The purpose of dropping breadcrumbs (at least in most stories that use the concept) is to show you how to get back to some other point in your journey. If you knew how to get back you would not drop the breadcrumbs - you would eat them instead (unless you were particularly a messy eater).
If you were in the woods dropping breadcrumbs you probably wont take exactly the same steps to get back to the breadcrumb as you did when you left it. You'll hopefully see a breadcrumb off in the distance and say to yourself "There's one over there" and stumble your way over the terrain to get to it. They are "waypoints" that, hopefully, you drop often enough so you can see them on your return journey and recognise your location. Once you get back to a known waypoint then you set off in a different direction (and probably dont care if the birds picked up the breadcrumbs on the, now, abandoned path from which you have just come). Breadcrumbs, as they are used on the majority of sites, do this. They allow the user to navigate back to known points. They do not necessarily map out every step taken. Admittedly, those known points are determined by the information and/or navigation model of the site and are not at the discretion of the user to choose. However, they are placed there by (hopefully) experienced navigators of the site in an attempt to inform novices of at least part of the sites features, facilities or structure. If you tried to drop breadcrumbs at a very fine granularity in the woods you would die from hunger cause you would use up all your bread. If you tried to track every last mouse click that any user may arbitrarily take you would defeat the purpose and end up getting the user lost with no way back. If nothing else, a "breadcrumb" displayed on a site shows the user the recommended "trail" of how to get there again (regardless of how they got there this specific time). There is a simple answer to the symantics of it - just call it a navigation aid that helps the user move up and down your navigation tree. At least as web builders we all know what we mean by a "breadcrumb" regardless of the symantic meaning it may have in the real world. Gary Menzel Web Development Manager IT Operations Brisbane -+- ABN AMRO Morgans Limited Level 29, 123 Eagle Street BRISBANE QLD 4000 PH: 07 333 44 828 FX: 07 3834 0828 If this communication is not intended for you and you are not an authorised recipient of this email you are prohibited by law from dealing with or relying on the email or any file attachments. This prohibition includes reading, printing, copying, re-transmitting, disseminating, storing or in any other way dealing or acting in reliance on the information. If you have received this email in error, we request you contact ABN AMRO Morgans Limited immediately by returning the email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and destroy the original. We will refund any reasonable costs associated with notifying ABN AMRO Morgans. This email is confidential and may contain privileged client information. ABN AMRO Morgans has taken reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy and integrity of all its communications, including electronic communications, but accepts no liability for materials transmitted. Materials may also be transmitted without the knowledge of ABN AMRO Morgans. ABN AMRO Morgans Limited its directors and employees do not accept liability for the results of any actions taken or not on the basis of the information in this report. ABN AMRO Morgans Limited and its associates hold or may hold securities in the companies/trusts mentioned herein. Any recommendation is made on the basis of our research of the investment and may not suit the specific requirements of clients. Assessments of suitability to an individual?s portfolio can only be made after an examination of the particular client?s investments, financial circumstances and requirements. ABN AMRO Morgans Limited (ABN 49 010 669 726 AFSL 235410) A Participant of ASX Group --- You are currently subscribed to cfaussie as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] MXDU2004 + Macromedia DevCon AsiaPac + Sydney, Australia http://www.mxdu.com/ + 24-25 February, 2004
