Rating: 
Summary: The Magic Book, What it is...
Review: DHTML is a new web authoring environment combining several existing technologies into one. This includes JavaScript, HTML, Style Sheets and the Document Object Model. As you can see, DHTML is not content such as, images or text, but a technology framework in which you add YOUR own text and images. DHTML allows you to take your content to places previously unseen on the web before, and at all times the text and images you use are completely up to you. The examples in my book show you the possibilities of using graphics which require far less bandwidth than using traditional HTML methods. Yet the primary point of the book is not to show you images, teach you JavaScript or serve as a boring reference book, but to show you DHTML methods that are not covered in many of the DHTML reference books out there. Methods that allow you to perform cool interface interactions and incredible animations. Methods that engage the user and make them excited about visiting your site. Methods that inspire a web developer to reach into his or her imagination to push the technology even further. These methods are about breaking down your preconceptions of the limits of web development. With DHTML, there are no limits, only your imagination!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent examples, good description, no originality
Review: I liked the book because you did not need to be an advanced programmer to use it. Everything was step by step and easy to follow. My only problem with the book were the occasional errors in the scripts. In a way this helped me because it made me problem solve myself.
Rating: 
Summary: Many good examples for practice
Review: I liked the book because you did not need to be an advanced programmer to use it. Everything was step by step and easy to follow. My only problem with the book were the occasional errors in the scripts. In a way this helped me because it made me problem solve myself.
Rating: 
Summary: Ugh - Only supports Windows
Review: I pointed my browswer at the website for the examples in the book and was shocked to find the following message: "Currently this site uses DHTML as implemented in
Netscape 4.x and Explorer 4/5.x under the Windows platform ..." Folks, this is the antithesis of what web designers should be doing.
Rating:
Summary: Ugh - Only supports Windows
Review: I pointed my browswer at the website for the examples in the book and was shocked to find the following message: "Currently this site uses DHTML as implemented in
Netscape 4.x and Explorer 4/5.x under the Windows platform ..." Folks, this is the antithesis of what web designers should be doing.
Rating:
Summary: Ugh - Only supports Windows
Review: I pointed my browswer at the website for the examples in the book and was shocked to find the following message: "Currently this site uses DHTML as implemented in
Netscape 4.x and Explorer 4/5.x under the Windows platform ..." Folks, this is the antithesis of what web designers should be doing.
Rating:
Summary: Save your money, don't even buy it USED
Review: If I could re-title this book, it would be "How To Go Out Of Your Way To Spend Four Weeks Creating in DHTML What You Could Do In One Day With Flash". That pretty much says it all. My problem with this book is that it goes against the basic concept of software development that says "use the right tool for the job". And let's get real, the DHTML in this book is NOT the right tool. For example, consider the chapters on image animation. The author spends a huge amount of time and effort to show how to create many different graphics and write many different layers in order to glue them together with complex DHTML so that'll animate as one flying bird. That's great, but what did you really accomplish? The user has to download all of those different graphics, which considerably slows down the page. The page is fatter because of all the layers and DHTML to glue them together. And the page will render slower because the browser has to evaluate all the DHTML, load the images, and load the animation. Instead, why not spend one hour using a graphics program to create one animated GIF that loads quickly with *NO* threat of browser incompatibility. And that's the way this entire book read: I bet I can show you a somewhat-decent way of doing anything that animated GIFs or Flash can do, no matter how complex and unrealistic my implementations may be in the real world. That's great as an experiement or research thesis, but so would a book about how to type on a keyboard using only your nose and one ear. Sure it's possible, but who's going to do that?!? This book was an absolute waste of my money. I walked away remembering why Flash and animated GIFs exist and how helpful they can be. If you're looking for a book on building Dynamic web pages, I suggest "DHTML For the World Wide Web" or "JavaScript For The World Wide Web".
Rating:
Summary: Save your money, don't even buy it USED
Review: If I could re-title this book, it would be "How To Go Out Of Your Way To Spend Four Weeks Creating in DHTML What You Could Do In One Day With Flash". That pretty much says it all. My problem with this book is that it goes against the basic concept of software development that says "use the right tool for the job". And let's get real, the DHTML in this book is NOT the right tool. For example, consider the chapters on image animation. The author spends a huge amount of time and effort to show how to create many different graphics and write many different layers in order to glue them together with complex DHTML so that'll animate as one flying bird. That's great, but what did you really accomplish? The user has to download all of those different graphics, which considerably slows down the page. The page is fatter because of all the layers and DHTML to glue them together. And the page will render slower because the browser has to evaluate all the DHTML, load the images, and load the animation. Instead, why not spend one hour using a graphics program to create one animated GIF that loads quickly with *NO* threat of browser incompatibility. And that's the way this entire book read: I bet I can show you a somewhat-decent way of doing anything that animated GIFs or Flash can do, no matter how complex and unrealistic my implementations may be in the real world. That's great as an experiement or research thesis, but so would a book about how to type on a keyboard using only your nose and one ear. Sure it's possible, but who's going to do that?!? This book was an absolute waste of my money. I walked away remembering why Flash and animated GIFs exist and how helpful they can be. If you're looking for a book on building Dynamic web pages, I suggest "DHTML For the World Wide Web" or "JavaScript For The World Wide Web".
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time, learn Flash.
Review: interesting read. doesn't explain examples very well. my personal opinion: don't waste your time, learn Flash.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't find the DHTML because of all the filler...
Review: Some of Rouyer's examples are flashy, if a bit unrealistic in real-world download times (especially since in each instance, the on-line experience would require waiting for all images to preload), but for the price, I expected to get more for my money. Considering that the book is only 296 pages to begin with, the pages consumed in each and EVERY chapter by outlining the SAME coding procedure (first browser detection, then link the stylesheet, then link... and so on, ad nauseum) are a huge waste. The overuse of outlined "tips" which are nearly identical, word for word, in each chapter really started to annoy me after awhile. After leafing through previous pages to verify that the same information was being rehashed again and again, I was disgusted. I suspect that Rouyer could have explained the examples in the book in 10 or so pages, but that would hardly justify the cover price, right? Too bad there isn't a "Cliff Notes" version available. I would have given this book 0 stars, but I'm forced by the rating system to give it at least 1. If you want to learn DHTML, there are much better sources available. Save your money and pass this one by or wait for the condensed version.
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