HTML: Standards and Browser compatibility

The most important caveat to exploring DHTML is that there are tons of compatibility issues. The newest iterations of Mozilla/Netscape and Internet Explorer have actually begun to come closer together, but developers working with DHTML during the height of the browser wars quickly learned that developing cross-browser DHTML was a very difficult proposition. As a result, most large professional sites eschew complex DHTML in favor of simpler cross-browser routines to improve navigation and other facets of the user experience, rather than excessive visual effects.

Newer HTML design standards removed all formatting from the HTML code and places it in a separate document called a "cascading style sheet" (CSS). This approach has many advantages, which can be read about via the W3C link below. Although converting existing old-format web site code to the latest recommendations using CSS and other newer techniques can be a major job—in essence, cleaning the net—the rewards are many.

Older browsers support CSS poorly, if at all. But rather than attempting to create HTML/CSS code that accounts for older browser's limitations (called backward-compatible code), which creates further complexities, it makes more sense to upgrade to the latest version of the browser of your choice as (most) browser developers continue to evolve their browsers to meet the latest design standards.

Newest coding standards (2012-2013) are HTML5/CSS3, which is also compatible with mobile devices. All new material on the Lunar Planner, including video code, is written in HTML5/CSS3. Many of the main pages have been upgraded to the same. (Archived pages that are several years old have not been upgraded.)