Problems in the new technology

Problems

Structural solutions

All techniques have their own problems - the basic advance in my system is dynamic flexibility, but the problem lies in the appearance in large screens. The center area must have borders or it must left free, when the vertical scroll bar might be disturbing. To avoid this problem it is possible to make simpler pages, but they have less or not all structural dynamics.

New technologies and incompatibility to old systems.

CSS

Dynamic and illustrative navigation doesn't work in all browsers.
Only Opera can give today satisfactory printing
CSS works today better with frames as with tables.
The scale ability of basic text need relative font definitions at least to MS IE for Windows browsers, which partially limits the possibilities of CSS. Opera is at this matter without problems, because it can zoom everything 20-1000% using 21 different values.
The dynamic exchange of the appearance require relative poor appearance in old browsers - in fact in some matters older browsers must degrade when catering maximum flexibility to CSS supporting browsers! But concerning temporary font colors and font face, font definitions can define so, that they are defined both to old and new browsers and they don't decrease drastic the flexibility of CSS. The advance of CSS technology is that the text itself is readable with very old browsers.

Javascript and plug-ins applications

Exchanging images with movements of mouse are pleasant . It is possible to combine java-scripts to CSS, but it can fulfil so, that also older browser can read the contents. I most cases problems with older browsers can be eliminated.

Using different plug-ins elements is problematic. If the browsers doesn't install them automatic, they must be get from elsewhere. To use them efficiently needs special skill, which must to buy. Flash-animaations are funny and easy to create. It is relative fast to get a plugin to them. They can be made also other products than Macromedia like Expression and LivingCels from Creature House.

Even if music needs also plug-ins files, I regard it positive, because it does have common standards and it can make cheaply (but to compose it is also expensive professional applications).

If embedded elements, which needs plug-ins applications are not supported, in certain circumstances it is possible to give an alternative contents with CSS or JavaScript encoding. For example the flash, which is in the starting page is hidden, if the browser doesn't support Shockwave Flash (and the browser displays a GiF-image).

XML, XHTML and WML

XML, which I have a little bit studied, is some level problem, because pure XML is incompatible to old browsers.

It is however possible to make XML, which is quite compatible to old browsers. Back to the HTML page, which also IE 5.0 can display almost correctly.

To make basic XML documents might be even easier as ordinary HTML documents, because the author can use own tags and he doesn't need to learn mass of tags. But because the appearance of own tags is not defined, it is necessary also to understand CSS (or XSL (XSL = eXtensible Stylesheet Language - quite the same kind of language as CSS ). When author use his own tags, the text is readable, but special contents and formatting doesn't have any affect.

There is also the possibility to make mixed XHTML documents, which major information is compatible to old browsers (I tell it more among another pages) XHTML encoding needs much more carefulness as before - my pages would be examples of thorough encoding!

Nokia Mobile Phones wants to develop WML (Wireless Markup Language), which is much more problematic. But is it really a threat, depends much of the ability to use well-formed HTML (or XHTML) files in mobile phones.

Tapio Markula

Read more about this matter!