ASP Browser Capabilities

You can create a BrowserType object using the ASP Browser Capabilities component that determines the type, capabilities and version number of each browser that visits your site.

ASP Browser Capabilities Component

An HTTP User Agent Header is also sent to the server ,when a browser connects to a server,. This header contains information about the browser (like browser type and version number). The BrowserType object then compares the information in the header with information in a file on the server called "Browscap.ini"

You can use the BrowserType object to list the properties of the matching browser if there is a match between the browser type and version number sent in the header and the information in the "Browsercap.ini" file .It will set every property to "UNKNOWN" if there is no match for the browser type and version number in the Browscap.ini file.

Syntax

<%
Set MyBrow=Server.CreateObject("MSWC.BrowserType")
%>

The example below creates a BrowserType object in an ASP file, and displays a table showing some of the capabilities of the current browser:

<html>
<body>
<%
Set MyBrow=Server.CreateObject("MSWC.BrowserType")
%>
<table border="1" width="100%">
<tr>
<th>Client OS</th>
<th><%=MyBrow.platform%></th>
</tr><tr>
<td >Web Browser</td>
<td ><%=MyBrow.browser%></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>Browser version</td>
<td><%=MyBrow.version%></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>Frame support?</td>
<td><%=MyBrow.frames%></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>Table support?</td>
<td><%=MyBrow.tables%></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>Sound support?</td>
<td><%=MyBrow.backgroundsounds%></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>Cookies support?</td>
<td><%=MyBrow.cookies%></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>VBScript support?</td>
<td><%=MyBrow.vbscript%></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>JavaScript support?</td>
<td><%=MyBrow.javascript%></td>
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>

O/P:

Client OS	WinNT
Web Browser	IE
Browser version	5.0
Frame support?	True
Table support?	True
Sound support?	True
Cookies support?	True
VBScript support?	True
JavaScript support?	True

The Browscap.ini File

To declare properties and to set default values for browsers, the "Browsercap.ini" file is used

This section is not a tutorial on how to maintain "Browsercap.ini" files, it only shows you the basics; so you get an idea what a "Browsercap.ini" file is all about.

The "Browsercap.ini" file can contain the following:

[;comments]
[HTTPUserAgentHeader]
[parent=browserDefinition]
[property1=value1]
[propertyN=valueN]
[Default Browser Capability Settings]
[defaultProperty1=defaultValue1]
[defaultPropertyN=defaultValueN]

Parameter	Description
comments	Optional. Any line that starts with a semicolon are ignored by the BrowserType object
HTTPUserAgentHeader	Optional. Specifies the HTTP User Agent header to associate with the browser-property value statements specified in propertyN. Wildcard characters are allowed.
browserDefinition	Optional. Specifies the HTTP User Agent header-string of a browser to use as the parent browser. The current browser's definition will inherit all of the property values declared in the parent browser's definition
propertyN	Optional. Specifies the browser properties. The following table lists some possible properties: ActiveXControls - Support ActiveX� controls? Backgroundsounds - Support background sounds? Cdf - Support Channel Definition Format for Webcasting? Tables - Support tables? Cookies - Support cookies? Frames - Support frames? Javaapplets - Support Java applets? Javascript - Supports JScript? Vbscript - Supports VBScript? Browser - Specifies the name of the browser Beta - Is the browser beta software? Platform - Specifies the platform that the browser runs on Version - Specifies the version number of the browser
valueN	Optional. Specifies the value of propertyN. Can be a string, an integer (prefix with #), or a Boolean value
defaultPropertyN	Optional. Specifies the name of the browser property to which to assign a default value if none of the defined HTTPUserAgentHeader values match the HTTP User Agent header sent by the browser
defaultValueN	Optional. Specifies the value of defaultPropertyN. Can be a string, an integer (prefix with #), or a Boolean value

A "Browsercap.ini" file might look something like this:

;IE 5.0
[IE 5.0]
browser=IE
Version=5.0
majorver=#5
minorver=#0
frames=TRUE
tables=TRUE
cookies=TRUE
backgroundsounds=TRUE
vbscript=TRUE
javascript=TRUE
javaapplets=TRUE
ActiveXControls=TRUE
beta=False
;DEFAULT BROWSER
[*]
browser=Default
frames=FALSE
tables=TRUE
cookies=FALSE
backgroundsounds=FALSE
vbscript=FALSE
javascript=FALSE

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