> Here's A List Apart's list of problems with frames, with my > comments on how this works for private, password-protected > web apps: (http://alistapart.com/stories/frames/) > > - You cannot bookmark an individual page > Good! People should always enter the site through the login page. > > - You cannot email a reference to a page > Good! > > - You cannot link to a page > Good! > > - Browsers can have problems with Back/Forward > I think this is just older browsers. Well, I only do CMS's for > 5+ browsers... > > - Framed sites are more difficult for text-based and speech browsers > As above, I limit entry to special CMS's anyway. > > - Inexperienced designers can make all sorts of mistakes with frames > I *think* I'm OK on this one :-) > > Plus, of course, search engines will have a hard time > indexing the site. > Good! I have the ROBOTS NOINDEX meta tag in all the pages anyway. > > Maybe I'm bashing this point home a bit too much, but I'm (1) > curious to see if there's any holes in my theory, and (2) quite > amazed that I've discovered after all these years a good use > for frames!
There have been good uses for frames long before now, so I don't think you can claim credit for discovering them. We've been using frames in applications since Netscape 2, for the same sorts of things: session notification/override, and other sorts of client/server data exchange. You'll note that the list of problems with frames that you quote assumes a "document-centric" approach to the Web, while your responses assume an "application-centric" approach. That division has been around for quite a while - if you're building things that are more like applications than sets of documents, then it may well make sense to take advantage of things like frames, DHTML, Flash, and any other technology which allows you to build a more application-like interface. On the other hand, if your goal is to have something that acts more like a set of loosely related documents than an application, then A List Apart's criticisms are all quite valid. The problem arises when you're trying to build something in between - a CMS is a good example. For many organizations, the goal of a CMS is to allow the organization to manage the process of creating and tracking content, but from an end user's perspective, that content may appear to be a bunch of HTML pages, essentially. Many people want their documents to be available to the broadest audience possible, they want those documents to show up on Google and the like, they want people to be able to link to individual documents, and so on. Dave Watts, CTO, Fig Leaf Software http://www.figleaf.com/ voice: (202) 797-5496 fax: (202) 797-5444 ______________________________________________________________________ Get the mailserver that powers this list at http://www.coolfusion.com FAQ: http://www.thenetprofits.co.uk/coldfusion/faq Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/cf-talk@houseoffusion.com/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
