Is jQuery $.browser Deprecated?
JqueryBrowserJquery Problem Overview
Can someone tell me if I am correct in believing that jQuery's $.browser is/has been deprecated?
Will my existing implementations continue to work? If not, is there an easy to implement alternative.
Jquery Solutions
Solution 1 - Jquery
Second Question
> Will my existing implementations continue to work? If not, is there an > easy to implement alternative.
The answer is yes, but not without a little work.
$.browser is an official plugin which was included in older versions of jQuery, so like any plugin you can simple copy it and incorporate it into your project or you can simply add it to the end of any jQuery release.
I have extracted the code for you incase you wish to use it.
// Limit scope pollution from any deprecated API
(function() {
var matched, browser;
// Use of jQuery.browser is frowned upon.
// More details: http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.browser
// jQuery.uaMatch maintained for back-compat
jQuery.uaMatch = function( ua ) {
ua = ua.toLowerCase();
var match = /(chrome)[ \/]([\w.]+)/.exec( ua ) ||
/(webkit)[ \/]([\w.]+)/.exec( ua ) ||
/(opera)(?:.*version|)[ \/]([\w.]+)/.exec( ua ) ||
/(msie) ([\w.]+)/.exec( ua ) ||
ua.indexOf("compatible") < 0 && /(mozilla)(?:.*? rv:([\w.]+)|)/.exec( ua ) ||
[];
return {
browser: match[ 1 ] || "",
version: match[ 2 ] || "0"
};
};
matched = jQuery.uaMatch( navigator.userAgent );
browser = {};
if ( matched.browser ) {
browser[ matched.browser ] = true;
browser.version = matched.version;
}
// Chrome is Webkit, but Webkit is also Safari.
if ( browser.chrome ) {
browser.webkit = true;
} else if ( browser.webkit ) {
browser.safari = true;
}
jQuery.browser = browser;
jQuery.sub = function() {
function jQuerySub( selector, context ) {
return new jQuerySub.fn.init( selector, context );
}
jQuery.extend( true, jQuerySub, this );
jQuerySub.superclass = this;
jQuerySub.fn = jQuerySub.prototype = this();
jQuerySub.fn.constructor = jQuerySub;
jQuerySub.sub = this.sub;
jQuerySub.fn.init = function init( selector, context ) {
if ( context && context instanceof jQuery && !(context instanceof jQuerySub) ) {
context = jQuerySub( context );
}
return jQuery.fn.init.call( this, selector, context, rootjQuerySub );
};
jQuerySub.fn.init.prototype = jQuerySub.fn;
var rootjQuerySub = jQuerySub(document);
return jQuerySub;
};
})();
If you're asking why anyone would need a depreciated plugin, I have prepared the following answer.
First and foremost the answer is compatibility. Since jQuery is plugin based, some developers opted to use $.browser and with the latest releases of jQuery which doesn't include $.browser all those plugins where rendered useless.
jQuery did release a migration plugin, which was created for developers to detect whether their plugin's used any depreciated dependencies such as $.browser.
Although this helped developers patch their plugin's. jQuery dropped $.browser completely so the above fix is probably the only solution until your developers patch or incorporate the above.
About: jQuery.browser
Solution 2 - Jquery
From the documentation:
> The $.browser property is deprecated in jQuery 1.3, and its functionality may be moved to a team-supported plugin in a future release of jQuery.
So, yes, it is deprecated, but your existing implementations will continue to work. If the functionality is removed, it will likely be easily accessible using a plugin.
As to whether there is an alternative... The answer is "yes, probably". It is far, far better to do feature detection using $.support rather than browser detection: detect the actual feature you need, not the browser that provides it. Most important features that vary from browser to browser are detected with that.
Update 16 February 2013: In jQuery 1.9, this feature was removed (docs). It is far better not to use it. If you really, really must use its functionality, you can restore it with the jQuery Migrate plugin.
Solution 3 - Jquery
Here I present an alternative way to detect a browser, based on feature availability.
To detect only IE, you can use this:
if(/*@cc_on!@*/false || typeof ScriptEngineMajorVersion === "function")
{
//You are using IE>=4 (unreliable for IE11)
}
else
{
//You are using other browser
}
To detect the most popular browsers:
if(/*@cc_on!@*/false || typeof ScriptEngineMajorVersion === "function")
{
//You are using IE >= 4 (unreliable for IE11!!!)
