Customer Reviews

Dynamic Html: Master All the Essentials

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I maintain a web site that is loaded with javaScript(www.art-wow.com). When I decided to make my pages interactive with DHTML I made the mistake of buying this book. The authur writes DHTML pages for IE browsers using VBscript and pages for NetScape with javaScript. How idiotic! The rule of the web is 'Cross Browser Compatability'!

This book is great only if: A.) You create pages exclusively for either IE or NN -- not both! B.) You want to write every DHTML script twice or C.) You want to know how DHTML written in javaScript and VBscript differ

There are so many good books that focus on how to make every DHTML page work equally well on both browsers (by writing it only once). In my opinion, that's the beauty of creative DHTML. The biggest problem I face is getting the same results in both browsers by only using javaScript. I don't need to know two ways of accomplishing the same goal.

In all fairness, this book does show you how to do a number of cleaver things. The author explains himself well and points out important things to know. Unfortunately, I've looked at a lot of DHTML and I must admit that I almost never run across any written in VBscript. Quite simply, no one does it that way (even the MicroSoft sites recommend javaScript).

The author tell you that all scripts can run on IE and Navigator. It is true only at chapter 1. After this chapter, you have to translate the code from IE HTML to Navigator HTML by yourself; otherwise, you never see the result as shown. In my opinion, it is a good book for learning DHTML only if you are IE lover. Unfortunately, I am not IE guy.

I bougth this book because I wanted to get acquinted with Dynamic HTML. It's easy to read and work through, cover to cover. Unfortunately it contains a lot of errors in the programming examples, and listings aren't always the way as they are in the downloadable examples, mostly in the Navigator listings. Further more the examples in the book are using Javascript and VBscript throughout the book, while these two languages are only (roughly) explaned in the last two chapters. If you are accustomed to Javascript and VBscript and you wish to program a little DHTML in IE. then this is your choise.

Great book.

The only problem is that the author aims at VBS in IE and javascript in Netscape. I wish he could discuss more on javascript differences between IE and NN. In the way the book is intended, you'll have to write a VBS file for IE and a separate file with javascript for NN. Not many do this. Most would try to write a common javascript to accommodate (cross) both browsers.

However, it helped me a great deal when I started working with javascript. The VBS bits helped,too ... after I learned VB6.

Download the online examples. You'll learn heaps and fast! Recommended.

I bought this book and typed in every html file. I think this book is worth its name. It does teach you the essentials. Unlike many other books on the same topic, it explains the new techniques through examples. I really like this book's way of introducing a new topic. This way you can feel how it works before you know why it works.