phpwurfl

PHP's get_browser vs WURFL - which yields more accurate result

Currently, I plan to obtain 3 browser information at server side, based on user agent string

  1. Browser name
  2. Major version
  3. Minor version

I realize there are 2 popular solution to do so

  1. WURFL
  2. PHP get_browser (which makes use of browscap.ini)

Right now, We prefer correctness over execution speed.

Has anyone experience both solution before? I was wondering, which solution yields more accurate result?

Solution

  • Disclaimer: I'm the CTO of ScientiaMobile, the company that delivers WURFL.

    I am not familiar with the implementation of PHP get_browser, but I would be very surprised if it came close to the level of accuracy that WURFL can provide (including the advertised_browser* virtual capabilities).

    At ScientiaMobile we have a fully-fledged team that is constantly looking at the user-agent space and is fine tuning the WURFL data and API to correctly reflect the properties of devices and browsers (and respective versions).

    Of course, WURFL is not a free solution (albeit we make evaluation version of the OnSite APIs available to the general public).