Using PHP to test for all mobile browsers

rtcary

I was asked to convert a PHP app I wrote into a form that could be viewed/used by all mobile browsers in addition to the desktop. My immediate response was "are you kidding?". But maybe I was too hasty. I have Google searched but not found any silver bullet. Does anyone know of any links worth pursuing?

One reference showed over 20 different mobile browsers, some of which need WAP.

Todd

NogDog

Some possibilities, each of which has its pros and cons:

Create a separate directory or sub-domain for mobile devices, with prominent links on the main site to point mobile users to that part of the site.
Similar to the above, but use url rewriting (or just a URL query string) to set a $_GET value that is used in conditional statements to control what is displayed.
Use server-side browser detection to make a best guess which type of content is to be supplied, such as with the [man]get_browser/man function.
Just have one page, but use CSS media types to control what is actually displayed.

Where feasible, I prefer the last option, as it puts the onus on the client to know what type of device it is.

Weedpacket

Another bullet point to add to NogDog's list (I'd put this just after the one mentioning get_browser):

Look in the request's http headers for an "Accept:" header, which would give the browser's preferences for how content should be served. text/html for HTML, text/vnd.wap.wml (if I remember right - I also remember a '.wmlc' for compressed WML) for WAP; pick and serve the one with the higher 'q' rating if both are present.

Oh, and if it comes up: put your foot down and insist that pixel-perfect layout will be totally infeasible. A design that works for 1280x1024 won't work for 256x256 - and vice versa. (The Web Developer extension for Firefox provides a "small screen rendering" options for getting a feel for small-screen constraints.)

rtcary

Here is something I came across:

http://www.tera-wurfl.com/

Anyone have experience with this?

Todd