Schwert Online v2.0
This page provides a bit of a look under the hood of Schwerdt Online with regard to the layout. If you're looking for hardware related info, I'm afraid you won't find much here. Basically, I ftp (file transfer protocol) the files to a server—I don't even know where the dang thing is, let alone what it is or what it runs. I do know that I can't use file includes; it didn't work when I tried it.
You're looking at "Schwerdt Online version 2.0" (SOL 2.0). From a look-and-feel perspective, it may not appear significantly different than the original version. Behind the scenes, though, there are significant changes. Refined stylesheets, strict adherence to HTML (hypertext markup language) 4.0, and increased use of JavaScript are the substance of the upgraded site.
I'm not a web designer by trade nor do I play one on TV. I just dabble at it here. No fancy programs, either. I hand-code the HTML using Notepad on my PC. That may seem archaic to some, but I can't see spending big money on a fancy program that I don't know I'll be happy with. I do know that I don't like the results from FrontPage Express and word processor-based so-called web creation features. Ya gotta type the text anyway; what's a few more keystrokes to have absolute control over placement on the page?
I have used Internet Explorer (IE) probably since about 2.0 (maybe 3.0). The orginal SOL pages were "designed" for a 720-pixel wide display. And I nudged stuff to just where I wanted it and the creator saw that it was good—in IE. Then somebody prodded me to go look at it in a non-IE browser and I was appalled. It wasn't hideous but it wasn't right, either. That began the effort that is now SOL 2.0.
Browser Compatibility
Tested on Mozilla Firebird and Netscape 7.0.
Don't have access to Mac-based.
Anticipate reasonably similar results from immediate predecessor browser
If you're more than 1 generation browser behind, why don't you upgrade? They're free!.
One of the tricks is to make sure your HTML specifies what version and that it's strict.
The Markup Language
Don't know anything about XTML, DHTML, ASP, etc.
Verified the default (home) page and a few others at W3C for compliance with HTML 4.0 strict
Didn't mess with 4.1
JavaScript
Not a scripting expert.
Stole a few scripts off the "scripts-for-free" sites
Did a little research, cobbled together a couple scripts, and gave life to the CSS picking script.
Since the site's not perfect, several pages have scripts to fix rendering problems I don't have the time or patience to root-cause analyze.
Cascading Stylesheets (CSS)
I started dabling with stylesheets several years ago when I put together a web site for a part-time business I was running. I really got into them when I did a major overall on my department's intranet pages at work. (That's where I learned about file includes—guess I should learn ASP or one of them, huh?) I'm the mad scientist of stylesheets—if I needed a new element, it just got added onto the stylesheet. The work stylesheet was the basis for Schwert Online's first incarnation, though the two sites look nothing alike.
For SOL 2.0, I deleted all the classes I wasn't using. Then I looked at the ones I was using and started combining or eliminating similar ones. Having just recently learned how to comment stylesheets, I grouped like elements together and gave the sections on the stylesheet headings. I know it's not perfect, and I'm back at adding new stuff if I feel a need, but it the current stylesheet is much better than the old one! Trust me.
The base stylesheet was validated with the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) as being compliant with CSS 2.0 standards. From there, I morphed it into an IE and a non-IE version for each of 3 resolutions: screen widths larger than 800 pixels, the mid-size (720 or 800 pixels), and for 640 pixels. While I expect most people today use at least 720 resolution, the 640 represents the "fallback position." IE and Gecko-based browsers (Mozilla and Netscape) are the two I can check and represent the largest number of users. So, by having a stylesheet enhanced to the subtle differences between those two formats, I get about 95% similar visual layout.
I could have just used HTML tables to control the layout cross-browser. The current effort by web designers it to go "table-less" and use stylesheets, however. That's what I set out to do. SOL 2.0 uses tables almost exclusively for data layout—the original intent of tables in HTML. (Yes, I've used tables to lay out web pages in the past and SOL 1.0, although stylesheet-based, has some pages that use tables to control layout.) This took a fair amount of experimentation and trial-and-error. It still challenges me sometimes, but the stylesheet based layout is ultimately less time-consuming. It is also far more flexible; when I want to change the design or features of elements, all I have to do is edit the stylesheet, click "refresh," and view the results of my work. A table-based layout requires changes to every page.
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