It depends on who the site is intended for. Should a business oriented site rely on javascript? I think not.

With all the differences in implementation, Javascript isn't ready for deployment in commerce oriented sites.IMHO

Without getting into a drawn out discussion on web design, here are my personal thoughts for business oriented sites.
(I've posted well over 100K web pages now for whatever that's worth.)

Outside of clear navigation, etc... sites should be designed in successive layers.
i.e It works with Javascript,Java, Activex off. If you want to have mouseovers and image flips, etc, they should be designed in such a way as to not impair the functionality of the site without their use.

Javascript is great for pre-emptive form checking but most of the things that people do with it are indeed bells and whistles. Even when they are not, there is usually another alternative. (Plus it all breaks when version X of whatever browser get's released.)This might not be a problem if this is an intranet and IT controls what is installed.

I'd also recommend sticking with GIF and JPG.

(Fun fact: NT 4.x crashes unrecoverably when attempting to display certain PNG files.)

Modest use of javascript is fine but I think until there is a more uniform deployment, you would be remiss to rely on it heavily when there's money on the table.

For consistent behaviour, you can't beat server side.

Again this is all context, for some sites, requiring the latest greatest browser is not a problem. It all depends on whom your expecting to reach.

-Lee

"To be civilized is to deny one's nature."

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