different languages Options

[tophwhat]

this might seem like a really dumb question but what is psp, cgi, css?
and what is the difference between html, xml, xhtml and dhtml?

[cyphervi]

psp = paintshoppro

this isnt a language, this is a graphics program similar to photoshop (ps)

cgi

this is a language used for scripting. it uses external files and is called via direct requests or ssi (server side includes) includes. perl is the most commonly used.

css = cascading style sheets

this is used directly in html via a style tag or through an external .css file called by the html file. this is the language you will most likely use outside of html.

html = hypertext markup language

well, duh...

xhtml

this is a newer form of html that uses specific rules, such as maintanence of properly nested tags, all variables enclosed in quotes, all tags capitalized, etc. this is becoming new standard for websites. one of the original purposes of xhtml was support for browsers that could not process the wide variety of ways normal html code can be written (such as if you were using a pda or wireless device to view websites or if you use a different browser than IE or Netscape).

dhtml = dynamic html

this is used for 'dynamic' html effects such as hovers, image changes on mouseover, etc. most people will use javascript instead of dhtml. dhtml is easily used in microsoft frontpage but is not nearly as customizable as javascript.