Dynamic HTML

Dynamic HTML is a set of innovative features in Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.0. By enabling authors to dynamically change the rendering and content of a document, Dynamic HTML gives authors the ability to create visually outstanding HTML documents that interact with the user without the burden of relying on server-side programs or complicated sets of HTML pages to achieve special effects. With Dynamic HTML, you can easily add effects to your documents that were previously difficult to achieve. For example, you can: Hide text and images in your document and keep this content hidden until a given time elapses or the user interacts with the page. Animate text and images in your document, independently moving each element from any starting point to any ending point, following a path that you choose or that you let the user choose. Create a ticker that automatically refreshes its content with the latest news, stock quotes, or other data. Create a form, then instantly read, process, and respond to the data the user enters in the form. Dynamic HTML achieves these effects by modifying the current document and automatically reformatting and redisplaying the document to show changes. It does not need to reload the document or load a new document, or require a distant server to generate new content. Instead, it uses the power of the user's computer to calculate and carry out changes. This means a user does not have to wait for text and data to complete time-consuming round-trips to and from a server before seeing results. Furthermore, Dynamic HTML does not require additional support from applications or embedded controls to carry out changes. Typically, Dynamic HTML documents are self-contained, using styles and a little script to process user input and directly manipulate the HTML tags, attributes, styles, and text in the document. The HTML elements, attributes, and styles in Dynamic HTML are based on existing HTML and cascading style sheet (CSS) specifications. Users can view your documents whether they use Internet Explorer version 4.0 or some other browser. Naturally, the dynamic and interactive features that you add to your documents may not be fully functional when viewed with a browser that does not support Dynamic HTML. But Dynamic HTML is designed to "degrade gracefully"—by following some basic guidelines, the content of your document can be viewable in other browsers. Dynamic HTML works well with applications, ActiveX™ Controls, and other embedded objects. You can use existing applications and controls, or you can create new ones that specifically take advantage of the features of Dynamic HTML. Applications and controls work best when you rely on them to do computationally difficult tasks, and use Dynamic HTML to display output and process user input. For example, you can create a document that lets the user query, display, and modify the content of a large, server-based database by combining the data binding features of Dynamic HTML with a data source object. The data source object retrieves and sets data in a database, and Dynamic HTML does the rest: processing user queries, displaying the data, and carrying out the necessary interaction with the object. In short, Dynamic HTML eliminates the shortcomings of previous browser technologies. Authors can create innovative Web sites, whether on the Internet or an intranet, without having to sacrifice performance for interactivity and special effects. Not only does Dynamic HTML enhance the user's perception of your documents, it also improves server performance by reducing requests to the server and subsequently server load.