DHTML Lab - dhtmlab.com - Smooth animation using DHTML

Smooth animation using DHTML
can it be done?

This column can be appreciated by users of any browser, any version. The in-line examples will work only in Netscape Navigator 4 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4+.

More and more sites are using DHTML for their element animations. Ever wondered, however, why the smooth animation you created on your system, comes across slow and jerky on another? Is time, the basis of the animations, not a constant?

In the first of a series of articles, Morten Wang shares the results of extensive testing with DHTML animations across operating systems and browsers. Morten has actually done what most of us have set aside for a rainy day. (It must rain a lot in Oslo, where Morten makes his home.) Thank you, Morten!

His very informative article originally appeared on his own site, and is here updated and reprinted for DHTML Lab readers, with his kind permission.

Prerequisites

Familiarity with the setTimeout() and setInterval() methods. Countless examples of both can be found here at DHTML Lab. A good use of both is discussed in our Fader and Puzzle scripts.

Familiarity with the new Date() object constructor. See Doc Javascript's Mastering JavaScript Dates