Writing Efficient, Effective Web Code for Domino, Part 5
Convert Domino default layouts to DIV-based layouts

Joacim Boive


January, 2009

Discover the advantages of structuring your Web pages using HTML DIV tags in place of Domino’s default table-based layouts. Your page code will perform better and be easier to maintain. After gaining an overview of the technique to convert Domino layouts to DIV-based layouts, follow detailed instructions and examples that show how to use the DIV tags, write links, and gracefully degrade when JavaScript is not available.

By adopting just one new technique for coding your Domino Web-only applications, you can, at a single stroke, achieve better performance, higher search-engine rankings, dynamic resizing of page elements, and accessibility for users with less-capable browsers. All you have to do is restructure the Domino default layout with HTML division (DIV) tags. I’ll show you exactly how to do it.
As I take you through the DIV-based code that replaces Domino’s default table-based layout code, you’ll learn:
  • How to use DIV tags
  • The best way to write links in HTML
  • How to check whether or not JavaScript is available in the site visitor’s browser
  • How to degrade gracefully when JavaScript is not available
Putting this technique together with the others you’ve learned in this series of articles so far, you can take an application with barely adequate performance and usability and bring it to near-perfection.

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