[Javascript] Any creative way to pull html content same way js files are pulled

[David T. Lovering]

Well, there are a couple of apples mixed in with the oranges here...

One of the easiest ways is to embed a 'DIV' block in the middle of where
you want to insert the new HTML.

Give the DIV block an ID, and then point the innerHTML to the file containing
your new HTML code.  Admittedly, there are some inheritance issues, and the
HTML code generally has to be a complete HTML program in its own right.

Method 2 is to use an OBJECT declaration, and use TYPE='text/html', along with
a DATA pointer to your HTML source code file.

Method 3 is to use the IFRAME (my favorite, for reasons that we needn't go
into here).  You simply point the src= to the file you want, and voila! you're
in business.

Your remark about the scrollbars is true -- but only if you use the default
construct for IFRAME, and for the BODY declaration inside the child HTML
program.  For example, if you use

<iframe name='blah-blah-blah' src='myFile.html' scrolling='no'>, and make sure
that the BODY declaration of myFile.html also has scrolling='no' in it, your 
inserted window will not have scrollbars.  It is also helpful to define the
background window color (bgcolor) to be the same for your parent window and your
iframe-included html object, and also to turn off the borders.  [There are also
some geometry issues, but they are easy to beat].

If you want a detailed explanation of what is necessary to invisibly weld an iframe 
included HTML document into a parent HTML document, I'd be glad to do a tutorial
on it sometime.  Most books I've seen are clueless on the details of this, and
also ignore parameter passing to and from an iframe-included block.  (Generally
it follows much the same rules as a regular FRAME block).

Some folks use OBJECT to do this, but I can tell you up front that passing variables
to/from the child object this way is a nightmare, and not to be considered.  For the
inclusion of Java applets, multimedia objects, and the like, OBJECT is the best
method available -- but for including reusable HTML modules, it sucks like a vaccuum
cleaner on overdrive.  [PARAM doesn't work worth a darn with child HTML code].

Of course, if you are allergic to IFRAMEs, you can simply use the file input
routines in JavaScript, read in the source file line-by-line, and then use a
subroutine to write each line back out to document.write() as a parameter.  Be
sure to escape everything, or else something might get whacked on transfer.*
[*Some browsers require a signed script to do a direct file read with JavaScript,
or so I understand].

Personally, I prefer the IFRAME.

-- Dave Lovering

DEV wrote:
> 
> Des anypone of you know how I can implement a  server side include file
> flexibility on the client side ? What I mean by that is this;
> 
> <Script src='File.js'></script>  does absolutely the exact thing I have in
> mind except that the requested content  must be in a JS format. As a result
> of this condition,  if you happened to have a content in html to display (
> which is the most of the case ) ,  you have to transform it so it does the
> job using document.write commands.
> 
> Of course one alternative to my pure html pull wish is to tap into iframe's.
> 
> For example , following will do the trick..
> 
> <script>
> var sFile='/mycontent.HTM'
> </script>
> 
> some html
> 
> <script>document.write "(<iframe src='" + sFile + "'></script>
> 
> But this will cause the scroll bars to come on in the midlle of the page in
> the case that the sFile content is lengthy. That's the price you pay for
> that includability.
> In a server side include however, you never run into this scroll-bar
> situation.
> 
> Does dhrml or some other technology other than iframe's help me in any  way
> ?
> 
> Thanks
> 
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