If the idea of generating HTML for either Netscape's or Microsoft's 4.0 Web browser fills you with apprehension--and perhaps it should--Dynamic HTML: A Primer can help. Rather than providing step-by-step information on a standard that doesn't exist yet, Simon St. Laurent explains the concepts behind Dynamic HTML or Document Object Model (a combination of scripting, style sheets, and HTML) and what you should know before you attempt to create pages and sites that use it. The title is potentially misleading in that Dynamic HTML is only one of many topics that the book covers. St. Laurent also details Java applets, ActiveX, and both companies' implementations of JavaScript and VBScript. Style sheets, layers, and absolute positioning are also described, but anyone who is serious about these subjects should consider more in-depth texts devoted to them. If you are already determined to leverage these features, you probably don't need to read Dynamic HTML: A Primer. However, you'll find plenty of valuable advice on how to avoid the myriad of problems involved in developing Web content for two browsers.
Book Description
Dynamic HTML promises to be an incredibly powerful new scripting language for developers. An emerging standard under consideration by the W3 consortium, it will provide Web designers with the ability to create "deep" Web pages, capable of responding instantaneously to a user's actions. The advent of the document object model means the beginning of a new kind of document -- one that is infinitely programmable and capable of providing a complete user interface.
Dynamic HTML: A Primer walks developers through one of the hottest areas in the browser wars, explaining the differences between the browser implementations and how to avoid getting caught in the middle. Readers will learn how to integrate ActiveX controls, Java applets, and scripts into their code to create truly robust and interactive Web pages.
Explores powerful ways to create animated pages Explains new techniques for binding Web data to corporate client-server databases Provides simple, clear examples to get you started with complex tools Uses both JavaScript and VBScript examples Covers the latest multimedia objects for Internet Explorer Explains Java applets, ActiveX objects, and their relationship to Dynamic HTML documents Describes Cascading Style Sheets and positioning techniques Covers layers, textRanges, and collections Explains the developing event models of both Netscape and Microsoft's browsers