[SOLVED] How do I go about making a site without frames???

[Andy-H]

I am making a text based game and have been advised(in HTML help) not to use frames, I have only ever made a website with frames before and was wondering how to go about this. I already know I will have a header file with the banner and menu then program the main page before requiring a footer.

 

Is the best way to go about this to make a page-sized table dividing the page into banner, menu, main page and footer between the require files or does anyone know of a better/more efficient way?

 

Thank you for any replies.

[DarkWater]

CSS.  It's the way to go these days.  It just takes a lot of practice.

[tibberous]

LOL - I almost forgot about non-iframes.

 

Some people like to break it into header, footer and menu - I like to make a central index page and load in the content based on the request url. My way I can make 100% sure the auth gets called, %100 sure the files are protected from direct access, and I never have to use header('location:');

[Andy-H]

By that do you mean make the basic page layout in tables, then have a central index like:

 

<?php

 

$page = htmlspecialchars($_GET['page']);

 

if ($page == "Online"){

require("online.php");

}elseif ($page == "Kill"){

require("kill.php");

}etc{

 

}

?>

???

[obsidian]

Since you are talking about making a game and needing to simulate the effect of frames by an action taken in one area sending an action to the server and requesting a response, you will want to look at making your game use AJAX for the updates. It really sounds more complex than it is, but you need to come up with your basic CSS layout and define a structure of where your responses will be updated.

 

You will need a fairly solid understanding of JavaScript and a concept of HTTP requests to get a good handle on this technique.

[Andy-H]

Thanks for the advice, obsidian loving the avatar but FFVII and FFX rule, VIII and IX are top games too

[Andy-H]

Also, I have VERY little knowledge of JavaScript and no knowledge of HTTP REQUESTS/AJAX :S

[tibberous]

Yeah - just like that.

[Andy-H]

thanks

[obsidian]

Also, a side note is that, when possible, you really should stay away from tables for the actual layout of the page and save them for when you're displaying tabular data or the like...