Goodies to Go ™
November 18, 2002–Newsletter #207
This newsletter is part of the internet.com network.
http://www.internet.com
Featured
this week:
* Goodies Thoughts
– Which Side Are You On?
* Q & A Goodies
* News Goodies
* Feedback Goodies
* And Remember This…
Goodies Announcement
Just in case you missed
it before, the new Beyond HTML Goodies book is now available!
Go beyond the basics
and learn how the pros add and use dynamic HTML features and advanced
JavaScript techniques. Beyond HTML Goodies demonstrates dozens of new and
different features readers can add to their existing Web pages using HTML and
JavaScript. The book starts with simple text and image tips, such as adding a
clock to a Web page or causing text to appear when the mouse moves over an
image. It gradually builds to more complex tricks, including manipulating forms
or working with cookies behind the scenes. Throughout the book, readers enjoy
Joe’s snappy style and “to the point” discussion of each “goody” in the book.
http://books.internet.com/books/0789727803
Goodies Thoughts – |
Which Side Are You On? |
It’s such an important aspect of
winning the game. You have to know which side you’re
on! That poor chicken keeps crossing the road
probably in attempt to answer the question! At HTML
Goodies we don’t want you to be stuck in that same
quandary, so we are offering a brief explanation to
help you pick sides, to know which side your on and
to change to the other when you need to. What sides
am I talking about? I’m so glad you asked. In the
world of web pages the two sides we have to worry
about are the "server side" and the "client side".
Let’s take a closer look.
It’s worth taking a quick look at the evolution of
computers to provide a background against which we
can see the current state of things. In the early
days of business computing the method was to collect
information together, punch it into cards and feed
it into the first of a series of programs that would
run on the computer. This program would stage the
data for the next program, and so on through the
system of programs. This method is called batch
processing.
With the advent of CRT terminals it became possible
to input one transaction into a program at a time.
IBM dubbed this type of computing "teleprocessing".
While it got away from the need to gather data
together, typically for a day’s worth of business,
and then wait for the nightly process to update
files, it still left all the computing in a
centralized "mainframe" computer system. This
limited the geographical area that could reasonably
be served by the computer. Transmission of data over
distance was both slow and expensive. Then along
came the Personal Computer and changed the rules
completely.
In between the "heavy iron" mainframe computers and
the PCs were mini computers that enabled the idea of
distributed computing. This is where information is
"pre-processed" in local areas providing preliminary
and local results back quickly; then sent to central
systems for consolidation and full processing.
Consolidated results can then be distributed as
needed. PCs got more powerful and started to close
the gaps. With local area networking came the
ability to have files reside on one computer that
could be accessed by many PCs. The computer housing
the file became known as the "server" computer,
while the PC accessing the file was the "client".
Add processing power to the server, such as a
database management system, and we have what is
known as client-server computing. As the
capabilities at both the client end and at the
server end increase, so the power and advantage of
client-server computing increases. The servers
become server farms, or networks of connected server
farms; and eventually, internetworked servers and
server farms and the internet.
Then there’s the web. Perfectly described as a
client-server application the World Wide Web
comprises "pages", which are files residing on
servers, accessed by client applications (browsers)
on client computers.
Well that’s a nice piece of history, but what’s the
point? Again, I’m so glad you asked! The importance
of this to you as a web developer is to know what
data you can manipulate and when. If you want to
manipulate data that is in databases on the server,
then you need to use server-side technology. The web
pages themselves also reside on the server, and so
are also manipulated by server side technology. Once
the page has been displayed on the client machine
you need client side technology to manipulate data
associated with it. For example, if you have
displayed a form on which your site visitor is
entering data and you wish to validate that data,
allowing the visitor to make corrections, before
sending the data back to the server, then all that
validation must be performed by client side
technology.
In Active Server Pages (ASP – a server side
technology) you may write some code using VBScript.
This code will run on the server, not on the client.
