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DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide by Jason Cranford Teague, Nancy Davis (Editor)

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Pub. Date: May 2001
618pp

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Product Details

Pub. Date: May 2001
Publisher: Pearson Education
Format: Paperback, 618pp

Series: Visual QuickStart Guide Series
ISBN-13: 9780201730845
ISBN: 0201730847
Edition Number: 2
Edition Description: Older Edition

Synopsis

Takes an easy, visual approach to teaching DHTML and CSS, using pictures to guide you through the language and show you what to do.

Works like a reference book-you look up what you need and then get straight to work.

Companion Web site at www.peachpit.com/vqs/dhtmt/ includes working sample files, online resources, updates, and more.

Use Cascading Style Sheets and Dynamic HTML to create stunning layouts and striking interactivity without having to resort to slow-loading graphics or uncertain plug-ins, and build on your knowledge of HTML and JavaScript to take your Web site to the next level.

Annotation

This book does not focus on the more complex aspects of DHTML, but focuses on practical examples of what really works with DHTML and CSS, making it useful for beginners just starting out with DHTML, as well as professional developers looking for a quick reference.

Booknews

A Web site designer guides the reader through the process of implementing dynamic HTML (DHTML) and cascading style sheets (CSS) to permit the broadest spectrum of the Web-surfing population to view a Web site. Requires familiarity with HTML (Hypertext Markup Language); some familiarity with JavaScript is also helpful in places. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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Biography

Jason Cranford Teague has been designing Web sites since 1994. He has worked on sites for Virgin and BellSouth and was on the original design team for WebMD. His other books include How to Program am HTML Frames: Interface Design, and he has authored numerous magazine articles. His own Web site, wwwwebbedenvironments.com, is a regular stop for Web design professionals. He is currently settling into his new home in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife, Tara, and their children, Jocelyn and Dashiel.

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DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web : Visual QuickStart Guideby Anonymous

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September 16, 2003: If you are looking for a good reference guide for CSS and DHTML, then this is the book for you! It includes short and definitive tag descriptions as well as markup coding examples for each subject area discussed. The example coding is set aside and multi-colored making it easier reading and in determining which specific markup is being used. If you want to get straight to the point and not waste time reading an author's opinion, then this is the book for you!

DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web : Visual QuickStart Guideby Anonymous

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January 25, 2002: If you are looking for a good reference for dhtml this book is not it. The book just shows examples of dhtml that you can get off the web. If you are wanting to learn the syntax of dhtml this is not for you.

Table of Contents
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	Introduction
Pt. 1	Cascading Style Sheets	1
Ch. 1	Understanding CSS	3
Ch. 2	CSS Basics	17
Ch. 3	Font Controls	57
Ch. 4	Text Controls	77
Ch. 5	List and Mouse Controls	95
Ch. 6	Color and Background Controls	105
Ch. 7	Border and Margin Controls	115
Ch. 8	Positioning Controls	139
Ch. 9	Visibility Controls	157
Pt. 2	Dynamic HTML	165
Ch. 10	Understanding DHTML	167
Ch. 11	The Document Object Model	177
Ch. 12	Learning About Your Environment	203
Ch. 13	Dynamic Techniques: The Basics	233
Ch. 14	Dynamic Techniques: Advanced	247
Ch. 15	Dynamic Techniques: CSS	273
Ch. 16	Netscape Layers	283
Ch. 17	Internet Explorer for Windows	297
Pt. 3	Using DHTML and CSS Tools	303
Ch. 18	GoLive Primer	305
Ch. 19	Dreamweaver Primer	319
Pt. 4	Dynamic Web Sites	333
Ch. 20	Understanding the Dynamic Web	335
Ch. 21	Creating a Dynamic Web Site	347
Ch. 22	Web Page Layout	359
Ch. 23	Importing External Content	385
Ch. 24	Web Site Navigation	393
Ch. 25	Controls	425
Ch. 26	Special Effects	459
Ch. 27	Multimedia	485
Ch. 28	Debugging Your Code	507
Ch. 29	The Future of the Dynamic Web	519
App. A	The DHTML and CSS Browsers	533
App. B	CSS Quick Reference	537
App. C	DHTML Quick Reference	547
App. D	Browser-Safe Fonts	553
App. E	Tools of the Trade	559
App. F	Further Resources	565
	Index	577

