What is this piece of javascript doing?

[Eqbal]

I have been asked to include this piece of code on certain pages so
people can track if a user is coming to that page after clicking a
banner ad. I do not understand how this works. Anyone can explain? I
don't want to put code on a page I am responsible for without
following how it works.

Thanks.

<div id="lyrDart">
<!-- Start of DoubleClick Spotlight Tag: Please do not remove-->
<!-- Creation Date:10/09/03 -->
<SCRIPT language="JavaScript">
var axel = Math.random()+"";
var a = axel * 10000000000000;
document.write('<IMG
SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/activity;src=865004;type=plasm176;cat=pro50470;ord =1;num='+
a + '?" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=1 BORDER=0>');
</SCRIPT>
<NOSCRIPT>
<IMG SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/activity;src=865004;type=plasm176;cat=pro50470;ord =1;num=1?"
WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=1 BORDER=0>
</NOSCRIPT>
<!-- End of DoubleClick Spotlight Tag: Please do not remove-->
</div>

[Hywel]

In article <6c**************************@posting.google.com >, Eqbal
says...

I have been asked to include this piece of code on certain pages so
people can track if a user is coming to that page after clicking a
banner ad. I do not understand how this works. Anyone can explain? I
don't want to put code on a page I am responsible for without
following how it works.

It looks like it generates a random URL every time the image is loaded.

--
Hywel

http://sponsorhywel.org.uk/

[!lurk]

What Hywel said, but it does that so the URL will not be cached. This
helps ensure that the number of impressions counted will be accurate.

[Hywel]

In article <10**********************@k26g2000oda.googlegroups .com>, !
lurk says...

What Hywel said, but it does that so the URL will not be cached. This
helps ensure that the number of impressions counted will be accurate.

Yup - that's what I meant to say.

--
Hywel

http://sponsorhywel.org.uk/

[Fred Oz]

Hywel wrote:

What Hywel said, but it does that so the URL will not be cached. This
helps ensure that the number of impressions counted will be accurate.

If the user has images turned off in their browser, does DoubleClick
still count the hit?

Fred.

[Hywel]

In article <415e09ea$0$26034$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-
01.iinet.net.au>, Fred Oz says...

Hywel wrote:

What Hywel said, but it does that so the URL will not be cached. This
helps ensure that the number of impressions counted will be accurate.

If the user has images turned off in their browser, does DoubleClick
still count the hit?

Perhaps. An image will still be displayed.

--
Hywel

http://sponsorhywel.org.uk/

[Michael Winter]

On Sat, 02 Oct 2004 11:49:23 +1000, Fred Oz <oz****@iinet.net.au> wrote:

[snip]

If the user has images turned off in their browser, does DoubleClick
still count the hit?

No. The request for the image will never be made so they'll never know the
page was visited by that user.

Mike

--
Michael Winter
Replace ".invalid" with ".uk" to reply by e-mail.

[Eqbal]

Since this script is always present on the page, how does the tracker
distinguish if the hit is from their banner ad and not just someone
navigating to the page by some other means?

[Michael Winter]

On 6 Oct 2004 12:48:00 -0700, Eqbal <za********@yahoo.com> wrote:

Since this script is always present on the page, how does the tracker
distinguish if the hit is from their banner ad and not just someone
navigating to the page by some other means?

I'm afraid I don't follow the last part of your question. Trackers
generally don't distinguish anything at all. They just count accesses.

Mike

--
Michael Winter
Replace ".invalid" with ".uk" to reply by e-mail.

[Robert]

> On 6 Oct 2004 12:48:00 -0700, Eqbal <za********@yahoo.com> wrote:

Since this script is always present on the page, how does the tracker
distinguish if the hit is from their banner ad and not just someone
navigating to the page by some other means?

Perhaps the banner counting code isn't always inserted.

Robert