Similarly if you write PHP code, perhaps extracting
data from a MySQL database, you are writing server
side code. On the other hand, if you write some
JavaScript, it is included with the HTML that is the
web page and is sent down to the client computer for
processing. The HTML code in the page and the
JavaScript are both examples of client side
technologies. The question sometimes come up asking
why fields used in VBScript can not also be
referenced in JavaScript. The answer is that they
exist at a different time and in a different
computer. To communicate betwee server side and
client side technologies, data must be transmitted
back and forth between the server and client
computers.
Until recently there have been many more options for
server side technology than client side — as far as
the web is concerned. Although JavaScript is great
for many things, and in the hands of some creative
programmers can accomplish some remarkable feats, it
doesn’t fill the developer’s desire for ever more
demanding applications. There’s always ActiveX and
of course all the other flavors of downloadable
pluggable code, but these can create some security
related difficulties.
Looking at this situation, and wanting a means to
span the client-server chasm, inspired Microsoft to
come up with a new framework. Building on existing
technologies, adding mechanisms to assure security
at the client end and providing a means to use a
large number of programming languages, the Dot Net
Architecture enables a new level of client-server
web computing. Using DNA you can switch sides
without having to switch languages.
If you would like to know more about DNA, you’re in
luck! We have begun a new tutorial series all about
it. Go to our home page at
https://www.htmlgoodies.com
and read on!
By the way, I just saw a chicken standing in the
middle of the road looking first to one side, then
to the other. She had a sly grin on her beak!
Thanks for Reading!
– Vince Barnes
Q
& A Goodies
Questions are taken
from submissions to our Community Mentors. You can ask a Mentor a question by
going to https://www.htmlgoodies.com/mentors/.
Q. I want to change the background color
of a cell containing a link, but only when the
mouse is on that link. Then it should go back to
the original color.
A. I’ve had trouble changing background
colors in table cells with links, so I stopped
using table cells. You can change the display to
"block" to make the links look like buttons.
EXAMPLE:
<html>
<head>
<title>Table Cell Links</title>
<style type="text/css">
a { display: block;
width: 150px;
background-color: red;
color: white; }
a:hover { background-color: blue; }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p><a href="link.htm">LINK TEST</a></p>
<p><a href="link.htm">LINK TEST</a></p>
<p><a href="link.htm">LINK TEST</a></p>
<p><a href="link.htm">LINK TEST</a></p>
<p><a href="link.htm">LINK TEST</a></p>
</body>
</html>
There are a lot of things you can do with the
styles, but I hope this helps for starters!
Q. I want to add "add to favorites" code
(see https://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/addtofavs_code.html
) to my page but I am using frames and the code
will only "add to favoritess" the URL for the
frame from which it was clicked. How do I add to
frames page URLL?
A. In place of "location.href" add your URL
that you want and instead of "document.title"
use "parent.document.title".
Q. I am having a problem running to java
scripts that both have body onloads. It will
only read the first body onload and not both of
them.
<body onload=runSlideShow() bgcolor=#000000>
<body onload="fade()" bgcolor="#000000">
A. To run two scripts with the onLoad
event in the body tag you would
separate them with a semi colon like this:
<body onload="runSlideShow();fade()" bgcolor=#000000>
You must beware of both scripts using the same
variable names. If they do you will have to
change the names in one of the scripts so that
there are no conflicts.
Q. Im making a music website and the
index page has 3 frames. In the frame 2 page
will be links like Pop, Rock, R&B etc. Is there
a way so if i click on one of the links the
pages inside frame 1 and frame 2 will both
change at the same time?
A. This tutorial explains it.
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/2atonce.html
[It’s surprising how often this question is
asked — and answered! -Ed]
Q. Do commands exist to manipulate the
border and/or font of a text box? They look so
ugly…
A. You can change the font by putting a
font tag around the form or around the field.
You could set it by CSS also. The border is
likewise changed by CSS. This code works to make
a red border with the text in arial:
<font size="1" color="#ff0000" face="arial">
<form action="http://yourcgiscript"
method="post">
<input type=text size=10 name="code" value="link
goes here" readonly style="border-color:
#ff0000">
</form>
</font>
Q. I am very interested in learning how
to incorporate Flash MX into my web site.
