R. Craig Collins > Web Page Design > Future issues in Web Design

Future Issues in Web Design © R. Craig Collins, 2005/11

Please note, many of these items are covered in Web Page Design II

Due to the nature of this page, I expect it will always be under construction :)

• What is validation?
• What is DHTML?
• What is XHTML? What is XML?
  
• What is HTML 4.x? HTML 5?
  
  
• Who's Watching You?
• What's a cookie?
  
  
• What is JavaScript?
• What is Java?
• What is Flash?
  
  
• What is RSS?
• What is Streaming Media?
  
  
• What is a web photo gallery?
  
  What is shortcut icon (Microsoft site?
  
  
• Feel free to suggest other items to add in the Discussion area

For More Information, perhaps start reading and searching about.com, Wikipedia.org, or Howstuffworks,
or use the search engine link below

What is Validation?
Validation is having an editor, or an external program, check your HTML for errors, and misuses of HTML. (Sometimes your web page looks okay, but is coded incorrectly. Sometimes you forgot 'optional' items like alt= for your images, or used deprecated tags... validators catch those.

In Dreamweaver, choose File\Check Page to look for errors, or File\Validate to get the full checkout

See http://validator.w3.org/ for a nice little web page or code checker from the W3C.
(If you run my index page through, you will see it passes.

What is HTML 4x? HTML 5?
HTML 4x is the W3C recommendation of a standard that limits deprecated tags in favor of style sheets, and includes frame support. Typically an HTML 4 compliant web pages includes a doctype to clue the browser in on what to expect in the web page.

HTML 5, now in early release, will have native support for videos, meaning HTML 5 will allow browsers to watch video without a player installed... so you won't need a plug in such as Flash for everything; but this will take years to change over. I still use HTML 4 transitional until I am sure all browsers really understand HTML 5.

New in HTML 5:

• Media support with audio, video, for streams, and source for audio or video files;
  meaning HTML 5 will allow browsers to watch video without a player installed...
  so you won't need a plug in such as Flash
• A new, simpler doctype
• New layout areas, without needing a div tag to define them, such as article, figure, footer, header, and nav.
• Direct support for DHTML and AJAX web applications, support for Ruby (East Asian text annotations)
• New tags to support discussions, marking items for reference, and different ways to measure items on a page
  

As we have seen with some of the HTML 4 items, such as doctype, editors such as Dreamweaver will probably be the best way to implement the more advanced features of HTML, but the bulk of it should look very similar to what we learned to code by hand.

To Top

Who's watching you? The Internet is giving you information, but in return, you are also giving some!

Web sites can tell what kind of device you are using, and what browser you are using, to send you optimized pages for your device.

Further, when you connect to a sight, a lot of information about you is exchanged for the information you download. It's not meant to be criminal; the purpose was for web masters to keep tabs on who was using their bandwidth. But, as it turns out, other less honest information seekers can take advantage of you. In addition to browser and Operating System info being handed over:

1. Your e-mail address may be released if you are not using Internet Explorer 4 or greater,
2. At the very least, your network is usually identified.
3. Also, web masters may be able to tell where you last visited (uh oh), and
4. leave you a cookie.
5. ZDNet Article about cyber snooping

One solution is to use the private mode of your new browser... IE has InPrivate and Chrome calls it Incognito

To Top

A cookie is a file left on your computer from the web sight you are visiting. Again, the intent was perfectly legit. Preferences can be stored here, to make a faster interaction possible. Or they may just sit there, taking up valuable disk space (along with tons of other files in your cache (which is worthy of another article...).

Or those cookies can release those preferences, and other info, to other web master for less honorable purposes. (uh oh, again!)

For even more information on you, and cookies, check Cookie Central.

But there is hope, go and delete all those extra cookies in your cache!

To Top

What is JavaScript?
JavaScript is the name of Netscape's implementation of the ECMAScript standard, and is best known for its use in websites. JavaScript is NOT related to the Java programming language, thought they were both influenced by the C programming language.

You don't need to be able to write JavaScripts to use them, just Google Free JavaScripts.

