Using HTML Frames and Forms, it is possible in good HTML to emulate the way
the older browsers (most notably Mosaic) would implement <ISINDEX>
if present in the file. Mosaic in fact served as the exact template for how this
looks, for example by putting the <ISINDEX> widget window at
the bottom of the screen, using the "Search Index:" prompt that Mosaic
uses (and the grey color, matching the color and texture of the window), and even
that something entered therein will be passed alone to the next program.
There are several things involved in making all this come about. At the top
level is the use of the HTML Frame, and here I define a small frame window at the
bottom just the right size to place the <ISINDEX> widget
window in, leaving all the rest of the screen to serve as the scrollable display
text. There isn't much to it, and the only other thing is that within the
<NOFRAMES> portion I write that Frames must be operative and
enabled in order for this example to function. I did not attempt to make it
work in any pre-frames browser, including Mosaic.
The top file is perfectly conventional HTML 4.01 Transitional and merely
contains this explanatory material, artificially lengthened by additional
material at the end included merely to enable it to scroll even on a large screen
thus showing how the <ISINDEX> widget was not part of that
portion but existed outside of it.
The bottom file is where the FORM has been used instead of ISINDEX, since
several options were needed which the HTML grammar of ISINDEX does not readily
admit to some of these options, especially within the HTML standard. For one
thing, I used a SIZE attribute with a value of 55 which closely
approximates the size of the window as drawn on Mosaic. I also used the same
typeface as shows on Mosaic for the prompt string, as well as the same textual
content.
One significant thing not possible with any non-proprietary extension of
ISINDEX is the use of the TARGET attribute to <FORM>
so as to cause the result of the form to be displayed in the topmost window.
In Mosaic, when something is entered and another page comes up (presumably the
page generated as a result of the search string), that page may not have the
widget but simply display as a normal page, which in this emulator means that
the frame and the lower portion must disappear when something is entered, and
that is done by going to the top level, and thus out of the frame.
There is one other much more subtle thing done, and that has to do with
the name of the <INPUT> window. Normally, in forms the
name becomes part of the string. So, for example, if we had named it
NAME="FIRSTFIELD" then in the return string
(or postfix data where METHOD="POST") there would be
an expression, FIRSTFIELD=YourInput and the code that processes
the result would have to strip this off. However, when used on an
<INPUT> field alone, type equal TEXT, and is
named "isindex," an interesting thing happens, if you are using either
Microsoft Explorer or the older Netscape versions (prior to Version 5).
There is no "this equals that" in the returned search string, only the
entered string itself, with the same url encoding as is used on a regular
<ISINDEX> search string returned to the server.
I don't know of any place that this NAME="isindex"
feature is documented, but it seems to be a norm for at least these two very
different browsers.
There is one substantial difference from how this is used in Mosaic, and
that probably could have been overcome by having the main FRAMESET file be
only what comes up when there is no search string, and then it and the other
files would all have to be dynamically generated (tricky, but I think possible)
whereas here I have taken advantage of the ACTION attribute which
is not the proprietary extension when used on a FORM as it is when used for the
ISINDEX. So one could have one (or here three) simple hard-coded files for the
search input string acceptance and then only need to generate the file
resulting from the search itself as the whole screen.
When the string has been entered, I here use the same processing action
file as is used for the proprietary ACTION attribute or the
fully generated file example. One can see from when that program gets an
input string it simply echoes it, of course cleaning up any HTML-sensitive
characters before output.
What follows is being used here as mere text bulk to demonstrate the
scrolling function of a properly implemented <ISINDEX>
HEAD widget window. Ideally, it is permitted only once in the HEAD and if
present there ought to be implemented in this manner, and only inserted as a
widget window in the flow of text at the point(s) it is present in the BODY.
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QUICK QUESTIONS ABOUT TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM: Many common questions regarding traditional Catholicism are answered in the Answers to Questions and Objections page. It is subdivided into the following categories: General, Liturgy, Vatican II, Crisis, Traditional Groups, Religious Liberty, Questioning of Popes, and Miscellaneous. Other questions the users have sent in (and my responses) can be found under Member Discussions in the Questions from Readers section. If it is merely a question of the definition of a term frequently heard in traditionalist circles, the Glossary should be helpful. Any other question about traditional Catholicism should be passed on to me, so I can respond, typically within a couple days.
QUESTIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM IN GENERAL: Other questions about Catholicism should be answered in the traditional Catechetical or Apologetic works of the Church. The key concern here is that one obtains one's answers from the Church. One of the goals of this site is to define the current boundaries of the Church, so as to know who is visibly a part of it and who is not. For reasons brought out in this site and documented in many other places, the Directories published by the Vatican institution no longer demarcate the visible Unity of the Roman Catholic Church today. Such a directory is reasonably approximated (valid only for the Latin (Western) Rite in the US and Canada, unfortunately) by Fr. Morrison's Directory of Traditional Latin Masses and Resource Book. While I maintain that the traditional Catholic orders and priests advocated on this site (and listed in that Directory) can all be trusted to provide correct and accurate information regarding the standard questions about Catholicism (even if not questions about the current situation), until one understands my claims for such, the safest course is to resort to Pre-Vatican II sources. However, it is of great edification and necessity that one also have before them a living example of Catholic life and practice, that one may benefit from the association, and for that, one must have recourse to the groups of which I write, for there, alone, does the living example of authentic Catholicism survive.
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This site has a number of features which makes it of value as a research and edification source to all traditional Catholics. The principle feature and flagship of this site is the on-line book, The Resurrection of the Roman Catholic Church. It is now available to be purchased Online in book form directly from the publisher. A hardcover edition is also available here. This book is a comprehensive account of the growth and spread of the traditional Catholic movement since the need and jurisdiction arose for such to exist as a distinct corporate entity from the Vatican institution. Each occurance of each term which is unique to traditional Catholicism, or used within traditional Catholicism, or within this book, in a particular and technical way, or else which may be unfamiliar to some Catholics, is defined in the glossary, which particular definition can be obtained by simply clicking on the term as it occurs within the text of the book. References to traditional Catholic organizations or Web sites can be clicked on to go straight to the organization's Website. References to the Magisterial documents of the Church, or official documents of the Vatican institution, may be clicked on so as to view the entire document, and the quoted portions in context. Regrettably, one may have to scroll within the document to the specified paragraph to find the quote given, and sometimes a different translation is used. I strongly recommend that one familiarize oneself with the contents of those official documents that it may be seen that the quotes and extractions I give have not been quoted out of context, and furthermore that one may see for themselves the primary source documents which govern and define the entire cause of traditional Catholicism.
Another feature found in this site is the Traditional Catholic External Links. These links to other sites are checked at least weekly for validity and correctness, and updated on a frequent basis so as to be kept current. In a few cases, sites or information deemed to be of interest are sustained within this site, but still as "external links" owing to the fact that the sites and information remain the property of the authors who are, for whatever reason, no longer in a position to maintain their own sites. In the event that any of such authors should desire the removal or revision of their site or information, they must request that of me. Anyone aware of any new or undiscovered sites should send me the URL of the sites so they can be incorporated on my list.
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QUICK INTRODUCTIONS TO TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM: Several essays contained on this site are of particular value for those seeking a quick introduction and/or defense to or of traditional Catholicism, and coming from a certain perspective. In particular, if someone comes from the Conservative Novus Ordo perspective, and would like to understand traditional Catholicism's stand in relation to the teaching of the Pope, I most strongly recommend What Would You Do? - An Address to my Fellow Legionaries of Mary. For those who have heard or get the feeling that there is something "schismatic" about traditional Catholics, I recommend "Schism" Versus Tradition - A Response to Mr. Greydanus. For those who already keenly appreciate the fact that there is a Church crisis, and who wish they could understand what is going on in a simple and quick picture, I recommend A Quick Picture to See Where the Church is Today. For those who want a quick but relatively diocese-friendly introduction to the issues, I recommend Excerpt from a letter to a Philippine Mayor Regarding the Latin Mass. For those coming from a sedevacantist direction, I recommend the article Is Sedevacantism the Right Approach? A short and amusing allegorical story of the events in Catholicism is contained in Well, I Can Tell Stories, Too! A far more in-depth, but richly documented presentation of the traditional Faith and its Papal authority is my Appendix I - The Pope Condemns Vatican II. It is in dedication to and honor for all of the Popes quoted therein that I gave this site the "the-pope" URL. For those who would rather watch a one hour film about the crisis in the Church, and learn from it the overall stance taken in this site, I strongly recommend ordering the What We Have Lost Video.
A DETAILED INTRODUCTION TO TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM: The most detailed introduction to the entire understanding of traditional Catholicism and the history of its greatest heros (and others) is in my flagship work, The Resurrection of the Roman Catholic Church, which is truly comprehensive, authoritative, carefully documented, and THE definitive history of the traditional Catholic movement. This is the book, to which "What We Have Lost" is the movie. As is typical for such "book-of-the-movie" works, much material is contained in the book which the movie cannot get to.
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