NAME
HTTP::BrowserDetect - Determine the Web browser, version, and platform
from an HTTP user agent string
SYNOPSIS
use HTTP::BrowserDetect;
my $browser = new HTTP::BrowserDetect($user_agent_string);
# Detect operating system
if ($browser->windows) {
if ($browser->winnt) ...
if ($brorwser->win95) ...
}
print $browser->mac;
# Detect browser vendor and version
print $browser->netscape;
print $browser->ie;
if (browser->major(4)) {
if ($browser->minor() > .5) {
...
}
}
if ($browser->version() > 4) {
...;
}
# Process a different user agent string
$browser->user_agent($another_user_agent_string);
DESCRIPTION
The HTTP::BrowserDetect object does a number of tests on an HTTP user
agent string. The results of these tests are available via methods of
the object.
This module is based upon the JavaScript browser detection code
available at
http://www.mozilla.org/docs/web-developer/sniffer/browser_type.html.
CREATING A NEW BROWSER DETECT OBJECT AND SETTING THE USER AGENT STRING
new HTTP::BrowserDetect($user_agent_string)
The constructor may be called with a user agent string specified.
Otherwise, it will use the value specified by
$ENV{'HTTP_USER_AGENT'}, which is set by the web server when calling
a CGI script.
You may also use a non-object-oriented interface. For each method,
you may call HTTP::BrowserDetect::method_name(). You will then be
working with a default HTTP::BrowserDetect object that is created
behind the scenes.
user_agent($user_agent_string)
Returns the value of the user agent string. When called with a
parameter, it resets the user agent and reperforms all tests on the
string. This way you can process a series of user agent strings
(from a log file, perhaps) without creating a new
HTTP::BrowserDetect object each time.
DETECTING BROWSER VERSION
major($major)
Returns the integer portion of the browser version. If passed a
parameter, returns true if it equals the browser major version.
minor($minor)
Returns the decimal portion of the browser version as a
floating-point number less than 1. For example, if the version is
4.05, this method returns .05; if the version is 4.5, this method
returns .5. This is a change in behavior from previous versions of
this module, which returned a string.
If passed a parameter, returns true if equals the minor version.
On occasion a version may have more than one decimal point, such as
'Wget/1.4.5'. The minor version does not include the second decimal
point, or any further digits or decimals.
version($version)
Returns the version as a floating-point number. If passed a
parameter, returns true if it is equal to the version specified by
the user agent string.
beta($beta)
Returns any the beta version, consisting of any non-numeric
characters after the version number. For instance, if the user agent
string is 'Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.0b2; Windows NT)',
returns 'b2'. If passed a parameter, returns true if equal to the
beta version. If the beta starts with a dot, it is thrown away.
DETECTING OS PLATFORM AND VERSION
The following methods are available, each returning a true or false
value. Some methods also test for the operating system version. The
indentations below show the hierarchy of tests (for example, win2k is
considered a type of winnt, which is a type of win32)
windows
win16 win3x win31
win32
winme win95 win98
winnt
win2k winxp
dotnet
mac
mac68k macppc macosx
os2
unix
sun sun4 sun5 suni86 irix irix5 irix6 hpux hpux9 hpux10
aix aix1 aix2 aix3 aix4 linux sco unixware mpras reliant
dec sinix freebsd bsd
vms
amiga
It may not be possibile to detect Win98 in Netscape 4.x and earlier. On
Opera 3.0, the userAgent string includes "Windows 95/NT4" on all Win32,
so you can't distinguish between Win95 and WinNT.
os_string()
Returns one of the following strings, or undef. This method exists
solely for compatibility with the HTTP::Headers::UserAgent module.
Win95, Win98, WinNT, Win2K, WinXP, Mac, Mac OS X, Win3x, OS2, Unix, Linux
DETECTING BROWSER VENDOR
The following methods are available, each returning a true or false
value. Some methods also test for the browser version, saving you from
checking the version separately.
netscape nav2 nav3 nav4 nav4up nav45 nav45up navgold nav6 nav6up
gecko
mozilla
firefox
safari
ie ie3 ie4 ie4up ie5 ie55 ie6
neoplanet neoplanet2
mosaic
aol aol3 aol4 aol5 aol6
webtv
opera opera3 opera4 opera5 opera6 opera7
lynx links
emacs
staroffice
lotusnotes
icab
konqueror
java
curl
Netscape 6, even though its called six, in the userAgent string has
version number 5. The nav6 and nav6up methods correctly handle this
quirk. The firefox text correctly detects the older-named versions of
the browser (Phoenix, Firebird)
browser_string()
Returns one of the following strings, or undef.
Netscape, MSIE, WebTV, AOL Browser, Opera, Mosaic, Lynx
gecko_version()
If a Gecko rendering engine is used (as in Mozilla or Firebird),
returns the version of the renderer (e.g. 1.3a, 1.7, 1.8) This might
be more useful than the particular browser name or version when
correcting for quirks in different versions of this rendering
engine. If no Gecko browser is being used, or the version number
can't be detected, returns undef.
DETECTING OTHER