HTML5, AJAX, IE, and Shivs

Standard procedure for using HTML5 on IE is to use a library like html5shim, html5shiv, or Modernizr. These tools are, in general, quite great. We at Bendyworks tend to use Modernizr.

Unfortunately, something happens when you combine HTML5 elements with AJAX (more specifically, any javascript) in Internet Explorer 8 (and, I’m assuming, below): the feature that these libraries provide – namely the ability to use HTML5 elements without IE screwing up the hierarchy – vanishes.

To solve this in IE, we use the innershiv library. I’d show you how to use it here, but jdbartlett does a pretty solid job on the library’s page.

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