Dynamic HTML is a set of innovative features in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0
and later. 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.