Re: Menus, navigation, and simplicity (Perhaps slightly off-topic)

On 14 Jul, Kevin A Sesock wrote:

> This may sound like a stupid question, as well as an off-topic one, but 
> it's a necessary one, and one that I can't find asked too often, so here 

   I'd deem it neither off-topic nor stupid - there are none of the
   latter. This is a problem for accessibility indeed.


> The problem, however, still exists for those people without any type of 
> content management solution. It's tedious and ineffective to update the 
> <div class="menu"> section of every top-level page of their site. If you 
> don't have PHP, a content management solution, or something, anything, 
> you're in trouble.

   That's what off-line pre-processors are for, in my less than humble
   opinion. A system such as Orb, Wmake, or the Dolt to mention but a
   few are meant to run on an author's machine and basically work like
   an automated template system. You, the author, define for instance:

     "I want THIS file with a menu included on all pages"

   and set the system to work. It'll take your content-document and
   assemble it with the menu and any other piece you've created or
   defined, and produce one or many HTML files.

   We're using this method ourselves, as most of our content is quite
   static. However it would be a waste of our time to go around updating
   minor details in the navigation on 150+ pages. One command to Wmake
   and it has been done.

   Such systems are entirely independent of the server, and quite often
   free, running on Unix, Windows, and other platforms.

   As simple and as fast as I can provide, I'm afraid.
   
-- 
 -    Tina Holmboe                    Greytower Technologies
   tina@greytower.net                http://www.greytower.net/
   [+46] 0708 557 905

Received on Monday, 14 July 2003 11:27:10 UTC