}
else if(window.chrome)
{
//You are using Chrome or Chromium
}
else if(window.opera)
{
//You are using Opera >= 9.2
}
else if('MozBoxSizing' in document.body.style)
{
//You are using Firefox or Firefox based >= 3.2
}
else if({}.toString.call(window.HTMLElement).indexOf('Constructor')+1)
{
//You are using Safari >= 3.1
}
else
{
//Unknown
}
This answer was updated because IE11 no longer supports conditional compilation (the /*@cc_on!@*/false trick).
You can check https://stackoverflow.com/questions/20392163/did-ie11-remove-javascript-conditional-compilation for more informations regarding this topic.
I've used the suggestion they presented there.
Alternatively, you can use typeof document.body.style.msTransform == "string" or document.body.style.msTransform !== window.undefined or even 'msTransform' in document.body.style.
Solution 4 - Jquery
>"The $.browser property is deprecated in jQuery 1.3, and its functionality may be moved to a team-supported plugin in a future release of jQuery."
Solution 5 - Jquery
> Updated! 3/24/2015 (scroll below hr)
lonesomeday's answer is absolutely correct, I just thought I would add this tidbit. I had made a method a while back for getting browser in Vanilla JS and eventually curved it to replace jQuery.browser in later versions of jQuery. It does not interfere with any part of the new jQuery lib, but provides the same functionality of the traditional jQuery.browser object, as well as some other little features.
New Extended Version!
Is much more thorough for newer browser. Also, 90+% accuracy on mobile testing! I won't say 100%, as I haven't tested on every mobile browser, but new feature adds $.browser.mobile boolean/string. It's false if not mobile, else it will be a String name for the mobile device or browser (Best Guesss like: Android, RIM Tablet, iPod, etc...).
One possible caveat, may not work with some older (unsupported) browsers as it is completely reliant on userAgent string.
JS Minified
/* quick & easy cut & paste */
;;(function($){if(!$.browser&&1.9<=parseFloat($.fn.jquery)){var a={browser:void 0,version:void 0,mobile:!1};navigator&&navigator.userAgent&&(a.ua=navigator.userAgent,a.webkit=/WebKit/i.test(a.ua),a.browserArray="MSIE Chrome Opera Kindle Silk BlackBerry PlayBook Android Safari Mozilla Nokia".split(" "),/Sony[^ ]*/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="Sony":/RIM Tablet/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="RIM Tablet":/BlackBerry/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="BlackBerry":/iPhone/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="iPhone":/iPad/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="iPad":/iPod/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="iPod":/Opera Mini/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="Opera Mini":/IEMobile/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="IEMobile":/BB[0-9]{1,}; Touch/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="BlackBerry":/Nokia/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="Nokia":/Android/i.test(a.ua)&&(a.mobile="Android"),/MSIE|Trident/i.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="MSIE",a.version=/MSIE/i.test(navigator.userAgent)&&0<parseFloat(a.ua.split("MSIE")[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))?parseFloat(a.ua.split("MSIE")[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,"")):"Edge",/Trident/i.test(a.ua)&&/rv:([0-9]{1,}[\.0-9]{0,})/.test(a.ua)&&(a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.match(/rv:([0-9]{1,}[\.0-9]{0,})/)[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,"")))):/Chrome/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Chrome",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Chrome/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Opera/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Opera",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Version/")[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Kindle|Silk|KFTT|KFOT|KFJWA|KFJWI|KFSOWI|KFTHWA|KFTHWI|KFAPWA|KFAPWI/i.test(a.ua)?(a.mobile="Kindle",/Silk/i.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Silk",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Silk/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Kindle/i.test(a.ua)&&/Version/i.test(a.ua)&&(a.browser="Kindle",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Version/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,"")))):/BlackBerry/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="BlackBerry",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("/")[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/PlayBook/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="PlayBook",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Version/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/BB[0-9]{1,}; Touch/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Blackberry",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Version/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Android/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Android",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Version/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Safari/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Safari",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Version/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Firefox/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Mozilla",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Firefox/")[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Nokia/.test(a.ua)&&(a.browser="Nokia",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Browser")[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))));if(a.browser)for(var b in a.browserArray)a[a.browserArray[b].toLowerCase()]=a.browser==a.browserArray[b];$.extend(!0,$.browser={},a)}})(jQuery);
