Dynamic Html Reference and Software Development Kit (Paperback)

~ Microsoft Corporation (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This Microsoft title is a definitive reference guide to developing applications that take advantage of the dynamic HTML (DHTML) features of Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. It is short on tutorial material but offers a very detailed programmer's reference to DHTML. However, readers should be familiar with Microsoft VBScript and JScript to make the most of it.

In the front of the book is an extremely brief 22-page overview of the benefits of DHTML. It covers the evolution of features through the releases of Internet Explorer and includes a table that illustrates the compatibility and features side by side. This section also points out the new IE5 features: DHTML behaviors, persistence, HTML Applications (HTAs), the ability to query client capabilities, and various other architectural features.

The meat of the book is the DHTML reference section. Here, DHTML objects, properties, events, methods, and collections are documented in separate sections. Short code examples accompany many of the entries, and the conventions closely follow other Microsoft documentation. Following this lengthy section is a reference to HTML Components, categorized into elements, events, methods, and objects. Appendices cover HTML Applications, tables, filters, and transitions.

A companion CD-ROM includes the complete IE5 Software Development Kit (SDK), code examples, technical articles, and a copy of IE5. If you're just starting out with DHTML, you should look elsewhere for a tutorial; if you're already coding it for IE5 and want horse's-mouth documentation, this is for you. --Stephen W Plain

Product Description

Here's official reference and software developer resources for Dynamic HTML (DHTML) as supported by the newest Microsoft Internet Explorer browser technology. The text provides A-Z documentation of the elements, objects, properties, events, and methods for the DHTML and CSS object models, along with an incisive overview of important new capabilities in Internet Explorer 5. This essential print reference, coupled with the Internet Explorer 5 Software Development Kit (SDK) on CD-ROM, makes this title the one-stop, must-have resource for developers looking to achieve dynamic new effects on the Web. The content in this book updates the DHTML information in the Microsoft Visual InterDev(r) Web Technologies Reference, updated for Internet Explorer 5.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1366 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735606382
• ISBN-13: 978-0735606388
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,119,514 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book is Exactly as Described, July 25, 1999

By	Will Jones ([e-mail]) "journeytogether" (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

True, this is language reference manual and, as such, duplicates some of the on-line help that comes with the IE5 SDK (which is included on one of the two companion CD-ROMs).

This book is not for learning DHTML but is a language reference defining all of the objects, properties, methods, events, and other useful information.

As with any complicated language like VB6 or Java, the documentation is always available through the help system but I almost always reach for my language reference books first, before using on-line help.

I also use language reference manuals to browse through a language just to get an idea of available commands I may have missed when learning the language.

As a reference manual for DHTML, a powerful language at the heart of IE5, that has grown very extensive in scope, I recommend this book as a useful companion to the DHTML on-line help.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only IE Reference Book Youll Ever Need, August 11, 1999

By A Customer

This book IS IE DHTML programming. I personally cant read from the screen, this book is msdn.microsoft.com in book format. Though the index isnt the best, if you know what your doing, this is the book for you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing reference tool, but lacking Netscape coverage, September 20, 2001

By	Jason Pomerleau "stick85" (Windsor, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

This is, without any doubt, the most frequently used book in my collection. Until recently, it had a permanent place on my desktop. It is a complete DHTML (and CSS) reference. It is not, as stated above, a tutorial of any kind.

The book is basically divided into 5 major sections:
(1) Objects
(2) Properties
(3) Methods
(4) Events
(5) Object Collections

Each section is thoroughly cross-referenced in exhaustive detail. You don't have to dig around four different places in the manual to answer a scripting or CSS question - everything is in one place at all times. This makes for a lot of duplication of information (its 1300+ pages give it quite a bit of heft) but frankly it's incredibly convenient.

Code examples are provided, and are generally good, but you basically need a certain level of existing understanding of JavaScript (or JScript) and the ideas behind CSS for many of them to be of significant value. If you're just getting into this stuff, this book may not be of much value - for now.

If, on the other hand, you're relatively experienced (or highly interested) in client-side scripting etc, this book will be a handy reference, especially for those who, like myself, still prefer to have paper references handy.

I have ONE major gripe - and it's a biggie. For such an exhaustive, complete resource, it completely ignores Netscape altogether.

This is a major mistake. I don't like Netscape, and I don't like developing for Netscape, but the simple fact of life in my business is that I must do so.

To be fair to Microsoft, the book is about Internet Explorer 5, and doesn't purport to be anything else. But it's such a cryin' shame to have to test every little thing on Netscape, when I have 90% of everything else right at my fingertips.

Despite this, I still give it 5 stars, though it really should be 4.5 for its lack of Netscape documentation.