Website:Browser Compatibility Statement

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This document describes the browser support policy at WormBase.

Support decisions are based on current site usage statistics (November 2010) as well as anticipated browser and OS releases. The aim is to cover > 95% of requests with A-grade support as defined below.

Win XP Win 7 Mac 10.5 Mac 10.6 Linux iOS 4.x Android 2.2
Firefox 3.6.x A-grade A-grade A-grade A-grade A-grade
Firefox 4.x A-grade (upon GA release) A-grade (upon GA release) A-grade (upon GA release)
Chrome (latest stable) A-grade A-grade
IE 7.0 A-grade
IE 8.0 A-grade A-grade
IE 9.0 A-grade (upon GA release)
Safari 5.0 C-grade A-grade A-grade
Safari for iOS A-grade
Webkit for Android A-grade

Rationale

Operating systems in use among WormBase users are evenly divided between MacOS and Windows, with other operating systems contributing a tiny minority percentage.

Windows XP and Windows 7

Windows XP users make up more than half of all Windows users but numbers should be declining dramatically in 2011. We plan to support only the most recent browsers for Windows XP users.

Mac OS X

Mac users are split between three OS versions 10.6 (47%); 10.5 (37%); and 10.4 (5%). We expect the number of users running 10.6 to continue increasing, with 10.5 and 10.4 declining.

iOS and Android

As of November 2010, WormBase is seeing increasing access through mobile devices like the iPad. We expect tablet style devices to become fixtures in laboratory environments. Full support for browsers on these devices is planned.

Grade Level Definitions

A-grade

A-grade support is the highest support level. By taking full advantage of the powerful capabilities of modern web standards, the A-grade experience provides advanced functionality and visual fidelity.

A-grade browsers are identified on a whitelist. Approximately 96% of our audience enjoys an A-grade experience.

Summary: A-grade browsers are identified, capable, modern and common. QA tests all A-grade browsers, and bugs are addressed with high priority.