Unfortunetly, from searching the web I have not
come across a suitable tutorial, including
Macromedia’s website, at a very basic level. I
was hoping that you could refer a good website
similiar to htmlgoodies.com that can break down
Flash MX for a beginner.
A. Try this site:
http://www.flashkit.com
News Goodies
CD Burning Firm Buys Napster
[November 15, 2002] Roxio shells out $5.3 million
for Napster’s intellectual properly and technology
patent portfolio.
Click
here to read the article
Xbox Live Comes
Online
[November 15, 2002] Playing to make its Xbox game
console a major force in the world of online gaming,
Microsoft unleashes its dedicated Xbox Live game
service.
Click
here to read the article
Capellas Takes WorldCom Reins
[November 15, 2002] UPDATE: The former HP president
and COO (and Compaq CEO) takes charge at the
disgraced and bankrupt telco.
Click
here to read the article
Apache Flaws Being Exploited
[November 14, 2002] Several security holes in the
Apache source are being actively exploited on the
Internet; IT managers should upgrade to version
1.3.27 or 2.0.43 or higher.
Click
here to read the article
Opera 7 Beta Launched
[November 13, 2002] UPDATE: With a faster rendering
engine and more features than before, the new Opera
download is actually smaller than ever before.
Click
here to read the article
Serious BIND Server Flaws Detected
[November 12, 2002] Exploitation of the
vulnerabilities could lead to compromise and DoS
attacks against vulnerable DNS servers.
Click
here to read the article
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We got a lot of very positive feedback email this
week. Thanks. It’s nice to know you’ll write when we
do things right and not just when you find an error
<g> ! Special thanks to Lisa Ferguson for your very
nice note – I hope it’s not too cold in Scotland
right now!
Joshua Calderon asked if we could resend him a
couple of old newsletters. You can read old
newsletters any time by going to our home page
( https://www.htmlgoodies.com ) and clicking on the
link to the newsletters in the center of the page.
That takes you to the Newsletter Archive Index.
Top
And
Remember This . . .
On this day in…
1978: 913 Die in Mass Suicide
Followers of Jim Jones committed suicide on November
18th 1978 in Jonestown, Guyana. Jim Jones founded
the People’s Temple in the 1950s It was a moderate
Christian group to whom he preached against racism.
The group which included mostly African Americans at
the time, move to California in 1965. In the 1970s
his church was accused of fraud and of abusing
children. In 1977 he moved the group, several
hundred strong, to the jungles of Guyana in South
America, where they established an "idyllic"
agricultural commune named Jonestown. On November
17, 1978 US Congressman Leo Ryan (D. Cal.) arrived
in Jonestown with a group of reporters and others to
investigate allegations being made about the
commune. When they were leaving, several members of
the church tried to persuade the investigators to
get them passage back to the US. Distressed by this
Jones told his lieutenants to prevent the whole
group from leaving. Ryan and four others were killed
as they attempted to board their plane. Back at the
commune, Jones told his followers to drink a lethal
mix of cyanide and Kool-Aid — a ritual they had
previously practiced. Those who refused were forced
to drink at gunpoint or shot as they tried to flee.
Jones himself died from a self inflicted gunshot to
the head. 913 followers died, including 276
children. Only about a dozen survived; they escaped
by hiding in the jungle.
1929 Herman Hollerith Dies
Dr Herman Hollerith’s name is best known for the
punch card, a.k.a. the Hollerith card. In 1889 he
patented his tabulating machine, which used punch
cards to input numbers which it tallied. The machine
was used to count the Eleventh Federal Census in
1890. Six years later he founded the Tabulating
Machine Company which later changed its name to the
International Business Machine Company, now known as
IBM.
And born today were:
1906 Soichiro Honda was born in Hamatsu,
Japan (He founded Honda Motors with $1,500); 1925
Actor Rock Hudson (Roy Harold Scherer); 1942
Film maker Martin Scorsese; 1944 Actor Danny
DeVito
Thanks for reading
Goodies to Go!