layers

F

frank

s a class assignment am looking for a site that would serve as a good
example of layers in use. any suggestions?
 
B

Beauregard T. Shagnasty

frank said:
s a class assignment am looking for a site that would serve as a good
example of layers in use. any suggestions?

"Layers" is an antiquated term used first, I believe, by ancient
versions of Netscape. Somewhere way back in the Dark Ages. If your
instructor is using that term, please advise hir to kindly move forward.
Or get a refund from the course.

You probably want to learn about "<div>".
 
H

Harlan Messinger

Beauregard said:
"Layers" is an antiquated term used first, I believe, by ancient
versions of Netscape. Somewhere way back in the Dark Ages. If your
instructor is using that term, please advise hir to kindly move forward.
Or get a refund from the course.

You probably want to learn about "<div>".

And CSS positioning.
 
C

cwdjrxyz

"Layers" is an antiquated term used first, I believe, by ancient
versions of Netscape. Somewhere way back in the Dark Ages. If your
instructor is using that term, please advise hir to kindly move forward.
Or get a refund from the course.

You probably want to learn about "<div>".


It is very difficult to find "layers" code anymore. You can still find
it on some of the dhtml sites with code that has not been updated in a
very long time. So far as I know, Netscape, which developed layers
code, quit supporting it after 4 versions of their browser, and so far
as I know, no recent browser supports layers. Back in the days of
Netscape 4 and IE 4, much dhtml code used browser detection and took a
layers path if Netscape was detected and a document.all path if IE was
detected. Of course browser detection no longer is reliable for modern
browsers. Shortly after Netscape came out with their 6 version
browser, much dhtml code had 3 paths, the 2 mentioned before and the
modern w3c. document.getElementByID path that soon started to be used.
Netscape used only this path from their version 6 on browsers. Soon IE
also supported it, and I believe still support, their old unofficial
document.all.
See http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex3/light.htm for an
example of dhtml code that still has layers in it, although it is not
mentioned that it still supports Netscape 4 in the description. This
code has been updated to support newer browsers over the years. This
type of dhtml effect is not very popular anymore, and seeing it on a
commercial web page is likely to make many here turn red in the face,
have an increase in blood pressure, and reply in language not suited
for children :) .
 
J

Jonathan N. Little

frank said:
s a class assignment am looking for a site that would serve as a good
example of layers in use. any suggestions?

Reserved for cakes not web pages.
 
T

Travis Newbury

"Layers" is an antiquated term used first, I believe, by ancient
versions of Netscape. Somewhere way back in the Dark Ages. If your
instructor is using that term, please advise hir to kindly move forward.
Or get a refund from the course.

You probably want to learn about "<div>".

bts? bind/torture/strangle?
 
B

Bergamot

Beauregard said:
"Layers" is an antiquated term

but perpetuated by Dreamweaver.

I believe it uses that term for any absolutely positioned div. Evil
things they are, too, at least in the wrong hands.
 
J

Jeff

Bergamot said:
but perpetuated by Dreamweaver.

I believe it uses that term for any absolutely positioned div. Evil
things they are, too, at least in the wrong hands.

Which brings up that there must be some good uses also. The most
common I can think of would be for javascript "flyout" navigation which
is fairly ubiquitous (and not bad if there is a non js alternative). But
I think the OPs teacher means "layering" everything. Pretty much once
you start, you can't stop. I can't think of a mainstream site that does
that, after all, if you want such "control" you would use Flash.

Jeff
 
A

Andy Dingley

but perpetuated by Dreamweaver.

I believe it uses that term for any absolutely positioned div. Evil
things they are, too, at least in the wrong hands.

So would you go so far as to say not only that "Layers is an obsolete
term", but even that "a good
example of layers in use" is an a priori impossibility? (Asssuming
that we regard any and all teaching of absolute positioning in initial
web design classes to be a bad thing).
 
J

Jeff

Andy said:
So would you go so far as to say not only that "Layers is an obsolete
term", but even that "a good
example of layers in use" is an a priori impossibility? (Asssuming
that we regard any and all teaching of absolute positioning in initial
web design classes to be a bad thing).

I think we've all seen newbie web designs that are all absolutely
positioned. The newb is typically delighted with them and it is a hard
habit to break once instilled.

Now, I think some of the three equal height column layouts use an
absolute positioned "cludge" but that is hardly for a newbie.

All this speaks volumes about the teacher.

Jeff
 
A

Andy Dingley

Which brings up that there must be some good uses also. The most
common I can think of would be for javascript "flyout" navigation

Although this is a "layer" in that it's a conceptual layer at a
distinct Z-index, it doesn't mean that you have to (or should) switch
to absolute positioning.

AIUI, When DW starts designing "layers" it also strongly implies the
use of absolute positioning with pixel units, both of which are bad
and unnecessary.
 
