Cross-browser DHTML API Reading Room
For no particular reason, I've listed some of the better DHTML APIs I've come across. Note that these are APIs only, not just articles or techniques -- there are some heavyweight names not listed here. The idea here is to gather the toolkits together so you can pick one that best suits your task, or glean ideas for your own development.
Please report broken links here.
1K DHTML API
Chris Nott's 1K DHTML API crams all the DHTML functionality you'd ever want into 1084 bytes! Insane! Even insaner: the 912 byte "light" version.
3dhtml
From Till Nagel and René Sander comes 3dhtml, a complete API for creating 3D animations in DHTML. I've seen some cool 3D DHTML before, but this site provides tutorials, a complete API reference, and additional explanations of the math used to simulate 3D environments.
BrainJar
Mike Hall's DHTML Library from brainjar.com is simple and comprehensive, and provides most of the functionality you'll probably ever need for building with DHTML. Mike's no longer supporting or taking questions about this library, but you can find a copy enhanced for Netscape 6 here.
CBScript
Terry Friesen maintains a nice cross-browser modular API at his site. Somewhat lacking in documentation.
Cross-Browser.com
Many have pointed me to Mike Foster's cross-browser.com site that conatins an API that works with IE, Netscape 4.x, Gecko-based browsers, and Opera(!).
DHTML GUIs
The site for Steve Champeon's book Building Dynamic HTML GUIs includes all the code for creating "object wrappers" which allow you to build cross-browser DHTML components. The book focuses on DHTML for serious application development, so this may be a bit advanced for the casual user who just wants a tooltip or two.
DHTMLLIB2
Scott Issac's DHTMLLIB2.js allows cross-browser functionality by mimicking the IE DOM structure in NS. Very popular, but I find it impossible to follow the instructions.
DOMAPI
This is Darin Kadrioski's DOM-only API. Lots of extra-cool widgets that simulate IE5 controls, like ListGrids.
DOMLib
Pascal Bestebroer's DOM-based API. Very cool, easy to use, not quite as many widgets.
DynAPI (v1)
The DynAPI is the perrenial favorite, arguably due to Dan Steinman's superior documentation and excellent examples. A huge variety of GUI components such as scrollbars, tickers, menus, etc. No longer being developed, as Dan has been busy developing the next version of DynAPI v2.
DynAPI (v2)
Could DynAPI v2 be the future of DHTML? In development at SourceForge, DynAPI2 allows you to spawn DHTML widgets on the fly after pageload, without having to painfully write all those DIV tags and CSS statements. A recent upsurge in development activity promises a 3.0 release sometime in spring 2003.
DynaCore
Pascal Bestebroer maintains a modified version of DynAPI2 at his site, with better documentation than most.
DynLib
Lloyd Hassell is the creator of DynLib, a nicely designed API with an even nicer support site.
gamelib
Scott Porter at javascript-games.org offers the gamelib.js library, specially tailored for creating arcade-style sprites for fast, challenging games on the web.
GenLib
Gabriel Suchwolski, the force behind microbians, and the creator of the popular IE chromeless windows offers an API of his own design. Lots of demos but no documentation at this point.
Glimmer
Inkless' Glimmer library has recently been updated with support for NS6 and IE5.5. Nice documentation.
jsDOM
jsDOM is former DynAPI developer Robert Rainwater's DOM-only API.
Scriptomania
Thomas Brattli has been tinkering with DHTML for years at his Scriptomania site. Many, many scripts and tutorials, including the basics on writing a simple API. Be sure to check out his DHTMLCentral site.
NetWindows
More than just a set of fancy widgets, Alex Russell's NetWindows is a complete standards-based web application platform. Check out also his JavaScript signals and slots implementation.
SWAT
Joe Hewitt's long-forgotten SWAT (Scriptable Web Application ToolKit) is still a powerhouse. It's central engine allows for object inheritance (something JavaScript lacks) and writes the DIV tags and CSS code for you. One of the fastest executing APIs. Alas, no documentation and only a handful of examples.
X-Objects
This is Shelley Power's X-Objects API, one of the earliest cross-browser DHTML scripts available on the web. Includes a thorough tutorial and recently updated to support NS6.
Know of another API? Let me know.
Notes:
· All libraries are copyrighted by their creators where noted.
· Most of these libraries are free or covered under a GPL. Please leave such notices intact.
· If you decide to use a particular library, download a copy for yourself. Do not link to it remotely from your page.
· If you make a cool or useful modification to an API, share it with the original creator. Together we are strong.