Hosting your own website can be a painless and rewarding process, enhanced by a number of features commonly included with web hosting packages. You can create your own email addresses, customize your own web url, and create custom graphics. Scripting can take you even farther, allowing you to use interactive features on your pages. Guestbooks, live chatrooms, and many other web tools are created using scripts.
There are several scripting languages commonly used in conjunction with website hosting. PHP, CGI, and PERL are some of them, and website building programs use scripting that is hidden from the user.
- Dreamweaver, for example, works on this principle, allowing the user to add scripts and other functions without having to deal with the raw code.
- Javascript is another common language. Using Javascript, you can do a number of things. For example, Javascript can trigger pop ups when a user clicks on a particular link. It can also be used to manipulate image properties, embed things like slideshows, and add behaviors to CSS functions. For example, the CSS might be used to construct a scrolling tracker, but it would be Javascript that controlled the mechanics, i.e. telling it when to scroll and how.
- Javascript is also responsible for many common web forms, such as forms that allow you to upload and check files. Online calculators and social security verification forms are also often created using Javascript.
- Javascript is separate from the Java programming language, but the two share a common syntax. Java is used primarily to create applets, which are essentially stand alone applications that are downloaded to your computer along with the HTML document. For example, scroll bars on websites are created using Java.
- Javascript, on the other hand, is embedded within the HTML instead of arriving as a separate file. You can write Javascript with an understanding of HTML, but advanced Javascript benefits from a knowledge of C or C+ language.
- Javascript still has a place in web hosting, even though CSS and other techniques have taken a starring role. It is accessible to most users, since an understanding of HTML can allow you to create basic Javascript. Gmail is one of the best examples of Javascript in use today, but can also be used to create points of interest on a website. For example, you can add music, moving graphics, and trailing cursors. If you’ve ever seen an image change when you moused over it, that was Javascript at work.
- Many affordable web hosts will offer Javascript capabilities with their web hosting packages. Most allow you to simply past the scripts in to your HTML editor, making using this dynamic language even easier. It is a good introduction in to programming beyond HTML, and will help you add flavor and personality to your sites.
- Most web site packages that offer Javascript will also offer support for other programming, like PERL and CGI. So, if you want to learn programming or are an advanced programmer already, most web site hosting packages will offer a variety of tools that can build anything you want at a cheap price.
- Java, on the other hand, can create applets that can make things like interactive chat rooms. There are web site hosts that also offer support for Java, as well as Javascript. However, web hosts that support Java have some problems. It can be difficult to find one at an affordable price that meets more advanced needs. A site that is frequently updated might run into problems with a host that restarts its servers only once a day, for example.
- Still, Java and Javascript can help you do a number of things that will greatly enhance your websites. Javascript is probably the most accessible option as far as programming goes. It is easier than CGI and there is a lot of support available for it, as it has been around and in heavy use for a long time. It works on most browsers and is especially compatible with Netscape, who packages it together with their browser.
It is possible to find budget web hosting packages that include Java and Javascript, but you must be aware of your needs to get the best deal. If you are just starting out, most popular web hosts are going to be able to offer you whatever you might need. As has been mentioned before, these web hosting packages often include a variety of other features and script support as well, so you can use a number of tools to achieve your desired effect.
