After developing a web application that sends files via HTTP to a RESTful web service, I encountered an issue with Internet Explorer 7. The problem arises when the web service responds with a 400 or 403 error code - rather than displaying the expected response containing XML detailing the error, IE 7 presents its own static error page.
To handle server responses in other browsers like Firefox and Chrome, I utilized a hidden iFrame and its onload event handler to parse the server's reply. Unfortunately, this setup doesn't work as intended in Internet Explorer 7 due to the same-origin policy violation caused by loading the static error page from a different domain.
Tackling this challenge, I see two potential solutions:
A) Modify the web service to return a 200 status code for Internet Explorer requests, even if there is an actual error, while including an XML response indicating the error.
B) Implement an intermediary between the web application and the web service to intercept, interpret, and translate responses before forwarding them back to the application, ensuring compatibility across different browsers while keeping the RESTful web service operational.
If anyone has encountered a similar issue and found alternative resolutions, I welcome any suggestions to overcome this obstacle efficiently.