views:

71

answers:

3

Why hasn't someone gone and sorted at least most of the discrepancies between browsers, take for example:

-webkit-border-radius: 100px;
-moz-border-radius: 100px;
border-radius: 100px;

or gradients? In the above example why did mozilla have to have their own version? And if it's because they had support for border radius before the CSS3 spec, then why don't they make the -moz version legacy and accept the CSS3 version? And then there's things liek Javascript events, where in one browser an event will fire in one particular circumstance, but in another it fires in a slightly, but importantly different, circumstance. Then you can have onselectend event on a div but not onselect. And the way selection is managed varies pretty much completely between browser.

There has to be a renderer that is the best (the fastest, etc), so why don't the other web browsers just use that, and put they're own spin on the browser features and UI? What is so great about everyone having their own renderer, surely they don't make money from it (in Apple, MS and Google's case anyway) so isn't the time and money spent on developing their own version a waste, theoretically everyone follows the same rules, so they should be pretty much the same in terms of displaying.

And why have web developers stood for all this nonsense, there are far more web developers than there are people who create browsers.

(Note: This is not something like which browser is the best (technically, not end-usery) but why they're all different when there's no benefit (or is there a benefit), so please don't close it as submentive or whatever it is called)

+2  A: 

This is why all web applications should be implemented using Silverlight.

djacobson
I... disagree with that statement.
David
i like this answer. i might have gone a little more absurd, but can't think of anything off the top of my head.
A: 

Why hasn't someone gone and sorted at least most of the discrepancies between browsers

Because it's not as easy as diving headfirst into the source code, tweaking some lines and committing. Layout engines are pretty damn complicated AFAIK.

BoltClock
so why is the more than one layout engine?, if they are so darn complicated, then why do microsoft waste money creating their own, when they could use google's for example.
Jonathan
@Jonathan: Because their goal isn't to make development easier. Their goal is to use competing strategies in an attempt to gain market dominance and, ultimately, make more money. It has _nothing_ to do with standards or development or anything you or I hold dear. You claim that Microsoft is wasting their money, but history would contend that they know more about making money than we do.
David
Yes that's not their purpose, doesn't mean they can't do it. Sure they make money from Windows, but how can they make money from IE, where there advertising in it (well minimal anyway),and it doesn't cost anything to download, and they have TV adverts about it, so how does having their own layout engine (I can understand them having their own browsy?
Jonathan
A: 

They all have their differences because they are built by different companies, and each company wants you to use their browser over everyone elses.

Russ