Legacy APIs

This section also includes legacy APIs for older versions of Windows Internet Explorer.

In this section

Topic	Description
Legacy Document Object Model (DOM) APIs	This section describes DOM features supported in earlier versions of Internet Explorer that are not widely supported in other browsers. Application that rely on these features should be updated to use featured based on current standards.
Internet Explorer Architecture	Internet Explorer's modular architecture enables developers to reuse some of its components as well as extend and enhance the browser's functionality. Examples of extensions to Internet Explorer include custom shortcut menus, browser toolbars, Microsoft ActiveX controls, Active documents, and binary behaviors. It is important to understand the architecture and the available extension mechanisms to enure you use the one most appropriate for your application needs.
Browser Extensions	Browser extensions, introduced in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, allow developers to add functionality to the browser and enhance the user interface in a way that is not directly related to the viewable content of webpages. This class of extensibility includes add-on functionality that users might install to enhance their browsing experience.
Content Extensions	This sections describes extensions that invoked specifically by Internet Explorer content. It includes ActiveX controls, binary behaviors, and Active documents.
Hosting and Reuse	This section includes advanced hosting and associated browser reference.
DHTML Behaviors	Dynamic HTML (DHTML) behaviors are components that encapsulate specific functionality or behavior on a page. When applied to a standard HTML element on a page, a behavior enhances that element's default behavior. An element behavior enables you to add a custom element to pages. And a ViewLink enables a document tree to be encapsulated in an HTML Component (HTC) file, separate from the content of the main webpage.
DHTML Data Binding	Internet Explorer enables content providers to develop data-centric web applications that support retrieval and update through native data binding facilities. The use of HTML extensions and pluggable data source object (DSO) makes data-driven pages easy to author, with minimal scripting required. Because data is downloaded to the client asynchronously, pages render quickly and provide immediate interactivity. Once downloaded, the data can be sorted and filtered without requiring additional trips to the server. Compare that to traditional webpages and those generated by server-side scripts. Once the data reaches the client, it's static, and any manipulation of that data requires another server request.
Filters and Transitions	With Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 and later, you can apply various multimedia-style visual effects to your webpage. You can implement these effects in webpages using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) properties. By combining filters and transitions with basic scripting, you have a powerful tool for creating visually engaging and interactive documents. Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 and later supports the richest variety of optimized filters. This section covers the basics of filters and transitions as well as all of the reference components.
Scriptable Editing Reference	This section contains reference information for the scriptable editing API.
Vector Markup Language (VML)	Vector Markup Language (VML) is an XML-based exchange, editing, and delivery format for high-quality vector graphics on the web that meets the needs of both productivity users and graphic design professionals. XML is an emerging simple, flexible, and open text-based language that complements HTML.