Advantages
- Size of the files are compact in compared to other interactional media like Flash or Shockwave, and it downloads faster.
- It is supported by big browser manufacturers like Microsoft and Netscape.
- Highly flexible and easy to make changes.
- Viewer requires no extra plug-ins for browsing through the webpage that uses DHTML, they do not need any extra requirements or special software to view it.
- User time is saved by sending less number of requests to the server. As it is possible to modify and replace elements even after a page is loaded, it is not required to create separate pages for changing styles which in turn saves time in building pages and also reduces the number of requests that are sent to the server.
- It has more advanced functionality than a static HTML. it is capable of holding more content on the web page at the same time.
DHTML Introduction
DHTML, or Dynamic HTML, is a technology that differs from traditional HTML. DHTML combines HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and the Document Object Model (DOM) to create dynamic content. It uses the Dynamic Object Model to modify settings, properties, and methods. Scripting is also an essential component of DHTML, which was part of earlier computing trends. It is supported by some versions of Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer 4.0 and higher.
HTML: HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language and it is a client-side markup language. It is used to build the block of web pages.
Javascript: It is a Client-side Scripting language. Javascript is supported by most of browsers, and also has cookie collection to determine the user’s needs.
CSS: The abbreviation of CSS is Cascading Style Sheet. It helps in the styling of the web pages and helps in designing of the pages. The CSS rules for DHTML will be modified at different levels using JS with event handlers which adds a significant amount of dynamism with very little code.
DOM: It is known as a Document Object Model which acts as the weakest link in it. The only defect in it is that most of the browsers does not support DOM. It is a way to manipulate the static content.
DHTML is not a technology; rather, it is the combination of three different technologies, client-side scripting (JavaScript or VBScript), cascading style sheets and document object model.
Note: Many times DHTML is confused with being a language like HTML but it is not. It must be kept in mind that it is an interface or browsers enhancement feature which makes it possible to access the object model through Javascript language and hence make the webpage more interactive.