Microsoft Way Or No Way

I'm having a very frustrating time with MicrosoftInternetExplorer not completely implementing the HTTP 1.1 (or even 1.0) standard. How can it be a "standard" if it is ignored by the application over half of all people use? What is even the point of hashing out standards anyway when Microsoft controls the world and sets its own policies? Why don't the people at the WorldWideWebConsortium just put up a little sign on their web page saying "do whatever Microsoft says" and then just go home and shoot themselves? --AndyPierce

Your specific issue here is about the multipart documents used as a server push mechanism, right? Maybe that stuff is too messy for HTTP, anyway. Complicating HTTP stands to break a lot of tools that thrive due to its simplicity.

We don't know why Microsoft doesn't have a proper implementation of the standard. Maybe it's because they are big mean bullies. Or, maybe it's because they just don't have the resources (cf: HanlonsRazor).

Pragmatically, I have never found any standard that was fully implemented and not extended by the developing company (Microsoft or otherwise). Reading the standard will never replace compatibility testing. --WayneMack

I say they just didn't implement the feature, and I say that the standard was goofy to have included it anyway.

Be that as it may, I'm sure you'll agree that removing something from a standard because nobody implemented it is a bit goofy in and of itself.

In my experience, other browsers have other failings. I think that this page should probably be SoftwareThatIgnoresStandards instead (or something along those lines).

See the MicrosoftInternetExplorer page for a description of the deficiency.