Recordset Paging Reloads Whole Page

Can recordset data reload independent of header/footer?

[Revata]

Im building a simple page with a header/content/footer layout. The header contains the nav, the content section contains 8 records from a recordset and pages through them 8 at a time with next and previous buttons at the bottom, and the footer is a flash movie that plays continuously.

My question is: Is there a way to keep the header and footer separate from the rest of the page so that when a user clicks through to consecutive pages the whole layout doesnt reload? And specifically: the flash movie can continue playing?

Someone mentioned using frames however I keep reading that frames are a no-no in this day & age.

Here's the recordset paging code:

<div id="arrows">
 <table border="0">
 <tr>
 <td><?php if ($pageNum_creditsList > 0) { // Show if not first page ?>
 <a href="<?php printf("%s?pageNum_creditsList=%d%s", $currentPage, max(0, $pageNum_creditsList - 1), $queryString_creditsList); ?>"><img src="images/btnPrev.png" border="0" /></a>
 <?php } // Show if not first page ?> </td>
 
 <td>
 
 <div align="right">
 <?php if ($pageNum_creditsList < $totalPages_creditsList) { // Show if not last page ?>
 <a href="<?php printf("%s?pageNum_creditsList=%d%s", $currentPage, min($totalPages_creditsList, $pageNum_creditsList + 1), $queryString_creditsList); ?>"><img src="images/btnNext.png" border="0" /></a>
 <?php } // Show if not last page ?>
 </div></td>
 </tr>
 </table>
 </div>

[edited by: Revata at 7:09 am (utc) on April 30, 2009]

[eeek]

You could do that with frames.

[coopster]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld, Revata.

Another option would be to use JavaScript to fetch the request and update the content area. The term often used to describe this technique is AJAX.

[Revata]

Thanks for the responses eeek, coopster. I've loaded it into an iframe and it seems to be working for the most part. There's just an issue with a media player that wont load now. If I can't figure that out I might look into AJAX.

Thanks for the help!

[punisa]

I'd go with Ajax on this one. Even if everything works ok with a frame, you'll soon discover wonderful things you can accomplish with ajax requests : )
My suggestion is the prototype library, extremely simple, excellent documentation and great compatibility with other libraries.

[g1smd]

Content in the iframe will not be indexed by searchengines as being a part of the page.