Amazon Review: Danny Goodman felt that he couldn't trust any of the documentation on Dynamic HTML (DHTML) that he read (too many contradictions), so he wrote this book as a reference for working with his own clients. After testing tags and techniques on multiple releases of the main browsers, Goodman came up with very practical information--some of which you may not find in any other resource.
 
Goodman assumes a solid foundation, if not expertise, in basic HTML and an understanding of what DHTML is all about. From those assumptions, he presents a meaty, information-dense volume. The first of the book's four sections discusses industry standards and how to apply the basic principles of DHTML. He emphasizes the differences in Web browsers and discusses how to build pages so that they work well in both Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. The second section is an extensive, quick reference of all the tags, objects, and properties of HTML, cascading style sheets, Document Object Model, and core JavaScript. A particularly handy cross-reference guide to this information follows, helping you locate it in alternate ways. The final section contains appendices, with useful tables of values and commands. --Elizabeth Lewis

Amazon Review: Inspired by the need for rapid user interface development and cross-browser compatibility, authors Steven Champeon and David S. Fox wrote Building Dynamic HTML GUIs to fill an information void. User interface design is rarely addressed in detail for intranet and Internet development, so this title offers a fresh perspective.
 
The first part of the book comprises four chapters on general user interface design principles. This section includes a detailed look at user interface designs past and present, providing a fascinating history of user interface (UI) evolution. The fourth chapter focuses specifically on the new challenges of Web UI design.
 
The book then moves into dynamic HTML (DHTML) and begins with the Document Object Model (DOM). The authors explain the needs and benefits of a DOM visually with diagrams and code snippets. They then introduce client-side scripting with explanations of all the various language flavors such as VBScript, JavaScript, and ECMAScript. This part finishes off with a discussion of cascading style sheets (CSS) and a solid wrap-up chapter.
 
In the large remainder of the book, the authors present tons of examples. They guide the reader through building feedback forms, a custom color picker, cookie-management modules, dynamic menus, and more. They also show how to use DHTML in a help system. This guide will be most appreciated by those with some existing HTML and DHTML background; it offers a very comprehensive look at the confusing set of technologies that make up today's dynamic HTML. --Stephen Plain

Amazon Review: A combination primer and reference manual specific to Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, IE5 Dynamic HTML Programmer's Reference is a very useful companion for Web coders. The first half of this title presents dynamic HTML (DHTML) rapidly yet thoroughly. The rear of the book comprises a series of reference tables and listings that form a quite comprehensive repository of coding information.
 
The book begins with an overview of DHTML, followed by a look at how style sheets let you assert much greater control over your pages than plain HTML. The authors then explain the Dynamic HTML Browser Object Model and the Dynamic HTML Document Object in depth, pointing out along the way how each provides control over page and element levels. With this background covered, the book then moves into dynamic techniques such as event handling, scripting, and manipulating page elements. The first part concludes with a useful discussion of data binding and a quick introduction to Extensible Markup Language (XML).
 
The reference portion of the book includes a formal specification for the Browser Object Model, as well as DHTML properties, methods, and events. Next comes a full listing of DHTML tags with syntax specifications and code examples. This section doesn't stop with DHTML, however. It also includes tutorials for VBScript, JScript, and special character tables, making this book a well-rounded tool. --Stephen W Plain

Amazon Review: This brief guide to Dynamic HTML (DHTML) focuses on what you can do with DHTML rather than the history and evolution of markup languages. Author Jeff Rule has compiled his knowledge from his work on the Discovery Channel Online site into a quick reference that lists ways to spice up your Web pages.
 
The book begins with a very quick overview of the various technologies and standards that comprise DHTML and a peek at the Netscape, Microsoft, and World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Document Object Models. Rule then explains cascading style sheets (CSS), with a welcome focus on how they work in today's browsers. The book continues with a series of chapters devoted to the various tricks you can perform with DHTML: navigation effects, transitions and filters, resizing graphics, and pull-down and pop-up menus. Throughout these chapters, the author provides links to example Web sites, including his own comprehensive site.
 
Animations, drag and drop, timelines, and sequencing are also covered with a balanced discussion of the Netscape and Microsoft approaches to each. The author then devotes a chapter to the ActiveX multimedia controls in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and another to the sticky issue of font management. The book concludes with explanations of how to utilize push technology, a preview of the version 5 browsers, and thoughts on the future direction of the Web. If you want to skip the lengthy tutorials and dive right into DHTML, this is the book for you. --Stephen W Plain

Amazon Review: Dynamic HTML in Action does a great job of explaining how to use HTML and Dynamic HTML, as well as client-side scripting languages and other Web technologies (particularly as they apply to Microsoft's client-side Web software). Primarily, this book reveals a lot about the ways Web designers can make their pages' content look its best. Supplemented with information about the technologies that enable clients to make queries against databases, Dynamic HTML in Action will do a lot to improve the quality of the material on Web sites and intranets.
 
The early portions of this book will look familiar to anyone who's built any sort of Web page, since the authors cover traditional HTML tags first. From there, they proceed to show how to incorporate client-side scripts in HTML documents by providing a fine tutorial on event handlers, data structures, control structures, and the relevant aspects of object orientation, particularly in JavaScript. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)--still the most popular way to define complex styles--get excellent explanatory treatment. Dynamic HTML in Action also shows how to integrate scripting by using scripts to alter styles. Filters and transitions are well documented, along with embedded multimedia.
 
This book isn't all about appearances. There's solid coverage of Dynamic HTML's capacity to work with Data Source Objects (DSOs) and data bindings that provide efficient connections between client-side documents and back-end databases. And while the authors stop well short of fully documenting Extensible Markup Language (XML), they do provide an excellent introduction to the capabilities of this up-and-coming data-description system. --David Wall