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From: Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn on 15 Jan 2010 04:53
mscir wrote:

> I want to speed up my pages and I'm wondering if there's any reason not
> to write the google javascript into a PHP inlcude file that I load from
> my own server instead of downloading from google every time.

Compatibility, perhaps.

> So instead of including these 2 lines at the end of every page I want to
> track:
>
> <script type="text/javascript">var gaJsHost = (("https:" ==
> document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");

`document.location' is deprecated ever since. Do not use. It is the first
thing I change in those copy-and-pray scripts when I see them, to

var gaJsHost = ("https:" == window.location.protocol)
? "https://ssl."
: "http://www.";

The standards-compliant and backwards-compatible `document.URL' would also
work:

var gaJsHost = (document.URL.substring(0, 6) === "https:")
? "https://ssl."
: "http://www.";

One wonders, though, why they do not just tell their users to include the
right script for the right protocol.

> document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost +
> "google-analytics.com/ga.js'
> type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>

Yet another piece of evidence that the cluefulness at Google about client-
side scripting is minimal, if that. Even if they kept the silly protocol
detection, the same could be written more efficient and legible as

document.write("<script src='" + gaJsHost
+ "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'><\/script>");

(And if they targeted XHTML, anyone ready to use it would use a CDATA
section, and do not change anything here as well. Except perhaps the
document.write() as it does not work with application/xhtml+xml.)

That is the second thing I change in those scripts when I see them.

> <script type="text/javascript">try {var pageTracker =
> _gat._getTracker("UA-NNNNNNNN-N");pageTracker._trackPageview();}
> catch(err) {}</script>

And then this one. Obviously Google Analytics just breaks in older
browsers as their implementations (JavaScript before 1.4, JScript before
5.0) are known not to support try-catch. They could have at least used a
wrapper to hide the incompatible code, such as jsx.tryThis().

> I would have a single file on my own server that includes the script
> from here:
>
> http://www.google-analytics.com/ga.js

Define that. As I understand "includes the script" with regard to PHP
(`include(...)'), it would not speed up anything. For would it not be
slower because first the PHP script would need to be triggered?

> and these lines:
>
> try {
> var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-NNNNNNNN-N");
> pageTracker._trackPageview();
> }
> catch(err) {}

Yes, you can include that. A try-catch wrapper would be in order here,
too. It is not even clear if try-catch is even necessary here. Apparently
they are taking precautions against their own incompetence (ga.js does not
load properly), which a feature test could handle easily, like

if (typeof _gat != "undefined")
{
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-NNNNNNNN-N");
pageTracker._trackPageview();
}

> --- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: news(a)netfront.net ---

Would it be possible to get rid of that in the future, please?


PointedEars
--
Use any version of Microsoft Frontpage to create your site.
(This won't prevent people from viewing your source, but no one
will want to steal it.)
-- from <http://www.vortex-webdesign.com/help/hidesource.htm> (404-comp.)
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