A combination primer and reference manual specific to Microsoft Internet Explorer 5,
IE5 Dynamic HTML Programmer's Reference is a very useful companion for Web coders. The first half of this title presents dynamic HTML (DHTML) rapidly yet thoroughly. The rear of the book comprises a series of reference tables and listings that form a quite comprehensive repository of coding information.
The book begins with an overview of DHTML, followed by a look at how style sheets let you assert much greater control over your pages than plain HTML. The authors then explain the Dynamic HTML Browser Object Model and the Dynamic HTML Document Object in depth, pointing out along the way how each provides control over page and element levels. With this background covered, the book then moves into dynamic techniques such as event handling, scripting, and manipulating page elements. The first part concludes with a useful discussion of data binding and a quick introduction to Extensible Markup Language (XML).
The reference portion of the book includes a formal specification for the Browser Object Model, as well as DHTML properties, methods, and events. Next comes a full listing of DHTML tags with syntax specifications and code examples. This section doesn't stop with DHTML, however. It also includes tutorials for VBScript, JScript, and special character tables, making this book a well-rounded tool.
--Stephen W Plain
Customer Reviews & Comments
This book is very readable, gets right to the point, and will not put you to sleep. Several others (such as Inside DHTML) are so anhydrous they'll suck up all the rain in Seattle. This book however is a great intro to DHTML. You don't have to be an expert in HTML to get a lot out of this book. Has good appendices on HTML, DHTML, JScript, and VBScript.
