Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference, 3rd Edition

Glossary

absolute positioning

Setting the precise location of an element within the coordinate system of the next outermost container. An absolute-positioned element exists in its own transparent layer; it is removed from the flow of content that surrounds it in the HTML source code.

abstract object

A specification for the characteristics of other, real objects with which scripts come into contact. Modern document object model designers frequently blend the characteristics of multiple abstract objects into a single scriptable object. For example, the properties, methods, and event handlers for a specific HTML p element object in a document loaded into Mozilla are derived from many W3C DOM specification abstract objects: the Node, Element, HTMLElement, HTMLParagraphElement, ElementCSSInlineStyle, and EventTarget objects.

accessibility

The design concern for allowing users with physical disabilities to make as full a use of web content as possible. For example, aural style sheets provide increased web accessibility to users who have vision impairments. See also WAI and unobtrusive JavaScript.

AJAX

Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, a term coined by Jesse James Garret to embrace the combination of technologies of a scriptable Document Object Model and asynchronous background communication between a Web page and server through the XMLHttpRequest object.

API

Application Programming Interface, which is usually a collection of methods and properties that operate as a convenient layer between programmers ...