Beginning JavaScript - Softcover

Wilton, Paul

3.47

85 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1861004060 ISBN 13: 9781861004062

Publisher: Wrox Pr Inc, 2000

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JavaScript is the language of the Web. Used for programming all major browsers, JavaScript gives you the ability to enhance your web site by creating interactive, dynamic and personalized pages. Our focus in this book is on client-side scripting, but JavaScript is also hugely popular as a scripting language in server-side environments, a subject that we cover in later chapters.

Beginning JavaScript assumes no prior knowledge of programming languages, and teaches you all the fundamental concepts that you need as you progress. After covering the core JavaScript language, you'll move on to learn about more advanced techniques, including Dynamic HTML, using cookies, debugging techniques, and server-side scripting with ASP. By the end of this book, you will have mastered the art of using JavaScript to create dynamic and professional-looking web pages.

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Review:

Suitable for learning basic programming for Web browsers, Beginning JavaScript is a patient, introductory tutorial on writing scripts successfully. It teaches you how to create client-side scripts (including full coverage of fundamentals like variables and flow control, plus plenty of screen shots.)

JavaScript is a good way to learn programming. It's powerful, of course, but the book takes small steps, using scripts that work with string and time data first, and then moving to manipulating browser objects like forms and windows. A running case study for a trivia game helps anchor the steps with a practical (and fun) example. There are plenty of tips on debugging your scripts (including how to use the Microsoft Script Debugger tool), and each section includes sample questions. (The book also offers extensive answers in over 80 pages at the end of the book.)

There's plenty of material on the differences between Internet Explorer and Netscape, especially when it comes to Dynamic HTML (DHTML). Coverage of the Document Object Model (DOM) for browsers helps bring the text up to date on some of the latest standards in Web browsers (including the new Netscape 6).

While the focus of Beginning JavaScript clearly is on the client, later sections turn to server-side ASP development (in which the sample trivia game is enhanced with ASPs written in JavaScript using ADO and Microsoft Access.) Reference sections on JavaScript and the browser object model for Internet Explorer and Netscape (through version 4.x) round out the material.

In all, with its approachable style and clearly rendered code examples, Beginning JavaScript makes for a worthwhile first book of programming for today's browsers. Even if you haven't programmed before, this text can give you the tools you need to bring your static Web pages to life. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

Introduction to JavaScript
Cross-browser compatibility issues
JavaScript data types and variables
Displaying errors
Calculations
Operators
String handling
Flow control statements
Loops
Introduction to using objects
The browser object model
HTML forms (including types of input controls)
Frames and windows
Tutorial for regular expressions
Advanced string methods
Date, time, and timer objects
Common errors
The Microsoft Script Debugger
Cookies
Dynamic HTML (DHTML) on Internet Explorer 4.0 and Netscape Navigator 4.x
The Document Object Model (DOM)
ActiveX controls and plug-ins used with JavaScript
Server-scripting
Introduction to ASP and databases (including SQL basics and database design with Microsoft Access)
Sample case study for a trivia game
Sample exercises and answers
References to JavaScript
Internet Explorer 4 and 5 and Netscape Navigator 4 objects
ASP object model reference

From the Publisher:

This book is for anyone who wants to learn JavaScript. You will need a very basic knowledge of HTML, but no prior programming experience is necessary. Whether you want to pick up some programming skills, or want to find out how to transfer your existing programming knowledge to the Web, then this book is for you. All you need is a text editor (like Notepad) and a browser, and you're ready to go!

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