Lynx text-based browser misidentified

[dsoprea]

My webpage is currently detected non-tablet mobile devices, and the Lynx text-based browser is detected as one.


It's UA is: Lynx/2.8.5rel.1 libwww-FM/2.14 SSL-MM/1.4.1 OpenSSL/0.9.8e-fips-rhel5

Dustin Oprea

[kamermans]

Hi Dustin,

The Lynx browser user agent has been in the WURFL for many years, and you version seems to be matching fine: http://bit.ly/AorBBm

Are you using one of our official APIs, or a custom API?

[dsoprea]

I'm using TeraWurfl, and I've never had a problem with it, previously.


My reference to it, determining what's a mobile device and not a tablet. I also had to explicitly disqualify a Lynx browser since it kept coming up as such.

function IsPhone()
{
require_once realpath(dirname(__FILE__) . '/dynamic/terawurfl/TeraWurfl.php');

$wurflObj = new TeraWurfl();

$wurflObj->GetDeviceCapabilitiesFromAgent();

$isPhone = (
$wurflObj->capabilities['user_agent'] != ''
&& $wurflObj->capabilities['id'] != 'generic'
&& $wurflObj->getDeviceCapability('is_wireless_device')
&& $wurflObj->getDeviceCapability('is_tablet') == false

// Lynx shows up like a mobile browser, for some reason.
&& substr($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'], 0, 4) != 'Lynx'
);

return $isPhone;
}


Dustin

[kamermans]

Thanks for the reply Dustin, I misunderstood the problem. You are correct that the Lynx Browser, although it is being detected properly, has the setting is_wireless_device = true.

There may have been a historical reason for this, but I think it should be treated as a desktop device at this point.

The is_wireless_device is actually getting set on its fall_back device, generic_xhtml, so the proper solution is to reparent that device from generic_xhtml to generic_web_browser. I've fixed it in our database and if you're a commercial licensee you will see it in the WURFL snapshot on Sunday night.

Alternatively, you can use the following patch to update the data yourself. Save the following as lynx_patch.xml, then add it to the PATCH_FILE directive in TeraWurflConfig.php and do a database update.

Code: Select all

<wurfl_patch>
  <devices>
    <device user_agent="Lynx/2.8.6rel.4 libwww-FM/2.14 SSL-MM/1.4.1 GNUTLS/2.0.4" fall_back="generic_web_browser" id="lynx_textonly_browser"/>
  </devices>
</wurfl_patch>

[dsoprea]

Great. Thanks. I'm an open-source user.. When will it make it's way to those database updates?


Dustin