3-Column Layout

toad78

I have a 3-column layout on a web page that has a variety of links. After a user clicks on the link, I'd like the content to load in the center column. I know there's a way that PHP can work, but I don't know where to begin.

I appreciate any assistance.

Thank you,
toad78

Weedpacket

Actually it's not PHP that does the job; PHP isn't running on the client so it has no idea what this "center column" is supposed to be.

What you're talking about is JavaScript. More accurately, so-called AJAX. All PHP does is serves the content that is supposed to go in the centre column the same way it serves anything else, and the browser puts it there.

toad78

Well, I'm not familiar with Ajax, and I'm not internediate in JavaScript. Where does that put me?

nrg_alpha

Weedpacket;10884265 wrote:
What you're talking about is JavaScript. More accurately, so-called AJAX.

I'm not entirely sure that statement is correct. AJAX is 'Asynchronous JavaScript and XML' which in turn means both Javascript and XML are used together (I believe for desktop-esque applications.. [think Google maps by example]).

Javascript on it's own accord is simply, Javascript.. (perhaps I'm simply splitting hairs however.. nowadays, AJAX is pretty much everywhere).

toad78

Would you mind referring me where I can find information on doing this procedure?

toad78

NogDog

There are a ton of tutorials out there (of various quality, of course). Try Googling for something like "AJAX PHP tutorial".

I have a demo page with all the source code if you'd like to look at one example: http://charles-reace.com/test/ajax/

Weedpacket

nrg_alpha wrote:
AJAX is 'Asynchronous JavaScript and XML' which in turn means both Javascript and XML are used together

Hence the "so-called". I'm one of those irritating characters who had been mucking around with it before there was such a thing as an XMLHttpObject and before whatshisface came up with the name.