The World Wide Web ignited a computer revolution by enabling anyone to publish HTML documents. Until recently, the information in these documents was mostly static, requiring the server to respond to user interactions. With the introduction of Dynamic HTML, the Web paradigm has shifted away from requiring server interactions to creating interactive Web sites and Web applications. Because Dynamic HTML allows HTML documents to interact with the user and change completely on the client, you can create rich Web applications.
Dynamic HTML is built on an object model that extends the traditional static HTML document. This book introduces you, the Web developer, to Dynamic HTML and teaches you how to create pages that are live and interactive on the client. This book assumes a working knowledge of HTML and basic programming principles. It does not teach you HTML or show you how to program in JavaScript, JScript, or VBScript; instead, these languages are used as tools for dynamically manipulating the page.
Near the end of this introduction, you'll find a description of the four parts of this book. Before continuing, read this overview to get a feel for how Dynamic HTML will be presented here through a series of building blocks. By the end of this book, all the pieces for creating live and interactive Web pages will be in place.