Dynamic HTML: The HTML Developer's Guide

This brief guide to Dynamic HTML (DHTML) focuses on what you can do with DHTML rather than the history and evolution of markup languages. Author Jeff Rule has compiled his knowledge from his work on the Discovery Channel Online site into a quick reference that lists ways to spice up your Web pages.

The book begins with a very quick overview of the various technologies and standards that comprise DHTML and a peek at the Netscape, Microsoft, and World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Document Object Models. Rule then explains cascading style sheets (CSS), with a welcome focus on how they work in today's browsers. The book continues with a series of chapters devoted to the various tricks you can perform with DHTML: navigation effects, transitions and filters, resizing graphics, and pull-down and pop-up menus. Throughout these chapters, the author provides links to example Web sites, including his own comprehensive site.

Animations, drag and drop, timelines, and sequencing are also covered with a balanced discussion of the Netscape and Microsoft approaches to each. The author then devotes a chapter to the ActiveX multimedia controls in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and another to the sticky issue of font management. The book concludes with explanations of how to utilize push technology, a preview of the version 5 browsers, and thoughts on the future direction of the Web. If you want to skip the lengthy tutorials and dive right into DHTML, this is the book for you. --Stephen W Plain