B

Bergamot

Jeff said:
I think we've all seen newbie web designs that are all absolutely
positioned.

Not just newbies, but that is a problem. DW makes it so easy, too,
though it is not the only authoring tool that does. Absolutely
positioning every element is a feature of many so-called WSIWYG editors
these days.

A pox on all their houses :(
 
C

cthornquist

Beauregard said:
"Layers" is an antiquated term used first, I believe, by ancient
versions of Netscape. Somewhere way back in the Dark Ages. If your
instructor is using that term, please advise hir to kindly move forward.
Or get a refund from the course.

You probably want to learn about "<div>".


Oh dear! I haven't been to this newsgroup (nor any other newsgroup) in
at least 5-6 years. The same people are here...and being just as rude as
I remember them:) Don't answer the guy...just make fun of his teacher=/

Jeez.

Ummm...was it Reply? Or Reply All?

Carla
 
C

Carla

Beauregard,

If you promise to go easy on me, I have a question about layers, too. I
don't even know what a layer is, but I want you to look at a website
(maybe two) and just give me the correct terminology for what they are
doing. Is posting of links to sites allowed?

I believe it's done in FLASH, so maybe you can suggest a different
newsgroup instead.

And, can someone please remove my email addy?

Thank you so much. I'll send the links after I get the ok from you.

Carla
 
J

John Hosking

cthornquist said:
Oh dear! I haven't been to this newsgroup (nor any other newsgroup) in
at least 5-6 years. The same people are here...and being just as rude as
I remember them:) Don't answer the guy...just make fun of his teacher=/

That wasn't rude. Or did you mean "just as rude" in the same sense as
"just as friendly" or "just as helpful"?

Beauregard (and the others) did answer the OP, and part of the answer
was pointing out the apparent/possible deficiencies of the instructor.
Ummm...was it Reply? Or Reply All?

Delete? What's the question?
 
J

John Hosking

Carla said:
Beauregard,

If you promise to go easy on me, I have a question about layers, too. I
don't even know what a layer is, but I want you to look at a website
(maybe two) and just give me the correct terminology for what they are
doing. Is posting of links to sites allowed?

Did you know that you are allowed to read other posts and old threads,
and even lurk for a while to see how a NG works? Posting a URL is
standard practice here (more than lurking, I fear) but posting a URL in
order to promote traffic to a site is considered spamming by many and
will provoke flaming and rending of garments.
I believe it's done in FLASH, so maybe you can suggest a different
newsgroup instead.

I don't believe there's much connection between the kind of layers the
OP was asking about and Flash (although Flash has layers of its own).

I don't do Flash so I don't frequent such groups or know which are good
ones, but if you right-click your news account in TB and choose
"Subscribe...", then type "flash" in the "Show items that contain"
field, you will get some NGs carried by your provider. Subscribe to one
or more and lurk there.

alt.macromedia.flash, macromedia.flash, uk.comp.graphics.flash are three
that I see as likely groups.
And, can someone please remove my email addy?

Only you can remove or change your address, and you can do it only for
posts in the future; what you've already posted is preserved for the ages.
Thank you so much. I'll send the links after I get the ok from you.

If you were talking about e-mailing directly to Beauregard, then my
earlier advice is moot. If that's not what you mean, then the verb you
want to use is "post," not "send."

Nothing against Beauregard, but why does *he* get to decide eveything
all of a sudden?
 
C

Carla

Delete? What's the question?

I just haven't used an email client in a very long time. I needed to
access newsgroups again, so I tried Thunderbird. It was difficult to
make it work. I should have tried Mozilla's online newsgroup first, but
instead talked to support at ATT Yahoo for a couple hours. Finally they
said they don't support Thunderbird.

It was just fun seeing the same names here. And ironic, since the only
term I could think of to describe what I found (and need help with) on a
couple websites is "layer". Then the first post I saw here was about a
"layer." Struck me as funny. Especially the comment about a cake.

I don't know what it's called. Here's the site: http://www.gensler.com.
They just launched their new site & I'm curious how they made the
semi-transparent blocks that link. They appear to float atop the page.
Found something similar here: http://www.cannondesign.com I think it's a
combination of FLASH and javascript. Anyone know, not how to do it, but
what it's called?

Thanks,

Carla
 
C

Carla

If you were talking about e-mailing directly to Beauregard, then my
earlier advice is moot. If that's not what you mean, then the verb you
want to use is "post," not "send."

Nothing against Beauregard, but why does *he* get to decide eveything
all of a sudden?

I remember it being a tight knit group here, so I thought I better suck
up to the head honcho first=)) Did I get the wrong person?

I know I can lurk & learn, but I'm kinda in a bind and need info fast.

Thank you, Mr. Hosking
 

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