How does Yahoo make their animated tab panels?

Question

I have seen on many of the yahoo sites the tabbed panels that animated throught the tabs. (http://local.yahoo.com/?csz=Fort+Lauderdale+FL) This is an example. This isn't flash, I think it might be DHTML but dont know how to do it. Anyone know any site I can go to, or any resource that will guide me in the direction of achieving this same effect?

Answer 1

Thats Called AJAX

Yahoo Suggest and yahoo/google Maps are two examples of a new approach to web applications that we at Adaptive Path have been calling Ajax. The name is shorthand for Asynchronous JavaScript + XML, and it represents a fundamental shift in what’s possible on the Web.

Defining Ajax



Ajax isn’t a technology. It’s really several technologies, each flourishing in its own right, coming together in powerful new ways. Ajax incorporates:



* standards-based presentation using XHTML and CSS;

* dynamic display and interaction using the Document Object Model;

* data interchange and manipulation using XML and XSLT;

* asynchronous data retrieval using XMLHttpRequest;

* and JavaScript binding everything together.



The classic web application model works like this: Most user actions in the interface trigger an HTTP request back to a web server. The server does some processing — retrieving data, crunching numbers, talking to various legacy systems — and then returns an HTML page to the client. It’s a model adapted from the Web’s original use as a hypertext medium, but as fans of The Elements of User Experience know, what makes the Web good for hypertext doesn’t necessarily make it good for software applications.



So forth

http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000385.php



hope this helps

Cheers:)

Answer 2

Neeraj is spot on, I find AJAX the perfect solution for processing forms without having to refresh the page or post data, gives you great potential when coding.



Another thing I noticed which may help.



Dreamweaver CS3 automatically supports somethign called spry, it's really quite cool it's not php or AJAX (at least I dont think it is) but it gives you the ability to have tabs and drow downs which animate and such.



Maybe worth a look into it.

I personally only had a quick look, seemed like CSS and Javascript, but definately worth a go if you're looking at having animated tabbed navigation which doesn't depend on a database or dynamic data?

Answer 3

Professional 3D Design Animation : http://3dAnimationCartoons.com/?VFVP