>It is certainly not a formal spec or standard, not as far as w3.org is
>concerned. The closest I can find to a definition of DHTML at w3 is this
>excerpt from a working draft on browser accessibility standards:
>
>***
>The interaction of HTML, style sheets, the Document Object Model
>[DOM1] and scripting is commonly referred to as "Dynamic HTML" or
>DHTML. However, as there is no W3C specification that formally defines
>DHTML, this document will only refer to event handlers and scripts.
>***
basically, DHTML assumes that browsers will have the kind of display engine
you find in today's WYSIWYG page editors.
the DOM is a set of descriptions for software components which can be
linked together in a way that matches the structure of a webpage. those
of you who use Javascript are already familiar with something roughly
similar, since documents have lists of links and images and so forth.
current browser display engines work more or less like printer drivers.
they lay out the page once, then assume that they'll never have to touch
that layout again. that kind of document is generically referred to as
'static'. things like word processors and page layout programs assume
that the display will continue to change as the user alters the content.
therefore, those documents are referred to as 'dynamic'.
the closest approximation to straight DHTML in use today is a Javascript
image rollover. you change the properties of the software object that
represents the page, and the display changes too. DTHML just extends that
idea to all the objects which can make up a page. if you change the
source of an Image object, you get a rollover; if you change the value of a
String object, the text on the page will change, etc.
the missing component which will make DOM/XML/CSS/HTML a completely dynamic
system is a scripting language, like Javascript. something which will
read all the display specs from the HTML/XML/CSS sources, and plug the
appropriate values into the DOM objects. the good news is that, since the
DOM will be the same regardless, /any/ language which can manipulate those
objects will work.
HTML includes syntax for including embedded dynamic objects, like applets.
those will be able to interact with the rest of the objects in the
document, changing the structure and content of the page as required.
mike stone <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 'net geek..
been there, done that, have network, will travel.
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