Example: this example would display what kind of computer and browser is being used:
<head>
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="Javascript">
<!-- Begin
function DisplayInformation() {
BrowName = navigator.appName
BrowVer = navigator.appVersion
InfoPage = "<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Info Window </TITLE></HEAD>"
InfoPage = InfoPage + "<BODY><H4> You are using: " + BrowName +".<p>"
InfoPage = InfoPage + "Version: " + BrowVer +".<p>"
if (BrowName == "Netscape" && navigator.javaEnabled()) {
var toolkit= java.awt.Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit();
var screen_size = toolkit.getScreenSize();
widthRes = screen_size.width;
heightRes = screen_size.height;
InfoPage = InfoPage + "Your screen size is: " +widthRes+" x "+heightRes +" pixels. <p>"}
InfoPage = InfoPage + "</H4><P><p><CENTER>";
InfoPage += '<FORM><INPUT TYPE="button" NAME="CloseWnd" ';
InfoPage += 'VALUE="OK" onClick="self.close()"></FORM>';
InfoPage += "</CENTER></BODY></HTML>";
newWindow = window.open("","InfoWnd","toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,status=0,menubar=0,scrollbars=0,resizable=0,width=475,height=225")
if(newWindow != null) {
newWindow.document.write(InfoPage)
newWindow.document.close()
}
}
// End -->
</SCRIPT>
</head>

<body>
<FORM>
<INPUT TYPE="button" NAME="newOne" VALUE="Browser Information" onClick="DisplayInformation()">
</FORM>

</body>

To Top

What is Java?
Java is fairly weak object-oriented programming language developed by James Gosling in the early 1990s. Java is designed to be converted into computer readable instructions when started, unlike most conventional programming languages which are compiled in advance. Java and JavaScript borrow syntax from the C programming language but are not related.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_applet to see an example

To Top

What is DHTML?
Dynamic HTML or DHTML is a term used for a collection of web enhancements, used together to create interactive and animated web sites. Typically DHTML pages use a combination of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.

To Top

What is XHTML?
While HTML tends to be a very flexible markup language, XHTML is a more restrictive, but also more powerful type of XML that can be used in web pages to define new, or redefine existing tags (elements) and attributes.

What is XML?
The Extensible Markup Language is a more powerful language (compared to say the simple HTML) that makes it is much easier to write software that accesses document information through data structures. When applied to web pages through XHTML, the result is more control of the web page, and new features that exist only on this web page. More on XML at http://www.xml.com/pub/a/98/10/guide0.html

Differences between XHTML and XML are discussed at http://webdesign.about.com/cs/xhtmlxml/a/aa013100a.htm

To Top

What is Flash (Shockwave)?
Just as fonts were improved from a series of dots on the monitor to formulas that describe shapes, animation has been improved by replacing animated gifs with formula descriptions of shapes that can be made to move. The Flash player, just like the Acrobat reader, is a free download. The Flash player can not only play Flash animations, but Shockwave created movies, as well. Further Shockwave can add logic to a Flash animation, so it can rival Java as far as delivering games.

A bit more on Flash and a Flash file, created by me. Plus, some Flash tutorials

TC Clock (visible if you computer has the flash plug in)

HTML 5 will allow browsers to watch video without a player installed, but this will take years to change over.

To Top

What is RSS?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) uses XML to deliver real time information through a web page interface, such as news. See http://www.xml.com for sample code.

An example might be an app that continuously display the temperature... this information is pushed to your device all the time, instead of requesting the info.

To Top

What is Streaming Media?
Typically, a file needs to completely download before you can open it. If the file is a movie, it could take minutes or hours to download before you could even see if it is the movie you want to hear or the song you wanted to hear. Streaming files can be listened to or viewed as they download, using either the Windows Media Player, or the RealPlayer, or the Adobe Air media player. Of course YouTube streams flv Flash video files.


HTML 5 will allow browsers to watch video without a player installed, but this will take years to change over.

To Top

What is a web photo gallery?
Many graphics editing programs can take a group of images and automatically resize and optimize them, then create Web pages with thumbnails, navigation tools, and links to the full-size images.
(Some free-ware titles are here)
If you have an old copy of Photoshop, choose Automate on the File menu.
In some Creative Suites, start Adobe Bridge and search for web photo gallery
The newest set uses Lightroom.

To a sample Photo Gallery
More about Photo Galleries at http://www.photoshoplab.com/lightbox-web-photo-gallery.html

To Top