Comments on: META Refresh vs. Javascript Refresh

By: Cosmofur

Cosmofur — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:40:30 +0000

I have a specialized need for refresh that has nothing to do with standard compliance or google searches since its not for a public server.
Rather for internal use, I create a status display for a number projects/applications, and use meta refresh to update the display so we can keep this status display scrolling at a number of internal displays.
All plain and simple, running on a tiny computer with no HA or clusters needed.
The problem is, if the server should fail for any reason and the reboot takes longer than the refresh time, I then have to go around to all the displays and manually refresh the local web browsers to get the displays scrolling again.
Is there a way to use java-script to refresh and try again, even if the server 404ed? (I don’t mind it showing an error while the server is down, but it shoudl start refreshing again once it’s back up)
Perhaps keeping the java-script in a frame? (but I hate frames!)

By: Meta Refresh

Meta Refresh — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:00:47 +0000

This is a good snippet of information, its good to go through the source code of your competitor or of a bigger site to see what they do differently. Its good to know about the meta refresh though.

By: META Refresh vs. Javascript Refresh | Programming Blog

META Refresh vs. Javascript Refresh | Programming Blog — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:21:25 +0000

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Random Links #88 | YASDW - yet another software developer weblog — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:36:58 +0000

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By: Darkimmortal

Darkimmortal — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:18:10 +0000

Name me a browser that’s worth supporting that supports Javascript but not http-equiv meta tags.

By: Phil Sturgeon

Phil Sturgeon — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:52:22 +0000

@Mark: That would require a user to have JavaScript enabled AND META support, which would negate the entire point of having both methods included.

One should be used as a fall-back for the other, not both expected as requirements.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:34:54 +0000

To go into an entirely new direction, why not get the document’s head and inject a new element (meta) with those values! :P

Sometimes you CAN have your cake eaten in two.

By: Daniel Oliveira

Daniel Oliveira — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:17:49 +0000

To me, the ESPN’s code sounds fine…

By: Phil Sturgeon

Phil Sturgeon — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:20:28 +0000

It goes without saying if its possible to use HTTP Headers instead, you would. The point here is about how to fire redirects in the client and for that there are two ways.

The reason you combine the two is simple. META does not work on all browsers and JavaScript can be disabled in some. By using both methods you are increasing the likely-hood of support drastically as its very unlikely you will find a browser that does not support either.

You might think there is never a reason to use client-side refreshes, but when you work in a corporate world where idiots make the rules, you have to use their systems, follow their orders and produce crap. If I can make my crap work a little bit better, I am all for it.

By: Darkimmortal

Darkimmortal — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:12:12 +0000

“We’re a bit off track here people. The point isn’t whether or not you should use them — it’s the method by which you use when you do use them.”

Absolutely, go ahead and use automatic refreshes. Including the exact same functionality and its bugs twice and in a non-standard way is a different matter however.

If you absolutely have to do an automatic refresh, meta tags or http headers are the way to go. Not Javascript (unless it has to be done from code) and not a mishmash.