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Excerpt from

Chapter 20: Understanding the Dynamic Web

...A line is defined by two points; call them A and B. The direct path between these two points is a line. All you can do with a line is travel straight from point A to point B, following a linear path without deviation or interruption. Most media that communicate information are linear. You may be able to fast-forward through a video or flip through a book, but these media are best suited for presenting ideas in a linear order that is set by the author.

Human beings, however, tend to reason in far more chaotic, intricate, and cryptic ways than mere lines can ever describe. We learn by exploring, searching, and finding, by making mistakes and trying again. We often learn completely by accident. We rarely think in a straight line; we think dynamically (Figure 20.1).

The Web has already begun to change the way we look at information and how we structure knowledge. Despite the great leap forward that hypertext presents, we still have a way to go before mastering this new media. Before we can take the next step, the Web must become far more dynamic.

In this chapter, I'll introduce some of the issues you need to consider when designing a dynamic Web site. This information prepares you for Chapter 21, which shows you how to define, design, and build a dynamic Web site.

What Makes a Web Site Dynamic? Dynamic can mean many things, and the meaning varies depending on whom you ask (and maybe even on when you ask them). The term can be applied liberally to mean animation on the screen or multimedia.

The Web itself is a highly dynamic medium through the use of hypertext. With hypertext, Web designers can link information and facilitate a more natural human learning environment. But with CSS, JavaScript, and the Document Object Model (DOM), designers can make a dynamic Web site.

Most Web sites today are relatively static. Once a Web page loads, very little on it changes. DHTML lets Web designers transform their designs by creating Web pages that adapt and change to meet visitors' needs as they explore the page. A dynamic Web page should meet one or more of the following criteria (Figure 20.2):

Interactivity. A dynamic Web site should adapt and react to the visitor's actions as quickly as possible.

Synchronicity. A dynamic Web site should bring together relevant information and activities from a variety of sourceseither directly or through linking-with a minimal amount of searching on the visitor's part.

Flexibility. A dynamic Web site should give the visitor a variety of ways to find information or accomplish tasks so that they can choose the method that best suits their needs.

Adaptability. A dynamic Web site adjusts to cater to individual visitors needs. Sometimes, this adjustment is made on the server through customization of content, but much can be done by Web designers to accommodate visitors without requiring them to load a new Web page.

Activity. A dynamic Web site uses motion and sound to draw attention to changes on the screen.

What Is Hypertext?

Many people confuse the term hypertext with navigation links. This mistake is not hard to make, because on the Web, hypertext and navigation links are both created with the same HTML code: . . . . But navigation links are what you use to move from topic to topic in a linear fashion on the Web. Hypertext, on the other hand, allows you to click a word, a phrase, or an image in a Web page and receive a more detailed explanation of that thing. In theory, hypertext allows a single page to include an infinite amount of information (Figures 20.3 and 20.4).

In practice, including infinite information is not feasible, but you can include a great deal of information for the visitor to explore. Authors (the ones who provide the content) control what is and what is not referenced through a hypertext link, and they have to consider every link they create.

The Web designer has two goals: to help visitors find the information they are looking for as quickly and efficiently as possible, and to enable visitors to explore, define, and discuss that information through hypertext.

Rather than being a medium for discoursesuch as a book, through which one person speaks to many people-the best Web sites use the Web as a medium for intercourse (no, I'm not talking about the porn sites). Using the Web, many people can learn from and speak to one another Otherwise, what is the point of the Web? Conversation, video, audio, and text can all be provided on the Web but can be provided better via telephone, TV, radio, and magazines.

Through hypertext, the Web can break the mold of linear thought and work with natural learning processes. But this potential will remain only potential until the people who design for the Web use hypertext's unique features.

