Chapter 24. Introduction to DHTML

Dynamic HTML (DHTML) refers to web pages that move, animate or respond to the user after downloading to the browser. Through DHTML, users get a more engaging and interactive web experience without constant calls to a web server or the overhead of loading new pages or large applets.

DHTML works through a combination of:

  • HTML 3.2

  • JavaScript—the web’s standard scripting language

  • Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)—styles dictated outside a document’s content

  • Document Object Model (DOM)—a means of accessing a document’s individual parts

Although HTML pages using one or more of these technologies can be considered “dynamic,” the term DHTML generally refers to all of these technologies used together.

Both Netscape 4.0 and Internet Explorer 4.0 support these technologies, but in different ways. This means that web designers whose audience consists of both Internet Explorer and Netscape users (that’s just about all of us) must create DHTML pages catering to two different implementations of DHTML. A standardized DHTML is in the works, but as of this writing, we’re still waiting for the standards to be finalized and for browser makers to implement those standards.

This chapter provides an introduction to DHTML. Before creating your own DHTML pages you may want to read Chapter 22, and Chapter 23. Read on if you are simply looking for an explanation of DHTML and its uses.

Advantages to Using DHTML

Small file sizes

DHTML files are small compared to other interactive ...

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