G046 – Lecture 2A Recognising Web-Technologies Mr C Johnston ICT Teacher

Server Side Scripting Technologies To Spot PHP (Hyper-Text Pre-Processor) ASP (Active Server Pages) CGI (Common Gateway Interface) Client Side Scripting JAVA Flash JavaScript CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) DHTML (Dynamic HTML). To spot the different technologies you need to examine the web pages URL, the HTML code, and elements on the page. For higher marks you need to explain how the technology is being used and how it enhances the users visit to the site rather than just identifying it.

PHP PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor is a widely used, general-purpose scripting language that was originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. It is a sever side language which allows integration with databases. Often used for catalogues, registrations, logins and other database driven content. Look for a.php file within the action property of the tag to see if PHP has been used – or a.php file name in the browsers address bar

ASP ASP: Active Server Pages is a widely used, general-purpose scripting language that was originally designed by Microsoft for web development to produce dynamic web pages. It is a sever side language which allows integration with databases. Often used for catalogues, registrations, logins and other database driven content. Look for a.asp file within the action property of the tag to see if ASP has been used – or a.asp file name in the browsers address bar

CGI CGI: Common Gateway Interface is a standard which sets out how a web server handles data submitted from a web form. Following these rules a CGI script is written in a scripting language (usual PERL) and is used to process data by the server when a form is submitted. Look for a.cgi file within the action property of the tag to see if CGI has been used

JAVA JAVA is a stand alone programming language which allows programs to write applications which can be embedded into webpage's. To run JAVA Applets your browser has to have the correct interpreter installed. Its often used for games and other web based applications for example Google Docs A loading logo often indicates something could be Java but do right click to ensure its not flash. The tag within the HTML code shows that JAVA has been embedded

Flash Flash is used for animated effects and other interactive web based for example games. Its easy to tell if Flash is being used as if you right click on the object and its flash a menu will appear. Right clicking on objects shows if they are flash or not as a Flash Player menu will appear if they are. If not look for.swf files in embed tags within the code

An Example piece of JavaScript to swap image when mouse is over JavaScript JavaScript is a scripting language used to create dynamic and interactive web content. It can be used in its simplest form to create rollover effects on images, validate web forms, handle shopping carts and other “whiz bang” stuff. It is easy to spot as will be in the head section of the HTML but working out what its doing is more tricky – could try turning JavaScript off in browser and see what happens to site. An Example piece which tests if something has been entered into a field on a web form – if not an alert shows

CSS CSS: Cascading Style Sheets are used to control the pages presentation style and through layers the layout. They can be defined within a single page or within master style sheet. They are quite easy to spot and can be seen in action throughout the html page when and are used. CSS style sheet used to format labels and fields on a small form. This sheet is external and linked however the styles could have been included in the head section of html page within tags

DHTL DHTML: Dynamic HTML is a collection of technologies which work together to produce dynamic interactive content on webpage's. Typically they will involve CSS and JavaScript working in harmony to produce the effects. At most simple these could be rollovers or drop down menus but a lot more stunning effects do exist. DHTML Drop down menu and rollover effect made with JavaScript and CSS