Structured Development of DHTML Programs from Abstract Ideas Based on the Equivalent Transformation Framework

Dynamic HTML (DHTML) is a term used for the combination of the technologies HyperText Markup Language (HTML), cascading style sheets (CSS), and JavaScript. This combination allows precise positioning, formatting and embellishment of document content to be realized; instead of arbitrary placement due to a browser´s rendering choices. It also allows the creation of documents that: 1.contain inline animations and; 2.can change by themselves or in response to user interactions. However, as in low level languages, there is no structured means of developing a DHTML program from abstract ideas (system specifications). In this paper we propose the equivalent transformation (ET) framework as a model for aiding in the creation of optimized DHTML programs from abstract ideas. We also demonstrate the advantages inherent in using this framework by using the example of a ping-pong game.