Re: lynx-dev Java script support.

[Heather Stern]

me >> [...]
   >> I think these features are -
   >>   * mouseovers 
   >>     - some sites don't bother with ALT, but they do have
   >>       a good mouseover status line

bjp > How about, in lieu of Javascript (not saying never Javascript, but in
> > > the indefinite time until we have it), something to just fake an ALT
> > > tag for a mouseover, if there is no ALT tag?

Mouseovers come in two flavors, well three maybe.  Status line rewrites,
image replacement, and a popup (possibly in another frame).

I think you'll find a fairly short, clean sample of flavor 1, and maybe 
flavor to, at Ender's Realm Grphic Design:
        http://www.ender-design.com/home/

Pleasantly enough, the site is quite clean to the non-graphical eye.

me > I was sort of vaguely thinking, if we had the "lynx can do a limited
 > > number or type of pseudo-graphical things" stub, and something to spot 
 > > that the HTML/js author is trying to do such a thing, we could fake it.  

bjp> I don't know anything about js -- is the syntax for a mouseover pretty
   > much just something in the <IMG> tag somewhere?  If it's something
   > like that, can try to find the 'mouseover=' text and splice out what's
   > in quotes after it (dealing with backslashed quotes, etc).

Look at the raw code for the site above.  It seems to memorize a few strings
for use later during mouseovers.  The actual mouseover= is the name of the
script to invoke, so you probably don't want that.

me > To be "real" mouseover (?!) for the scenario I described, lemme see, I'd
 > > imagine:  The image doens't display (of course) and there's no ALT so 
 > > assuming you have the feature on, we show the graphic's filename.  When
 > > it become hot, we'd honor the mouseover and redraw the page?  I don't
 > > think so.  More likely, "fake javascript" would steal yet another screen
 > > line for its status,

bjp> As an easier (and less demanding on screen realestate, and in keeping
   > with how annoying mouseover truly IS (heh)), how about if a mouseover
   > just did a temporary message over the existing status line, using the
   > facilities we currently have?  Could do something like have it write
   > with the same precedence as informational messages (JSSECS=0 ? Ouch.)
   > or something. 

Bearing in mind that as an Advanced user, I like to know what my destination
URL is, I'd kinda like it to switch back afterwards.  Of course = will show
it to me, but I do hope I wouldn't have to start doing that all the time.

bjp> Didn't someone recently add a history mechanism for statusline
   > messages?  If the fake-js is displayed on screen for a configurable
   > amount of time, and recallable, I think that'd be a nice way to do it
   > without eating up another line of screen.

Wow, I didn't even think of status recall.  (Cool, we got more features than...
;D )  Yeah, with that it wouldn't be nearly so bad to use the real status line.

> > and might be initially stubbed to show what it is
> > guessing rather than try to actually do anything new with js code.

I still think this would be useful for other features than merely mouseover,
although heck, not everyone is going to turn it on, right?

For me two lines is still ok, my Advanced URL/status and this debug/js gadget
would still be fine with me.

> Ideas always help.

Thanks :)

* Heather Stern * address@hidden * Starshine Technical Services *