Direct, don't dictate. The point of a Web site is to allow visitors to move freely within the content. As the author and designer, you want to direct visitors to the information you want them to see but simultaneously allow them to follow their own paths. In terms of what you are communicating to your audience, the links that you do or do not include in a Web page are as important as the words and graphics you put there. Think of yourself as a guide, not a tyrant.

Dynamic by Design

People probably are not coming to your Web site to see cool special effects; they are coming to your site for information. Your design, dynamic or not, needs to support their information needs. But a dynamic Web site, if properly designed, is always better than a static one.

Here are some pointers to keep in mind while designing your dynamic Web site:

Keep it simple. For many people, dynamic content means added complexity-more options, more functions, more to learn, and more to remember. Generally speaking, people do not want more options; they want what they want. You should use dynamic features to simplify the use of your site, not to add complexity.

Show only relevant information. Information becomes knowledge when its relevance is understood. But information that is not immediately relevant can be distracting, and too much information can be just as confusing as too little. Use DHTML to show and hide relevant information as necessary.

Make changes clear. We often do not notice changes in our environment, even when they occur right in front of our faces. Changes in the content of a Web page generally should be initiated by the visitor, should occur almost instantly, and should be easy to recognize.

Provide a sense of location and direction. One common complaint about the Web is that it's easy to get lost. Compared with the real world, where we can turn to see where we came from and look ahead to see what is next, most Web pages seem to be very insular. Use DHTML to let visitors know where they came from and where they are going.

Understanding Layout on the Web

Because of the Web's expandable windows, unpredictable screen resolutions, and variable font sizes, you have a better chance of predicting the price of Internet stocks than the final appearance of your Web design. You know that your design must fit into a rectangle (the browser window), but will that rectangle be wide and long enough?

All Web designers must start their designs by deciding which of the four main layout styles they will use.

All Web layouts have two basic parts. The first part is the content area, which features navigation, titles, graphics, and text-in other words, the stuff visitors are interested in. The other part is filler. Whether the filler is just empty space or a design that fills the void, it is there simply to absorb extra space in the browser window. The balance between content and filler is crucial to creating an attractive Web layout.

Based on this balance, there are four broad categories of Web layout:

Unrestrained. The content is allowed to stretch horizontally from the left edge to the right edge of the window and vertically down to the bottom edge of the window (Figure 20.5). This design eliminates the need for filler. But wide columns of text, which can be a symptom of unrestrained layout, can be difficult to read. Wired (Figure 20.6) uses unrestrained layout on its news site (www. wired red. com/news), allowing the content in the center column to grow as wide as necessary to fill the empty space.

Fixed width. The content is given a set margin on the left side, the right side, or both, restraining the horizontal length of the content to a fixed width (Figure 20.7). Salon (www.salon.com) restrains the width of its content area, centering it in the window with a fixed width of 736 pixels (roughly the size that a 800-pixelswide monitor can display without horizontal scrolling if the window fills the entire screen) and white space filling additional areas to the left and right (Figure 20.8).

Fixed height. The content area is given a set margin on the top, the bottom, or both sides, restraining its vertical length to a fixed height (Figure 20.9). Therefore, the content is forced to scroll horizontally. This design is rarely used, however, because it usually is advantageous to maximize the height in which the content can appear. I used this method to set up a small site for my daughter's birthday pictures-www.webbedenvironments.com/ jocelynstory (Figure 20.10)...

DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide by Jason Cranford Teague, Nancy Davis (Editor)

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DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web : Visual QuickStart Guideby Anonymous

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Table of Contents

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Chapter 20: Understanding the Dynamic Web

What Is Hypertext?

Dynamic by Design

Understanding Layout on the Web

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DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide by Jason Cranford Teague, Nancy Davis (Editor)

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Product Details

Synopsis

Annotation

Booknews

Biography

Customer Reviews

DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web : Visual QuickStart Guideby Anonymous

DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web : Visual QuickStart Guideby Anonymous

From the Publisher

Booknews

Product Details

Table of Contents

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 20: Understanding the Dynamic Web

What Is Hypertext?

Dynamic by Design

Understanding Layout on the Web

Related Subjects

More by This Author

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