To this end, this project illustrates implementing a typical dynamic UI feature, from planning
and design right through to interfacing with server-side elements, to give you a good idea
of how to write solid JavaScript in the context of a real application. In this case, you??™ll implement
a help feature.
The code examples in this chapter are based on Ruby On Rails, the web development
framework du jour, for your code examples. I chose it because it works well with your chosen
JavaScript libraries, Prototype and Low Pro, and because it has a knack for doing its job without
getting in the way of the real meat of the project??”in this case, HTML, Cascading Style
Sheets (CSS), JavaScript, and the concept of progressive enhancement. However, if you??™re not
familiar with Ruby On Rails, don??™t worry. The concepts shown in the code examples can easily
be reimplemented in PHP, Java, Django, or whatever other kind of crazy platform takes your
fancy.
The Job at Hand
So what exactly will you be creating? Well, let??™s set the scene a little. After any application, webbased
or not, has a nontrivial feature set, it will need some kind of help system to guide users
around the application and provide supporting information. Many web applications tackle
this problem by having a help link that typically pops up a new browser window with the help
content inside. Users then scrabble around trying to find the information relative to the part
of the application they??™re using at the time and then proceed to enter into a frustrating window-
shuffling dance in which they try to refer to the help and the application at the same
time.
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