Animation with Layers in DHTML
Innovatives Examples from Noted Designers
By J. Scott Hamlin
Ultimately, the true test of just about every Web technology lies not in what it was designed to do, but rather in what innovative Web designers do with it. This has been particularly true of animation. Two of the early animation capabilities on the Web came via client pull and the GIF format, two inventive applications to technologies not necessarily designed for animation. Ever since animation and graphics started appearing on the Web, a spirit of pushing the envelope has spread throughout the development community. This spirit is shifting into high gear with the introduction of DHTML.
In the past, Web animations were limited by bandwidth constraints. Full-screen animations and/or animations that extended beyond the visible area of the browser were heretofore impossible, but DHTML is opening exciting new doors for Web animations.
In this article, I'll introduce techniques for animating layers with JavaScript by featuring innovative examples from two noted Web designers. I'll be using Netscape's flavor of DHTML, which differs from Microsoft's; I'll discuss compatibility further later in the article.
Animating with Recursive JavaScript Functions
When Jeff Rouyer, Internet Media Developer for eGlobe, a global Internet-based communications provider, decided to enter the Netscape-Webmonkey Dynamic HTML Contest, he wanted to break out of the standard Web-interface mold and create something really dynamic.
