What's viewport mean to the jQuery guys?

Question

I came here intent on asking a 'how do i' type question focused on a particular UI problem i have to solve and i started using the term 'viewport'. Seems there's lots of contexts that tag evokes. Before i outline mine i should ask - is there a generally recognized consensus as to what a 'viewport' is? Any gallery or object browser that focuses on a UI principle where multiple frames/panes show feeds of different graphs where each feed might be a complex grid/graph?

I'm imagining something where my page may open with a half dozen different grids (tabular data) stay updated via ajax interactions with various servers. UI elements provide control scale up or down a given grid with a quasi accordion slide kinda thingie. For example, one click on a scale up-or-down control would rescale the other viewports in the opposite direction. More clicks - more pronounced effect.

So my 'how do i' question morphs into a 'how have others...'

thx

should have searched 'viewport' at jqhq first - lots of relevant hits - i'll check back with after digesting more - and looking deeper at multiple viewports as opposed to singular.

Answer 1

It means the same thing as it does to everyone else: the visible area of a web page that fits within the user's browser.

EDIT:

You use the viewport in calculating the size of overlays, or positioning a modal dialog. You can determine if an element is visible to the user, or off-screen.