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Dynamic HTML: The key to active Web pages

Up until now Web authors faced a tough tradeoff: they wanted to add cool new features to their Web pages, but more often than not those features brought surfing to a crawl for users. Why? Because the feature either took a long time to download or it involved interactivity, A collage of pages using Dynamic HTMLwhich usually required that an entire page be reloaded whenever the user clicked an item offering something special. The Platform Preview of Internet Explorer 4.0 solves this dilemma with Microsoft's Dynamic HTML, a collection of features that gives Web authors more flexibility and creative control over the appearance and behavior of Web pages, as well as an easier and faster way to author interactive Web pages.

Dynamic HTML, which extends the capabilities of traditional HTML, was developed in collaboration with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and is fully compatible with all existing W3C Recommendations.

Dynamic HTML offers an entirely new way for Web authors to control the HTML tags they already know. Now every element on a Web page—whether it's an image, link, applet, heading, or what have you—is an object that Web authors can add functionality to. Much of Dynamic HTML's functionality and flexibility comes from adding "intelligence" to the user's computer. When the user passes a mouse over the object or clicks on it, the element can deliver additional information or options—without having to go back to a Web server to do so. In this way, authors can use Dynamic HTML to pack greater value into their Web sites. The result: users get more exciting and useful content to choose from when they interact with Web sites that use Dynamic HTML.

Here are some of the key aspects of Dynamic HTML that will soon make traditional, static HTML pages a thing of the past:

  • Full HTML Object Model. Dynamic HTML's central Object Model is what gives authors access to every HTML tag on a page. You don't need to be an expert programmer to create a truly dynamic experience for the user—just add a little JavaScript or VBScript to the standard tags already in use throughout the Web. You can also extend the capabilities of Dynamic HTML through Java applets or ActiveX controls.
  • 2D Positioning. Now Web authors can position elements with precision to make sites look exactly how they want. They can also make objects overlap and become transparent. Combined with Dynamic HTML's other features, these new positioning capabilities allow authors to move elements around, thereby animating their pages. Users who aren't running Internet Explorer 4.0 won't catch all the new capabilities, but they'll always see a great looking page because the model is based on HTML and style sheets.
  • Data Binding. Once users receive data from a Web site that's enabled with Dynamic HTML, they can sort, filter, and modify the data repeatedly—without ever hitting the server again! By reducing the number of hits to the server, Data Binding speeds up operations for both the user and the Web site.
  • Dynamic HTML Multimedia Controls. Dynamic HTML's multimedia effects make Internet Explorer 4.0 the most exciting Web browser available, providing CD-ROM quality to multimedia pages and allowing them to download quickly. The multimedia controls shipped with Internet Explorer 4.0 make it easy for authors to create exciting pages that tap into the power of Dynamic HTML.
Obviously we're stoked about Dynamic HTML, but we're not alone. Check out what reviewers have been saying about both the new set of developement features included in Dynamic HTML and about Internet Explorer 4.0 itself.



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Last Updated: Tuesday, April 08, 1997