Check if IE8 with pure Javascript

Question

I used to check it this way:

$.browser.msie && $.browser.version == 8

But it seems that $.browser has been removed from the later versinos of jQuery,

So,

How can I check that with just pure javascript?

I tried:

isIE8: navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 8") > 0

Wich seems to Do it, but it doesn't look that good and actually looks like it have many flaws...

Any better aproach?

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5574842/best-way-to-check-for-ie-less-than-9-in-javascript-without-library — damian, Feb 18 '14 at 13:31
What specifically do you need to know if it's IE8 for? The most secure way is to use feature detection rather than browser detection, so you're checking if the specific features/functions you want actually exist, and using workarounds if they don't. — Anthony Grist, Feb 18 '14 at 13:32
"actually looks like it have many flaws" — that sums up browser detection. — Quentin, Feb 18 '14 at 13:33
For all of you suggesting the older questions with answers relying on conditional comments, keep in mind that IE11 does *not* support conditional comments even in IE5-9 mode. Can be annoying while debugging. — MaxArt, Feb 18 '14 at 13:37
@AnthonyGrist because I apply a filter instead of a background-size — Toni Michel Caubet, Feb 18 '14 at 14:13
@putvande yes, well... parsing user agent and matching with a string.. is, at least, not elegant.. is it? — Toni Michel Caubet, Feb 18 '14 at 19:31
Best solution IMHO: http://stackoverflow.com/a/10965203/134120 — AsGoodAsItGets, Jan 13 '15 at 12:08

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 18 '14 at 13:33

3

This is longer than the one-liner you probably want, but safer than parsing the UA string, because it's based on actual behaviour (IE conditional comments): https://gist.github.com/paulirish/357741

answered Feb 18 '14 at 13:33

Ronny

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davidkonrad · Answer 2 · 2014-02-19T21:28:45.457

2

You could check if the SVG tag is supported. SVG was not supported in IE8 -> http://caniuse.com/#search=svg To the opposit, the DATA tag was introduced in IE8 -> http://caniuse.com/#search=data

So :

if (navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf('msie') != -1) {
   if (!document.createElement('SVG').getAttributeNS) {
       if (document.createElement('DATA').getAttributeNS) {
           //the browser is defently IE8
        }
    }
}

edited Feb 19 '14 at 21:28

answered Feb 18 '14 at 14:08

davidkonrad

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omit if(document.createElement('DATA').getAttributeNS ... if you want to check <= IE8 – Stefan Steiger Sep 02 '14 at 12:16

Check if IE8 with pure Javascript

2 Answers2

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