[Javascript] ssi, layers, table alternative to frames

[Michael Dougherty]

I'm not sure exactly what your use is...

  My understanding is that frames were used to make the presentation of
several pages easier to support. ie: define the frame with a "Top Logo",
"Left Navbar", "Bottom Navbar", and only the "Content" area is dynamic.
This would allow the Logo and navbars to be tweaked in their respective
single .htm(l) file, while the content would be managed separately.

  I'm sure you're already aware of the problems associated with using
frames...

  The same page layout can be generated with server side includes (ssi) like
you mentioned.  This still allows a single storage for the "Top Logo" and
"Left Navbar" etc., but removes many of the frame-problems.  Each page of
content gets it's own URL - so you can bookmark/favorite individual pages
(one of my biggest complaints about framed sites) and the navigation never
has to worry about which frame to target.

<table>
 <tr>
  <td colspan='2'><!-- #include virtual="/inc/TopLogo.asp" --></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td><!-- #include virtual="/inc/LeftNav.asp" --></td>
  <td><!-- #include virtual="/inc/Content.asp" --></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td colspan='2'><!-- #include virtual="/inc/BottomNav.asp" --></td>
 </tr>
</table>

When you strip out all the extra formatting, this table looks a great deal
like a frameset.  The content.asp file could be reading the URL/Querystring
to determine what to display as dynamic content.

FYI: my experience is primarily Microsoft.  The IIS web server will first
parse your #include directives first, then process all the ASP code, then
send the resulting HTML to the browser.  So you won't be able to do a
"dynamic include" using ASP  [ex: <!-- #include virtual="/inc/content<%
=lcContentIndex %>.asp" --> just won't work]

My solution is to research IIS5/ASP3's server.execute - which is a pretty
workable equivalent.

I'm so off-topic and rambling, i'm going to stop now :)


-----Original Message-----
From: javascript at LaTech.edu [mailto:javascript at LaTech.edu]
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 4:32 PM
To: javascript at latech.edu
Subject: Re: [Javascript] ssi, layers, table alternative to frames



Well, if one is sufficiently courageous, one can do some heavy dinking
with createElement("td"), createElement("tr"), and modifying the resulting
objects with .innerHTML assignments, but it is a real pain to have to drop
in the
umpety-ump gazillion HTML/javascript lines into a table by hand.  Yes,
it is doable.  Yes, I've done it (for small tables).  No, I wouldn't want
to do it for full-fledged window applications running on a web interface.

Aside from layers, frames are scalable, and can be shrunk or expanded at
will.
By attaching scrollbar widgets to a table, you can achieve much the same
effect,
but the coding is a bit more gruesome.

Probably the greatest single drawback to using tables versus frames, is
that you
have only one 'window' geometry to play with, and everything has to be
based on
absolute screen coordinates.  This doesn't hurt if you never do any
image-maps or
drag-and-drop stuff, but it's hell-on-wheels if you do.  Again, it can be
managed,
but it is somewhat more complicated.

I'm sure the older (? are there such things ?) and wiser JavaScript gurus
will now
come out of the woodwork, and shoot my naive impressions full of holes.

-- Dave Lovering

noel.jean-baptiste at courrier.uqam.ca wrote:
>>
>> hello,
>> I use frames in my site, but I will want to remove them some many
>> reasons...
>> I would like to have comments on the alternative solutions with the
>> frames.  I know how to use the ssi, layers but I would like to know
>> the advantages incovenients.
>> Thanks
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Javascript mailing list
>> Javascript at LaTech.edu
>> https://lists.LaTech.edu/mailman/listinfo/javascript
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