Website design

“Hey TnT and HPM (and anyone else), how hard is it to put ASP, JSP, etc. into a site? Does Dreamweaver etc. "automagically" generate the code for you?

I had a group project to make a web application. We ended up using JavaScript (client), Perl (CGI), and Python (main code). Yeah, not your standard mix . I was looking for a cleaner approach but didn't have time to master J2EE before the due date. :P (We had to use a Unix box w/o ASP installed, not that I know ASP either.)

JavaScript on the client sux donkeys. You'd think by now there'd be a standard DOM deployed to keep everyone from going crazy. Are you guys saying that you can query the client/browser directly from ASP on the server? Doesn't seem possible to me.

I agree with you guys that frames are evil. But honestly, which is easier to learn, frames or JavaScript? (Obviously, if Dreamweaver is cranking out your code it's a moot point.)

Just looking for some enlightenment.”

“Nope gotta make your own code. But there are plenty of example code sites out there. In regards to what we're talking about here, usually you just need to include one line of code (usually a command called "include" or in ColdFusion "cfinclude"). Then the menu (or whatever) will be inserted in the page for you. The included file can just be more HTML, or other code.

ColdFusion is much easier to learn and use than ASP. I know both, and I never use ASP anymore.

Yes, JS sucks. Its great for small things, like validating a few fields before submitting them, but its not intended to write fully automated desktop apps in it. Keep the JS light, where its most needed, and do the rest on the server. And where you use JS to validate a form, you must still validate it server-side for security reasons, since users don't have to keep JS on.

I wish the DOM was standard, too. Thankfully where I work we only need to support IE, so I ignore Netscape and others. I know that many people aren't so lucky.

No, you can't directly query the browser, you can only get info from the browser during a submit. There are ways around that with hidden frames and/or Java and/or ActiveX, but in general its a disconnected environment.

If you are using frames for static positioning on your page, learn CSS to take its place. JS isn't there for positioning - although it can move things around for you if you want it to but that's another topic.”

“A standard DOM? Are you nuts! Why you're talking all crazy now! No way in hell would anyone suggest that W3C standards be followed! LOL.

Yep, standards would definately make my life easier.

I am not a programmer, I am a presentation layer designer, usability analyst and information architect. I can answer programming questions in a general sense.

Wrong Tech, Dreamweaver MX can generate middleware code but a non-programmer will hit the wall very quickly because to do more than basic stuff you will need to get into the code.

I use javascript in a limited capacity on the browser side. Mostly for controlling presentation (DHTML) and various widgets beyond that you need to be using ASP, JSP, CFM ect...
last edited: 5/23/05 3:25:12 PM”

“Thanks guys.”