Re: FLASH: OT: vbscript in Moock detect for Flash

[Helen Triolo]

Thanks for the stab, Nick.   It turns out (thank you, Robert Nocera)

that I was checking variable flash5installed instead of flash5Installed

in case #3, which is why I got a runtime "undefined" error (lesson:

javascript is case sensitive, unlike vbscript).


And now that I'm able to view the variables, I find that flash5Installed

does get set to either True or False (not null), so I'm still stumped

about case #2.  The question remains why this code sample (from

http:i-technica.com/flashdetect/detect_ie3.html) sets flash5Installed

true when the Flash ActiveX is disabled in IE:


   document.write('if

(IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash.5"))) then \n');

   document.write('  flash5Installed=true \n');

   document.write('else \n');

   document.write('  flash5Installed=false \n');      

   document.write('end if \n');


when this code sets flash5Installed to false (as it should):


document.write('flash5Installed =

(IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash.5"))) \n');	


It seems, as you suggest, that the flash5Installed=true statement is

getting executed in that first sample, but I don't think it's because

IsObject is returning null, or flash5Installed in the second sample

would also be null.  If anyone else can see any reason, I'd love to hear

it.  Otherwise, I'll just stick with using the 2nd code and not the 1st

in any future detection schemes.  I appreciate your taking the time to

have looked at it all, Ryan and Robert.


Regards,

Helen 

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i-Technica  �  http://i-technica.com  �  301.424.6037

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Nick Ryan wrote:

> 

> A guess:

> 

> I suspect that IsObject may return an object reference (which can

> evaluate to true)

> or null (which doesn't evaluate to false).

> 

> In the ie3a version you have the lines:

>         document.write('on error resume next \n');

>         document.write('if

> IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash.5")) then \n');

>         document.write('  flash5Installed=true \n');

>         document.write('else \n');

>         document.write('  flash5Installed=false \n');

> 

> Perhaps the IsObject test on Flash5 generates an error because it

> returns null and you

> do the equivalent of if null. If so,

> the resume next may be causing the javascript engine (somewhat scarily)

> to resume from the next line i.e. inside the if statement rather than

> the

> following else. This would cause flash5Installed to be set to true and

> the

> rest of the if statements to be skipped.

> 

> In the ie1 version you have:

>  document.write('flash5Installed =

> (IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash.5"))) \n');

> and then later:

>  alert('flash5installed is ' + flash5installed);

> 

> I again suspect that IsObject may return an object reference (which can

> evaluate to true)

> or null (which doesn't evaluate to false).

> Thus you would be setting flash5Installed to null in the first bit of

> code and

> would explain the runtime error of trying to do an alert on a null

> variable

> and also why the code:

>         for (var i = 2; i <= 5; i++) {

>                 if (eval("flash" + i + "Installed") == true)

> actualVersion = i;

>         }

> still works.

> 

> -----Original Message-----

>

From: Helen Triolo [designeri-technica [dot] com (mailto:designeri-technica [dot] com)]

> Sent: 18 December 2000 20:27

>

To: flasherchinwag [dot] com

> Subject: Re: FLASH: OT: vbscript in Moock detect for Flash

> 

> No answers on this from the state courts, so I'm bumping it up to the

> supreme court in hopes that someone here will know...

> 

> Scenario:  running IE5, flash activex disabled per Macromedia

> instructions, all copies of swflash.anyextension deleted from hard

> drive, coded with subset and variants of Moock detection routine

> 

> Case 1) http://i-technica.com/flashdetect/detect_ie1a.html: popup

> alertbox shows actualVersion=0 as expected, gif displayed as expected,

> no prompts, everything peachy

> 

> Case 2) http://i-technica.com/flashdetect/detect_ie3a.html (code same in

> all but 2nd section of javascript, but should function same): popup

> alertbox shows actualVersion=5 and then does the "Do you want to install

> and run Flash 5.0?" prompt.  Why does it think actualVersion=5?

> 

> Case 3) http://i-technica.com/flashdetect/detect_ie1.html (same code as

> case 1, but with 2 lines added in body javascript to display variables

> flash5installed and flash3installed):  popup alertbox shows

> actualVersion=0, followed by runtime error, flash5installed undefined.

> Why undefined instead of false?  And if flash5installed is undefined,

> why isn't actualVersion also undefined?

> 

> Any answers to 2 or 3 would be much appreciated.

>


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