WEB STANDARDS CREATIVITY

DOM Scripting Gems
What book on web standards would be complete without some DOM scripting
examples? That’s why I’ve dedicated the last part of this book to dynamic
scripting techniques for improving your users’ experience.
I’ve deliberately tried to choose techniques that aren’t too scary for the
more designy and less developy types among you—don’t be afraid to get
your hands dirty with some JavaScript!
Ian starts off by showing us his technique for saving the world: by using DOM
scripting to specify that only the important parts of a web page get printed,
we avoid wasted paper and hassle.
Next up, Cameron demonstrates that it’s not that difficult to provide your
users with a more dynamic interactive environment on your web pages by
using a little well-placed scripting. During the course of his case study, he
builds up a dynamic user interface that will adjust itself for optimum viewing,
no matter what resolution/platform the user is using to visit your site. He
also shows how to create an interface that the user can customize, by moving
content around in different palettes.
Last but not least, Derek shows how to implement an attractive sliding site
navigation menu that retains accessibility. I wanted to include some coverage
of scripting and accessibility in the book, as it’s a hot topic. Ajax especially
can cause havoc for the accessibility of pages, and we need to be careful not
to shut out users with disabilities.
part 3