Building Dynamic HTML GUIs (Paperback)

~ (Author), David S. Fox (Author) "Few terms have been the subject of as much confusion as interface, especially when used in the context of computing..." (more)
Key Phrases: help configuration file, tab widget, menu name label, Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Examples of Good (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Inspired by the need for rapid user interface development and cross-browser compatibility, authors Steven Champeon and David S. Fox wrote Building Dynamic HTML GUIs to fill an information void. User interface design is rarely addressed in detail for intranet and Internet development, so this title offers a fresh perspective.

The first part of the book comprises four chapters on general user interface design principles. This section includes a detailed look at user interface designs past and present, providing a fascinating history of user interface (UI) evolution. The fourth chapter focuses specifically on the new challenges of Web UI design.

The book then moves into dynamic HTML (DHTML) and begins with the Document Object Model (DOM). The authors explain the needs and benefits of a DOM visually with diagrams and code snippets. They then introduce client-side scripting with explanations of all the various language flavors such as VBScript, JavaScript, and ECMAScript. This part finishes off with a discussion of cascading style sheets (CSS) and a solid wrap-up chapter.

In the large remainder of the book, the authors present tons of examples. They guide the reader through building feedback forms, a custom color picker, cookie-management modules, dynamic menus, and more. They also show how to use DHTML in a help system. This guide will be most appreciated by those with some existing HTML and DHTML background; it offers a very comprehensive look at the confusing set of technologies that make up today's dynamic HTML. --Stephen Plain

Product Description

A great Web site has to look great. But it also has to be user friendly. And load fast. And translate seamlessly across platforms and browsers. This unique guide shows you how to do it all with dynamic HTML -- and cut your development time to boot.

Drawing on their own experiences as Web developers, Steven Champeon and David S. Fox give you everything you need to create great graphical user interfaces with DHTML -- cutting-edge design theory, powerful development strategies, nuts-and-bolts programming tips, and even a library of ready-to-use JavaScript modules.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 711 pages
• Publisher: Hungry Minds; 1 edition (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764532677
• ISBN-13: 978-0764532672
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,134,920 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Theory, fundamentals AND working code., June 14, 1999

By	Jeffrey Veen (San Francisco) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I seldom read "doorstop" techology books -- you know, the 600-1000 page works focused on exhaustive reference and tutorials into some technology. The good ones sit on my desk like a dictionary, waiting for me to look up a particular syntax for something. The bad ones prop up my monitor.

This book, however, does neither. Champeon does great job doing what it's advertised as doing: You can use his work to step you through the daunting task of building interfaces to Web applications that work in both browsers. With a supporting Web site for downloading the code he refers to in the book, you'll have a complete package for taking the next step in dynamic development for the Web.

But he doesn't stop there. While so many technical books give you the nuts and bolts to build your projects, so few give you anything else. Champeon realizes that this is only the end of a long process of understanding the reasons WHY you should build sites the way he suggests. To drive home his point, he digs into the history of interface theory: from the early command-line interfaces, to modern GUIs, and now the advent of powerful tools displayed through hypertext interfaces.

Without this understanding of the fundamentals of good, user-centered design, any interface you build will fail. This book will give you that understanding, plus to tools to put that knowledge into practice.

If only all technical authors understood this...

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars if more people read this..., August 13, 1999

By	Simon St.Laurent ([e-mail]) (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews

the Web would be a better place.

It's clear that the authors have thought about what makes a better Web site, and not just about the code. Too many 'dynamic HTML' sites are ugly creatures designed to show off the developer's programming skills rather than help people get actual work done. This book doesn't let you do the damage until it's had a chance to explain that there are better things to do with dynamic HTML, things that will keep users coming back.

Technically, I thought this was excellent. There were a lot of fine points about both the Netscape and Microsoft models that had slipped by, and excellent notes on ways to make other parts of the Web infrastructure, like HTTP, do some of your work for you. It's a bit long, but I enjoy coming back to it regularly. And heck, magnetic poetry is fun!

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much philosophizing, impractical information, July 4, 2000

By	Christel Rene (Fort Bragg, CA USA) - See all my reviews

There is on thing I like about this book. It got me to think about web sites as applications rather than online brochures, and to design interfaces based on user goals. Otherwise, it reminds me of a really bad college text book, like one that's only being used because the professor wrote it.

The first half of the book contains endless rambling with occasional insightful points. I found this especially annoying because I'm familiar enough with user-interface theory to know it can be presented in a very interesting way, but the authors manage to make it very boring, and to keep this up for a couple hundred pages.

They go on and on about how server connection waits destroy the user experience, and the importance of connecting with the server only when absolutely necessary. I waisted a lot of time trying to put this theory into practice, only to discovered that server connection delays are just one point to consider, along with download times, site manageabiliy, compatibility with older browsers, etc.

I was happy to reach the second half of the book, thinking that finally I would get to the meat and potatoes. I was very disappointed to find out that all the remaining chapters were based on using their javascript wrapper. When I went to their web site to download it, I spent some time trying out the sample applications. They took way to long to load, and crashed when I tried to use them (in MSIE 5, Win98). There was some comment about "hoping" the wrapper works. I downloaded the wrapper to try it, but it added too much overhead to consider using it. I gave up on the book at this point.