Javascript/Java Enhanced Navigation:

This is a powerful programming method that produces very attractive results, and offers fabulous enhancements to page navigation and presentation but scripting must be enabled in the users browser and the brand of Javascript often must be the right one to work properly. When Netscape introduced it in their Navigator 2 browsers, it opened a whole new world of abilities beyond the former, drab HTML presentation. Microsoft maliciously messed this up when they decided to release a mangled clone of javascript called ActiveX Scripting in their IE 3 browsers. IE 4's script handling now conforms much better to Netscapes original language, and even outperforms it in navigation and smoothness, but still has certain particular bugs.

Java from Sun Microsystems, is a universal programming language, that shares much with Javascript, but is fully stand-alone. It allows little "applet" programs to run and manage tasks included with web pages and otherwise. To see some useful Java applets, visit the Hermit. One of his NewsClip applets is soon to be embedded in this page! You may have seen the News applet on Webdisplays front page -if you had your Java turned on!

Window Status scripts allow you to use the bottom status line of the browser to convey short messages or information, outside of the normal page, and are often used with the event handlers below to provide entertainment and information about links or images.

On Mouse Over allows numerous actions to take place, including help bubbles, image swap, animated scroll-ins, window pop-ups and animation sequences to occur when the user points at a link or image. Animation, or dynamic HTML is the new rage on the web, but is only supported in the latest 4-version browsers. There are also other variants of mouse over such a mouse out, meaning when the user moves away from a link or image.

On Click allows confirmation or alert messages to ensure the user is certain of a choice or to supply warnings or instructions before pages are opened.

Image swap buttons use the image button method, but load 2 images for each button instead of one and the small script changes the button image making it look shaded or depressed when the mouse pointer passes over it. The onMouseOver event was the same but the hiding and showing methods are different between still popular Netscape2,3 and IE3 browsers! The methods are now universal in the 4-version browsers.

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