How Would I Create Something Like This?

Community Forums/General Help/How Would I Create Something Like This?

WERDNA(Posted 2012) [#1]
http://www.grossmont.edu/karl.sherlock/English126/

How would I create a website like this? It has a lot of moving parts, which
is what I dearly want, but how are they made?

Is there a program (such as Dreamweaver?) that would make putting something
like this together a bit easier than it would be if you coded it from scratch?

Thanks,

Jose Ruiz


Yasha(Posted 2012) [#2]
how are they made?


JavaScript. "Scripting" a web page is, at the lowest level, just a matter of having scripts modify the document's content in some way, in response to interactions.

Although I'm pretty sure that the style showcased by that particular one is heavily frowned upon nowadays (and is the reason JavaScript, Geocities, and the entire 1990s got such a terrible reputation). Either go for a simple document look, where the most complex element is an expanding menu, or a full-on web app. If the interactions are a distraction, they've failed in their goal of making the site usable.


andy_mc(Posted 2012) [#3]
You need to look at the source code for the page to see how they do it. IT's all javascript though which is one of the oldest web languages, and probably still one of the best to use as your users won't need any special plug ins to view your pages.


WERDNA(Posted 2012) [#4]
javascript it is then!

Or is there a newer javascript alternative that I should be learning? (one that actually works ?)

Any other advice for me before I get started?

Cheers,

Jose Ruiz


Yasha(Posted 2012) [#5]
Or is there a newer javascript alternative that I should be learning? (one that actually works ?)


There exist many languages with compilers that output JavaScript - Monkey, C (yes, really), Scheme, Python, Flapjax, Dart, Objective-J and even JavaScript itself (to make the code smaller or more efficient). So you don't have to use the programming language itself if you don't want to. However, you still have to use the JavaScript engine if you want your website to work without plugins.

These days, JavaScript engines are pretty good, and really fast. I wouldn't worry about them "not working", especially for simple tasks like animating page elements.


Any other advice for me before I get started?


Take the time to learn how prototype-based OOP and functional programming work, and you'll get a lot more out of JavaScript than if you try to force class-based OOP onto it. You can just carry right on programming with classes - prototypes can do anything classes can do, because they're the more general version of the same thing - but you may as well explore the wider range of options and flexibility. JavaScript-the-language can actually express some amazing things once you start using your imagination and take advantage of the extra features.

Last edited 2012


Jesse(Posted 2012) [#6]
it looks like a really simple site menu with animated gif/s and png/s . if you know basic html and CSS. you should be able to reproduce it easy.

Dreamweaver should be able to reproduce it fairly easy.


WERDNA(Posted 2012) [#7]
Javascript sounds like the way to go then, or maybe as Jesse said just some
basic HTML anc CSS (both of which I'm getting pretty good at it!).

@Yasha

Thanks for the advice about OOP and Functional Programming. Tis much appreciated!

Cheers,

Jose Ruiz