13.4 Browser-Specific Code
The get_browser(
)
function gives you information about the characteristics and
capabilities of a user's browser. It makes it easy
to dynamically determine what kind of page to output based on what a
browser can do, what kind of browser it is, or on what operating
system it's running. Example 13-5
prints a message that depends on the operating system of the
user's browser.
Example 13-5. Using get_browser( )
$browser = get_browser( );
if ($browser->platform = = 'WinXP') {
print 'You are using Windows XP.';
} elseif ($browser->platform = = 'MacOSX') {
print 'You are using Mac OS X.';
} else {
print 'You are using a different operating system.';
}
The get_browser( ) function uses
the
$_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'] variable described in
Table 6-1. Remember, that variable can be faked,
but it is still useful in producing customized pages for the majority
of your users. For get_browser( ) to work, you
need to download a separate browser capabilities file and set the
browscap configuration directive. The PHP Manual
page about get_browser( )
(http://www.php.net/get_browser) provides
up-to-date information on where to get a browser capabilities file.
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