/* quick & easy cut & paste */
jsFiddle "jQuery Plugin: Get Browser (Extended Alt Edition)"
/** jQuery.browser
* @author J.D. McKinstry (2014)
* @description Made to replicate older jQuery.browser command in jQuery versions 1.9+
* @see http://jsfiddle.net/SpYk3/wsqfbe4s/
*
* @extends jQuery
* @namespace jQuery.browser
* @example jQuery.browser.browser == 'browserNameInLowerCase'
* @example jQuery.browser.version
* @example jQuery.browser.mobile @returns BOOLEAN
* @example jQuery.browser['browserNameInLowerCase']
* @example jQuery.browser.chrome @returns BOOLEAN
* @example jQuery.browser.safari @returns BOOLEAN
* @example jQuery.browser.opera @returns BOOLEAN
* @example jQuery.browser.msie @returns BOOLEAN
* @example jQuery.browser.mozilla @returns BOOLEAN
* @example jQuery.browser.webkit @returns BOOLEAN
* @example jQuery.browser.ua @returns navigator.userAgent String
*/
;;(function($){if(!$.browser&&1.9<=parseFloat($.fn.jquery)){var a={browser:void 0,version:void 0,mobile:!1};navigator&&navigator.userAgent&&(a.ua=navigator.userAgent,a.webkit=/WebKit/i.test(a.ua),a.browserArray="MSIE Chrome Opera Kindle Silk BlackBerry PlayBook Android Safari Mozilla Nokia".split(" "),/Sony[^ ]*/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="Sony":/RIM Tablet/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="RIM Tablet":/BlackBerry/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="BlackBerry":/iPhone/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="iPhone":/iPad/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="iPad":/iPod/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="iPod":/Opera Mini/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="Opera Mini":/IEMobile/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="IEMobile":/BB[0-9]{1,}; Touch/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="BlackBerry":/Nokia/i.test(a.ua)?a.mobile="Nokia":/Android/i.test(a.ua)&&(a.mobile="Android"),/MSIE|Trident/i.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="MSIE",a.version=/MSIE/i.test(navigator.userAgent)&&0<parseFloat(a.ua.split("MSIE")[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))?parseFloat(a.ua.split("MSIE")[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,"")):"Edge",/Trident/i.test(a.ua)&&/rv:([0-9]{1,}[\.0-9]{0,})/.test(a.ua)&&(a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.match(/rv:([0-9]{1,}[\.0-9]{0,})/)[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,"")))):/Chrome/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Chrome",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Chrome/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Opera/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Opera",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Version/")[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Kindle|Silk|KFTT|KFOT|KFJWA|KFJWI|KFSOWI|KFTHWA|KFTHWI|KFAPWA|KFAPWI/i.test(a.ua)?(a.mobile="Kindle",/Silk/i.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Silk",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Silk/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Kindle/i.test(a.ua)&&/Version/i.test(a.ua)&&(a.browser="Kindle",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Version/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,"")))):/BlackBerry/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="BlackBerry",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("/")[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/PlayBook/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="PlayBook",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Version/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/BB[0-9]{1,}; Touch/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Blackberry",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Version/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Android/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Android",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Version/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Safari/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Safari",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Version/")[1].split("Safari")[0].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Firefox/.test(a.ua)?(a.browser="Mozilla",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Firefox/")[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))):/Nokia/.test(a.ua)&&(a.browser="Nokia",a.version=parseFloat(a.ua.split("Browser")[1].replace(/[^0-9\.]/g,""))));if(a.browser)for(var b in a.browserArray)a[a.browserArray[b].toLowerCase()]=a.browser==a.browserArray[b];$.extend(!0,$.browser={},a)}})(jQuery);
/* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - */
var b = $.browser;
console.log($.browser); // see console, working example of jQuery Plugin
console.log($.browser.chrome);
for (var x in b) {
if (x != 'init')
$('<tr />').append(
$('<th />', { text: x }),
$('<td />', { text: b[x] })
).appendTo($('table'));
}
table { border-collapse: collapse; }
th, td { border: 1px solid; padding: .25em .5em; vertical-align: top; }
th { text-align: right; }
textarea { height: 500px; width: 100%; }
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.9.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<table></table>
Solution 6 - Jquery
From the official documentation at http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.browser/:
> This property was removed in jQuery 1.9 and is available only through the jQuery.migrate plugin.
You can use for example jquery-migrate-1.4.1.js to keep your existing code or plugins that use $.browser still working while you find a way to totally get rid of $.browser from your code in the future.