Norris Portfolio
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To understand dynamic web pages, you have to understand normal or in other words ‘static’ web pages.

Typical non-dynamic web pages do not change every time the page is loaded by the browser, nor do they change if a user clicks on a button. The only change that you will see in static web pages is to see them load and unload, like what happens when you click on a hyperlink.

In a nutshell: static web pages (normal pages you build) always look the same and the content never changes unless you load a new page or you change the page yourself and upload the new version of the page to the web server.

Dynamic pages do the opposite, they can change every time they are loaded (without you having to make those changes) and they can change their content based on what users do, like clicking on some text or an image. (I am not talking about loading a new page!)

DATABASE DRIVEN WEB PAGES

One of the most common types of dynamic web pages is the database driven type. This means that you have a web page that grabs information from a database (the web page is connected to the database by programming,) and inserts that information into the web page each time it is loaded.

If the information stored in the database changes, the web page connected to the database will also change accordingly (and automatically,) without human intervention.

This is commonly seen on online banking sites where you can log in (by entering your user name and password) and check out your bank account balance. Your bank account information is stored in a database and has been connected to the web page with programming thus enabling you to see your banking information.

Imagine if the web page holding your banking information had to be built traditionally (that is by hand,) every time your bank balance changed! Even a thousand monkeys working 24/7 drinking 5 cups of coffee a day, would not be able to keep up!

Database driven web site programming can also be called (or characterized as): ‘server side programming’.

The reason it is so called is because the ‘action’ or magic that allows the web pages to connect to the database is actually taking place on the server.

This is what happens: each time a dynamic web page is about to be sent to the browser, the server automatically builds the page and sends a standard HTML page to the browser.

The server ‘knows’ how to build the page by following the instructions provided by the programmer. This is different from say JavaScript (think drop down menus or alert boxes) that runs strictly in the web browser.

At this point many people are getting very confused, the confusion lies in the difference between server side programming (database driven web pages) versus client side programming (JavaScript).

CLIENT SIDE PROGRAMMMING – The other type of dynamic web page.

Client side (that is to say: in the browser) or what is commonly called DHTML … dynamic HTML.

DHTML is basically taking HTML and JavaScript (sometimes VB script) to make the web page change it’s own content (as far as the viewer is concerned) without having to reload or load a new page.

Examples of DHTML would include drop down menu’s, ‘floating’ images that hover over the rest of the page etc … if you look around, you will find plenty on the web.