While history wants to repeat itself, browsers are more prepared than ever to control the damage. Mozilla and Chrome version 100 are likely to break some websites. With version 100, the version numbers will be moving from double to triple digits.
Many websites stopped working when browsers went from single to double-digit versions over a decade ago. A similar crash is expected with Chrome and Mozilla version 100 approaching.
There’s a Github list of version 100 issues, and Engadget reports that the affected sites include big names like HBO Go, Bethesda, and Yahoo.
Why is Chrome & Mozilla Version 100 a problem?
Websites deploy user-agent strings which help identify the browser, its version number, and the OS it is running on. Some websites may have bugs or unidentified issues that may affect user-agent strings from properly reading three-digit version numbers.
This situation had happened before when browsers went from single to double-digit version numbers. So this time’s crash isn’t expected to be as bad. However, browsers are still testing and experimenting with damage control.
The notorious Y2K bug is another example of such crashes and problems. Computers faced problems changing the dates after 31 December 1999. This was so because engineers back then used two-digit codes to save data. So when the computers reached 31-12-99, there was nowhere to go.
Similarly, version 100 can cause trouble for websites with user-agent strings that have a similar issue. Mozilla developers say, “Some parsing libraries may have hard-coded assumptions or bugs that don’t take into account three-digit major version numbers.”
Chrome and Firefox 100 version 100 are scheduled to go live on 29 March and 3 May. It is now only a matter of time before we know the actual impact of the update.
