

[Adam Ringhede (adamringhede)]

I believe that the applications should still be aesthetically pleasing, even if an older browser is used, to achive a greater quality from the users' point of view. Some functionality like rounded corners, drop shadows and such should accordning to the documentation of PIE, be achievable in older versions of IE.

http://css3pie.com/documentation/supported-css3-features/#box-shadow

[Adam Ringhede (adamringhede)]

In professional web development, pixel perfection across all browsers is a very common requirement. Companies are paying alot of money for web designs that look good. And for them, it's rarely acceptable that some users will not experience it. There are still alot of people using older browsers. The purpose of this project is to try to emulate a real web development project, so we might as well have the same requirements as a real one has. The school has been soft on us regarding browser compatability, our potential employers and real clients are not.

We do not have to optimize the project on time or cost, atleast not at the moment, so why not optimize it for quality. It's a good opportunity to get the experience and learn new things.

Still, this is not something we will necessarily have to decide for ourselves. It is up to the requirements/analysis group to discuss this with the client.