Detect IE version (prior to v9) in JavaScript

Question

I want to bounce users of our web site to an error page if they\'re using a version of Internet Explorer prior to v9. It\'s just not worth our time and money to

Answer 1

According to Microsoft, following is the best solution, it is also very simple:

function getInternetExplorerVersion()
// Returns the version of Internet Explorer or a -1
// (indicating the use of another browser).
{
    var rv = -1; // Return value assumes failure.
    if (navigator.appName == 'Microsoft Internet Explorer')
    {
        var ua = navigator.userAgent;
        var re  = new RegExp("MSIE ([0-9]{1,}[\.0-9]{0,})");
        if (re.exec(ua) != null)
            rv = parseFloat( RegExp.$1 );
    }
    return rv;
}

function checkVersion()
{
    var msg = "You're not using Internet Explorer.";
    var ver = getInternetExplorerVersion();

    if ( ver > -1 )
    {
        if ( ver >= 8.0 ) 
            msg = "You're using a recent copy of Internet Explorer."
        else
            msg = "You should upgrade your copy of Internet Explorer.";
      }
    alert( msg );
}