Having a dynamic website is currently considered as a main requirement for medium to large-scale solutions. Achieving this requires the utilization of scripting languages, both server side and client side.
- Server-side scripting languages (e.g. ASP.NET, PHP etc.) are often used to implement all interactive and dynamic aspects of a website that provide users with dynamic content and allow them to persist data on the web server.
The code for scripting languages should be separated from the code of the presentation languages, thus the two languages must not be mixed.
Example:
Server-side script are heavily used in content management systems in a manner that the presentation part of the system can be changed without altering the scripting part i.e. without having to change the code and compromising the integrity of the system.
- Client-side scripts (e.g. JavaScript), on the other hand, are also widely used to provide interactive and rich online experiences for the users in specific areas of the website that do not require any data persistence on the server. Advanced client-side libraries are now available (e.g. jQuery) to provide advanced client-side capabilities. Examples of client-side script usages are photo gallery views, slide shows, form validations etc.).
The code for client side scripts must be kept separate from the code of the presentation languages. These scripts are generally known to be unmanaged therefore special care need to be taken to keep the architecture of the website consistent and reliable.
Specific importance should be considered when using client side scripting because they are affected by the client side settings that cannot be predicted by the programmer in advance.
- A combination of server-side and client-side scripts (e.g. Ajax) is nowadays used to improve the user experience by refreshing part of the web page data without having the whole web page refresh. Integrating Ajax must be properly implemented to account for the speed of internet connection. The user must be visually notified (showing a message on the screen area where data is being retrieved that his request is in process, and ultimately provide him with the relevant output for his query.