Re: [MacPerl] Target frames (more...)

[Tim Howland <vsi@netaxis.com>]

>Hi all,
>I am sorry for the mess I created with my previous posting (mea culpa).
>The thing is that I didn't explain my self enough. So here you are:
>1) The right url for Ret Crocker's code is at:
>http://www.intellimedia.com/bag/explanation.html
>Follow his link back to the "bag'o'tricks" to see what it is he succeeds.
>2)Basically there are two frames.On the left there is a shockwave movie
>that serves like the user interface. When the user makes a choice, the
>right frame gets updated. Since the only useful command in shockwave is
>"gotoNetPage", the only way to target a DIFFERENT frame from the one that the
>shockwave itself is running in, is to use a cgi that is trigered from the
>shockwave on the left frame (gotoNetPage "target_frame.cgi?url="..;target=..)
>
>So unless I am terribly mistaken, the mac-perl list is the right place to
>address my questions and hopefully get some help.

You *are* terribly mistaken.


Frame A Name A

Frame B Name B

Link from Frame A updating frame B requires that _THE_BROWSER_ handle the
updating. CGI doesn't know frames from the hole in your head- and
shouldn't. Frames are considered by Netscape to be independent HTML
documents that happen to be displayed at the same time. The browser
handling the updating means that the browser loads the new information and
sticks it in the appropriate frame. The browser knows this because you
specify the target attribute when making the link in regular HTML (or
javascript). If shockwave doesn't support setting the target attribute,
then I'm sorry to say it, but you're fucked.  THere are ways to do what you
want- in Javascript, which does npt belong on the mac perl list (the two
are nearly opposites).

MacPerl (or any other language you use to write CGI) may receive a request
for content- it simply ships the content out. It has no idea where the deal
is going to be displayed. Only the browser can do this.

More Help-

PLEASE READ THE CGI-PROGRAMMING FAQ.
        it's at http://www.boutell.com

PLEASE READ THE FRAMESET AND JAVASCRIPT PROGRAMMING FAQ's
        available at netscape

PLEASE LISTEN WHEN PEOPLE INVITE YOU TO STOP WASTING BANDWIDTH.
        If twenty people on a mailing list tell you you're barking up the
wrong tree, it may be time to  spend some time doing research. Mathiaas'
time is limited- let's keep him programming 5.002, and graduating school,
not dealing with the braincramps of first-time scripters. There're plenty
of other places to get this information.


Tim



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Tim Howland                                            Visual Services
New Media Director  - 44 N Main, S Norwalk, CT 06854
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