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What language/code/method am I looking for?


Goldalene

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Hi all, I've been reading up on css and xhtml after years of just using very basic hmtl and now want to design a large site. My plan is to have navigation links on a left column, and have this column appear the same on every page. However, I don't really want a situation where I have to change hundreds of pages just to add a new option to the navbar.Is there a method of either getting all the pages to pull a table from one central page and fit it into the navbar, like pages refer back to a stylesheet, or is there some other way? I've heard lots about databasing, .asp, php, etc. and seen sites that seem to build themselves from various sources and I wonder if that's a route, but I've honestly no idea which language to begin looking at.Sorry if this is vague!

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Yes. That's the route of a server side scripting which basically allows you to do everything you otherwise would be unabled to do (thats how I usually define it). You can use server side includes, that let you write the full menu inside one file and put the content of that file directly in the main file.If you want to build the site on the client side instead, there are two other ways though: a vast usage of XML and XSLT, which on a later stage you might want to execute with a server side code (cause eventually, you WILL turn to server side scripting), or a single JavaScript that writes the code for the menu. Or a third (the best for starters in the client side ways in my opinion) is a combination of theese two: write the menu in XML and XSLT and use JavaScript in each XHTML to visualize the transformation within the XHTML file.There's also the third way of frames and iframes, but due to explainable reasons, everyone is avoiding them.Hope this will give you some ideas of what you can do. As you can see from my signature and profile summary, I have chosen the path of XSLT (I don't mean XPath :) ) :) .

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I don't want to repeat myself so here is a review from myself and my opinion for what server side language might be called the best. Still: outside factors such as hosting plans, support, etc. are thing you have to consider.

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