Web development as an industry
Typically web pages are classified as static or dynamic.
Static pages don’t change content and layout with every request unless a human (web
master or programmer) manually updates the page.
Dynamic pages adapt their content and/or appearance depending on the end-user’s
input or interaction or changes in the computing environment (user, time, database
modifications, etc.) Content can be changed on the client side (end-user's computer)
by using client-side scripting languages (JavaScript, JScript, Actionscript, media
players and PDF reader plug-ins, etc.) to alter DOM elements (DHTML). Dynamic content
is often compiled on the server utilizing server-side scripting languages (PHP,
ASP, Perl, Coldfusion, JSP, Python, etc.). Both approaches are usually used in complex
applications.
Client Side Coding
Server Side Coding
However lesser known languages like Ruby and Python are often paired with database
servers other than MySQL (the M in LAMP). Below are example of other databases currently
in wide use on the web. For instance some developers prefer a LAPR(Linux/Apache/PostrgeSQL/Ruby
on Rails) setup for development.
Database Technology
The intent of web design is to create a web site (a collection of electronic files
residing on one or more web servers) that presents content (including interactive
features or interfaces) to the end user in the form of web pages upon request. Such
elements as text, forms, and bit-mapped images (GIFs, JPEGs, PNGs) can be placed
on the page using HTML, XHTML, or XML tags. Displaying more complex media (vector
graphics, animations, videos, sounds) usually requires browsers to incorporate optional
plug-ins, such as Flash, QuickTime, and Java run-time environment. Other plug-ins
are embedded in web pages, using HTML or XHTML tags.
Improvements in the various browsers' compliance with W3C standards prompted a widespread
acceptance of XHTML and XML in conjunction with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to
position and manipulate web page elements. The latest standards and proposals aim
at leading to the various browsers' ability to deliver a wide variety of media and
accessibility options to the client possibly without employing plug-ins.