Dawid, your analysis is quite complete and precise.
The solution I suggested to John starts just from the assumption that the
menu can be modeled as a simple HTML list, with a tad of Javascript to apply
the hide / show effect on each node and store the node state via cookies if
needed.
Your proposal of using CSS to show / hide menu nodes by using the li:hover
rule is definitely neat, but clashes with indecent browser (the Internet
Explorer family, expecially the older ones) not properly managing the rule
itself. See http://www.quirksmode.org/css/contents.html in the *:hover*section.
Anyhow, depending on John needs, both solutions (yours and the one I
suggested early) can be easy to implement and maintain (not to mention that
they can be made - almost - totally browser independent).
The PHP (or, more generally, server side) solution, instead, relies on
writing a bunch of code to be executed on the web server, in order to serve
the new menu state to the client. Given the computing power of current
clients (home PC etc.), I still am confident that it's better leaving the
hide / show management of menu nodes on the client side (i.e. using
Javascript / CSS to achieve the proper effect) rather than the server one.
In conclusion, John has a lot of alternatives to chose from: the best one
will depend on how much browser compatibility he wants to assure to the
final page, on the management complexity of the menu itself (should it store
its state through subsequent client requests?) and on the capabilities of
the server that will host its web pages.
Just a final statement (not intended to be polemic): the JavaScript
libraries I pointed John to (and to which I am in no way affiliated,
although I use them with satisfaction) are indeed free, but they're open
source as well, which means a lot more things than 'free' alone :)
Sorry again for this huge OT :)
Ciao!
Fabio
On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 1:52 PM, Dawid Loubser <dawidl@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Sorry list, I know this is off-topic:
>
> John/Fabio,
>
> What I always recommend, is to shy away *completely* from
> JavaScript-driven menus, do it with plain (X)HTML and CSS, so that
> your site
> will continue to work on mobile phones, voice browsers, etc. without
> the need
> to add in transformation gateways / portals etc. when you need it.
>
> A tree menu can be effected by simply using an HTML list:
>
> > <ul class="menu">
> > <li>
> > Menu 1
> > <ul>
> > <li>Option 1.1</li>
> > <li>Option 1.2</li>
> > <li>
> > Option 1.3
> > <ul>
> > <li>Option 1.3.1</li>
> > <li>Option 1.3.1</li>
> > </ul>
> > </li>
> > </ul>
> > </li>
>
> .. you get the idea. No scripting or other junk. Then, a couple of
> simple rules in CSS could be attached to provide correct tree/drop-
> down menu
> behaviour. For example, rules like:
>
> > /* Hide sub-menus... */
> > ul.menu li ul
> > {
> > display: none;
> > }
> >
> > /* ... Unless the user's mouse hovers over the sub-menu item */
> > ul.menu li:hover ul
> > {
> > display: block;
> > }
>
> etc. Works like a charm for us - simple, configurable, non evil
> JavaScript.
> You really don't need any 'product' - commercial or free, to make this
> work
> better than most of those 'products' in anyway.
>
> regards,
> Dawid
>
>
> On 01 Oct 2008, at 1:16 PM, Fabio Fiorellato wrote:
>
> >
> > John, how complex is the tree you do need on your website?
> >
> > Consider that designing a simple (yet customizable) tree to embed in
> > a Web
> > site is a matter of minutes nowadays, with a total cost of 0$ in
> > software
> > licences.
> >
> > Take a look, for instance, at:
> http://jquery.bassistance.de/treeview/demo/
> >
> > If you need further help / clarification, feel free to drop me a
> > mail...
> >
> > Ciao!
> >
> > Fabio
> >
> > On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 12:42 PM, John Hudson <OM4T@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> I am looking for a tree menu system that can be used on one's web
> >> site.
> >>
> >> A google search brings up Sothink ........
> >> www.sothink.com .......... on
> >> numerous occasions. There is a 30 day free review period after
> >> which it
> >> costs $59.95 for a licence.
> >>
> >> Are there any recommendations about sothink or other tree menu
> >> systems that
> >> are available?
> >>
> >> John Hudson
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
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> >
> >
> > --
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> > everything else
> > is: 42.
> >
> >
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>
>
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