Interactive Interface Technology (DHTML based widgets) - Essay Example

Interactive Interface Technology (DHTML based widgets) Interactive interface technology is the kind of technology that seeks to humanize the operations of a system (Barron and Barron, 2000). One way of making web and other computer-related operations more interactive is by using DHTML based widgets. DHTML stands for Dynamic HTML, a technology that enables the end user to use a combination of different technologies to carry out web-based operations (Goodman, 2002). These technologies may include HTML, Java Script, Document Object Model or even CSS.

DHTML based widgets normally allow the end user to execute any function within a webpage. Widgets created in DHTML can take the form of various on-screen tools such as event countdowns, clocks, auction tickers, daily weather, stock market tickers and flight arrival tickers (Teague, 2007). Advantages of Interactive Interface Technology (DHTML based Widgets) There are some web page effects that are normally hard to achieve. DHTML, however, makes it possible for the page author to create a wide variety of effects as he wishes.

DHTML based widgets eliminate many kinds of limits for enhanced client functionality (Teague, 2007. This technology makes it possible to perform on any kind of application such as audio playing, on-screen drawing. It also makes access to hardware such as the mouse and keyboards much easier (Singh and Gupta, 2009).DisadvantagesOne of the main disadvantages of DHTML is its difficulty in developing and debugging (Goodman, 2002). This may be attributed to the fact that there are many different degrees of support that are available among different web browsers.

This combined with the fact that there are different screen sizes for different computer models makes it hard and sometimes impossible for the end look to be in tune with a certain browser or screen size (Barron and Barron, 2000). This means that certain DHTML based widgets can only be used or fine tuned on specific combinations of browsers and screen sizes. Technology Evaluation My evaluation criteria for this technology will be based on efficiency in terms of ease of development and efficiency.

The primary use of widgets in interactive interface technology is to enhance personal web experiences for both the developer or web owner and the end user or visitor to a website (Barron and Barron, 2000). The functionality of any technology determines its efficiency. For the Interactive Interface Technology (DHTML based widgets), there is a high level functionality that enables the web author as well as the end use to use multiple applications interactively. Since DHTML does not rely on a single type of technology, I can say that development should not be a problem.

This is because one can use any combination of software options to create widgets for maximum functionality. Although the technology presents some problems in development and debugging, this is not such a big problem since it can be fixed by using the latest technology instead of the old obsolete ones. This will make debugging much easier and users can enjoy their web experiences on whatever machines that they might be using. ReferencesBarron, D. and Barron, D.W., 2000, The World of Scripting Languages, New York: Wiley Goodman, D.

, 2002, Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc. Singh, R. and Gupta, A., 2009, Magic with HTML, DHTML & JavaScript, New Delhi: Laxmi Publications Pvt Ltd. Taegue, J.C., 2007, CSS, DHTML, and Ajax, Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press