Programming Languages Internet Explorer Support

Internet Explorer supported a variety of programming languages and technologies for web development throughout its lifespan. Here are some of the main ones:

1. HTML (HyperText Markup Language): This is the foundational language for creating web pages. Internet Explorer supported various versions of HTML, evolving its support as the standard developed over time.

2. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): CSS is used for styling web pages. Internet Explorer’s support for CSS improved over its versions, although earlier versions were known for having issues with CSS compliance, which sometimes led to inconsistencies in how pages appeared compared to other browsers.

3. JavaScript: This is a scripting language used to create dynamic content on websites, such as interactive forms, animations, and other user interactions. Internet Explorer included support for JavaScript, but its implementation was often different from other browsers, which could lead to compatibility issues.

4. VBScript: A scripting language similar to JavaScript but based on Visual Basic, VBScript was supported primarily by Internet Explorer. It was used mainly in enterprise environments within intranets or on Windows-based web applications. Over time, its use declined in favor of more universally supported scripts like JavaScript.

5. XML (eXtensible Markup Language): Internet Explorer supported XML, a tool used for data storage and transport. IE included features to parse XML data and transform it using XSLT (eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations).

6. XHTML (eXtensible HyperText Markup Language): This is a stricter version of HTML, which follows XML formatting rules. Internet Explorer supported XHTML, allowing developers to write cleaner and more error-free code.

7. ActiveX: While not a programming language, ActiveX is a framework for defining reusable software components in a programming language like C++ or Visual Basic. It allowed Internet Explorer to host applications and interact with the Windows operating system more deeply. ActiveX was powerful but also posed significant security risks, which led to its decline.

8. AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML): Internet Explorer supported AJAX, a technique for creating fast and dynamic web pages. AJAX allows web pages to be updated asynchronously by exchanging small amounts of data with the server behind the scenes. This means it is possible to update parts of a web page without reloading the whole page.

9. JScript: Microsoft’s implementation of the ECMAScript standard, which is the standardized version of JavaScript. JScript was developed by Microsoft and supported in Internet Explorer alongside JavaScript, offering some proprietary features not found in standard JavaScript.

Internet Explorer (IE) is a web browser developed by Microsoft. First released in 1995 as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95, it became a essential part of the Microsoft family of operating systems. For many years, Internet Explorer was the dominant browser in terms of usage, mainly because it was the default browser on Windows machines, the most widely used desktop operating system.

Internet Explorer became popular because it was bundled with the Windows operating system, which had a dominant market share. Its integration with Windows and features like ActiveX controls gave it an edge over competitors.