Okay so I'm doing a lot of re-learning nowadays. My HTML skills are pretty good, but even so, I feel like I'm a bit rusty and am starting to have other questions. I'm beginning to want to learn more about scripting than the basic HTML. I'm sure I could find a site that has all the answers, but I'm tired of looking through HTML tutorials to find the answers that I need, so I here go:

1.) Frames vs Tables, which one is better in your opinion?

2.) PHP, DHTML, just what exactly is it? Is it another scripting language or...?

3.) CSS, Javascript, flash, etc. the fancy stuff, needed or not? Do they hinder the site or make it better? I'm quite fond of using CSS, but as I've learned earlier, it might not be good to go over board since some people are still using older browser versions.

4.) HTML, HTM, is there a difference?

5.) Okay, this is probably going to make me look stupid, but I'm asking anyway. What are div layers?

6.) Is it worth it to learn all (okay, fine not all, but some of the major ones) of the scripting lanuages? (ie: Perl, XHTML, VML, etc.)

There are plenty of resources on the net that explain all these things. It depends on just how fancy, and knowledgable you want to become as to which areas you delve into.
CSS doesn't work on older browsers and flash is the most annoying thing I have come across. Some are nice but the majority make me leave before the page loads :eek:

4.) HTML, HTM, is there a difference? No difference, but some hosts require an index.html or htm for your main page, after that it doesn't matter which you use. The majority of my pages are htm, but the index is html.

1 - CSS

2 -
PHP Backend programming language for dynamically driven pages Ran, then downloaded in basic HTML

DHTML Client Side Dynamic HTML, downloaded then ran.

3 Not needed

4 Other then the obvious, the letter "L," there's not much of a difference between the two extensions. Most, if not all, web browsers and servers will treat a file with an HTM extension exactly as it would a file with an HTML extension, and vice versa.

5 http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/97/19/index2a.html?tw=authoring

6 HTML CSS PHP MySQL (IMHO) =)

Thanks for responding and I know that I can find the info all over the internet but *sigh* all the friggin' languages just start sounding the same to me after reading what they are about, what they do, etc.

Well, back to the tutorials I go.

1.) For overall design, I'd use frames, but you have to be VERY carefull about it. It needs some extra effort on your side with meta-tags and noframes and such. Check out my site to see what you can do with the help of both frames and tables. :) www.reptilian-feline.net

2.) DHTML is a collection of mostly style sheets (CSS), HTML, and Java.

3.) CSS is very usefull if you stick to standard tags, like specifying the colour of your headings. The more advanced stuff is browser specific.

That's some of what I've picked up over the years.

1) Tables definately. They are supported on basically all browsers and look better.

2) PHP is a server side scripting language. DHTML is client side scripting.

3) CSS - some issues with older browsers.
- A little bit of flash is fine, but any more gets annoying - I hate sites that are built completely on flash. Remember that those with slower computers (not myself.. mine is 1.1ghz) may have problems viewing flash.
- Javascript; as long as it increases functionality. None of that cute little scrolling text; it lost it's novelty years ago.

4) anon answered that.

5) From http://spark-it.net/divs.html - "Div layers are exactly what they say - layers. They allow you to layer your site with text, images... whatever you want - any kind of html, javascript, dhtml coding. They can go anywhere on your webpage, they can even go on top of eachother! They're quite handy on the web today because of all the different browser resolutions people have. It's the perfect way to design your site any way you like, no matter the browser resolution. "

6) Combination of personal preference, what you require, server type, etc.

--Shaun

Thanks everyone for responding, and your prize? Another question, hehe.

Okay, so I'm in this non-profit organization and I am going to help out with their site. There's already a creator and I'm just to suppose to do the routine taks etc. Well, the one thing I want to do with the site is to suggest a change, it looks okay now, but I want it to have more of a professional look. How would I go about doing that? I know I can always ask nicely, but I don't want to offend the original creator, should I just not ask at all?

Oh yeah, almost forgot, is it possible to work on a site and not have to go somewhere else? I was told that I may be need to meet with the creator, is that really necessary? I mean, I understand if I need to meet with the creator just so we can talk about what to do with the site, but do I need to go there everytime the site needs an update?

Originally posted by Kit
Well, the one thing I want to do with the site is to suggest a change, it looks okay now, but I want it to have more of a professional look. How would I go about doing that? I know I can always ask nicely, but I don't want to offend the original creator, should I just not ask at all? Well, below you indicate the possible need to meet with the creator, feel out how he takes constructive criticizm from you. Some people don't take criticizm well, others don't give it well.

Oh yeah, almost forgot, is it possible to work on a site and not have to go somewhere else? I was told that I may be need to meet with the creator, is that really necessary? I mean, I understand if I need to meet with the creator just so we can talk about what to do with the site, but do I need to go there everytime the site needs an update?
That's really their call. It depends on what they have set up. It could be that editing access is limited to a particular IP, so you may have to do the work on-site.