Online Animation

Animated GIFs

Animated GIFs are used on so many different programmes and applications. From websites to emails they are used on a regular basis.

Advantages and Limitations

The colour limitation makes the GIF format unsuitable for reproducing colour photographs and other images with continuous colour, but it is well-suited for simpler images such as graphics or logos with solid areas of colour. This is due to the fact that GIFs have a 265 colour limit.

Simpler images mean smaller in file size this is an advantage because if the file size is too big the animation or image will be changed, resized resulting in a decrease in quality. Another advantage is that with file size being smaller animations can be run on the most basic of internet speed without limitations in speed and quality.

Dynamic HTML

Dynamic HTML is basically a browser feature that enables your browser to be more dynamic. Dynamic meaning that it is able to be changed and modified as feature this applies to certain functions, content and layout. Dynamic HTML is not JavaScript although it relies on it, but JavaScript used in webpage relies heavily on the fourth generation browser features. Dynamic HTML features allow better controlling of HTML codes and HTML. The four primary features are the ability to Changing the tags and properties, Real-time positioning, Dynamic fonts and Data binding.

Advantages:-

1. Fast and Zippy: - DHTML loads content on fly. Your whole page does not loads but only the content part that needs to be altered, so saving the crucial time for the users and giving the snazzy look to the website.

2. Plug-ins, we don’t need them:- DHTML uses most of the features already present in the browsers, so there is no need to download any sort of Plug-ins.

3. Great Utility:- The dynamic features possessed by DHTML are helping web designers to create Web pages that posses compact looks, downloads fast, have graphic effects, provides greater functionality and can hold much more text or content all at the same time.

Disadvantages:-

1. Costly Editing tools: - although DHTML provides great functionality but the editors’ available for that in market are pretty expensive. Examples of DHTML editors are Dreamweaver and Fusion.

2. Long and Complex coding: - DHTML coding is long and complex. Only the expert JavaScript and HTML programmers can write them and edit them with good degree of functionality.

3. Browser Support problems: - DHTML suffers from browser support problems for different browsers. For example, a code written for Netscape might not work in Internet Explorer and Vice-Versa. The problem arises due to the different features of browsers.

Shockwave

The purpose of shockwave is to allow creation of interactive animations and applications such as games short animated clips on the internet. Shockwave also allows sounds to be coded into web page script this is a very useful feature. Shockwave features a streaming audio format that allow for long, high quality sound files to be played across low bandwidth connections. Shockwave also has the ability to communicate with web server programs.

The advantages that shockwave provides are

• rich media integration
• non-linear playback
• Shockwave audio
• wide developer base
• packaging of media
• streaming of media

The disadvantages that shockwave has are

• requires Director software to create
• plug-in needs to be installed
• complications between browsers
• limited supply of re-usable code

The alternatives to using shockwave are

• GIF animations
• Flash
• DHTML
• JavaScript
• Java