June 1998
Standardizing on Accessibility
Improving Accessibility With HTML 4.0
By Mike Paciello
With Aural Cascading Style Sheets (ACSS) being added to CSS2 and the new rules, attributes, and elements in HTML 4, there's renewed emphasis on increasing accessibility for people with disabilities. Mike describes the new structured elements, and shows how to treat images, image links, text links and forms.
Managing Your Router With Java
By Michael Norton
While network-management systems are a boon to administrators, they're also quite expensive. So, Michael rolls his own home-brew network-management system using a Cisco router and Java.
Animating Your Web Pages With DirectAnimation: Part 1
By Rick Dobson
A subset of Microsoft's DirectX Media, DirectAnimation offers HTML, scripting, and language hooks into its graphics toolkit. In the first of a two-part series, Rick introduces the DirectAnimation wizards, which automatically generate HTML and let you create graphic controls without programming.
C O L U M N S :
Webmaster's Domain
Freeware tools offer many advantages. They're distributed without restrictive licensing terms, and their full source code is available, making it possible in many cases to modify and redistribute them without limitation. Lincoln D. Stein lets you peek into the toolbox.
Visual Designer
While designers often use fonts and typefaces to communicate visually, understanding how such design decisions affect other areas of usability is paramount. Lynda Weinman examines the <FONT> wars and discuss how you can offer balance between aesthetics and usability.
Database Developer
As transaction processing becomes a staple on the Web, developers find themselves moving away from traditional SQL databases into OLTP, OLCP, and OLAP. Luckily, database vendors are developing the tools, APIs, and server technologies to meet those needs. Ken North talks about the industry.
Programming with Perl
Randal L. Schwartz discovers that search engines often encode the parameters of a search within the URL of the search-results page. So, he creates a script you can use to extract query strings visitors use to get to your site.
Java Alley
Spin-button fields are common data-entry components that allow you to enter data into a single text-field and increment or decrement that value with up and down buttons. Carl Dreher presents his spin-button field written in Java.
D E P A R T M E N T S :
Script Junkie
Marco Tabini creates a framework, Web2SQL, that you can use to access and manipulate any Microsoft SQL database.
Lab Note
PowerJ 2.0, Sybase/Powersoft's latest incarnation of its Java development environment, lets you create Java applets that are database-aware. Nancy Hickman shows you how.
The Home Page
Editor-in-Chief, Michael Floyd talks about "Growing Up in Internet Time."
News & Notes
CSS2 Pushes Through Standards Process; Sapphire Gets a Facelift.
The Last Page
Michael Swaine "On Being History."
