[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #8942: Internet Explorer, 512-byte error page fix doesn't work. Neglects gzip compression.

[WordPress Trac]

#8942: Internet Explorer, 512-byte error page fix doesn't work. Neglects gzip
compression.
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 Reporter:  charris       |       Owner:  anonymous
     Type:  defect (bug)  |      Status:  new      
 Priority:  normal        |   Milestone:  2.8      
Component:  General       |     Version:  2.7      
 Severity:  normal        |    Keywords:           
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 Internet Explorer won't display a custom error page (e.g., the one
 generated by WordPress after a comment form validation fails) if the
 resulting page is less than 512 bytes; in this scenario, IE will display
 its own proprietary error message instead. This can prevent the user from
 seeing important WordPress error messages (such as form validation errors
 after submitting a comment). (See
 http://perishablepress.com/press/2008/01/21/important-note-for-your-
 custom-error-pages/ for more info on this IE bug).

 A WordPress developer attempted to fix this problem. In wp-
 includes/functions.php, line 2293, the str-repeat() function is used in an
 attempt to pad the error page with enough characters such that the
 resulting HTTP response will be greater than 512 bytes, therefore avoiding
 the aforementioned Internet Explorer problem.

 The problem is that the WordPress developer neglected to account for gzip
 compression being used in sending the HTTP response message to the
 browser. In other words, the error page may have 512 characters, but after
 being compressed, is smaller than 512 bytes.

 Proposed resolution is to always pad the error page with enough characters
 such that it is greater than 512 bytes, even after gzip compression.

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Ticket URL: <http://trac.wordpress.org/ticket/8942>
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