How to do Everything with JavaScript

by Scott Duffy, Lisa Walde (Illustrator), Michael Mueller (Illustrator), Melinda Lytle (Illustrator)

Overview

Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product.




This friendly, solutions-oriented guide is filled with step-by-step examples that illustrate how to write basic to advanced JavaScript applications, as well as modify existing scripts to suit individual needs. Each chapter begins with the specific how-to topics that will be covered. Within the chapter, each topic is accompanied by a solid, easy-to-follow walkthrough of the process.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780072228878
Publisher:	McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date:	02/26/2003
Series:	How to Do Everything Series
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.77(d)

About the Author

Scott Duffy (Toronto, Ontario) MCSD, Sun Java 2 SCJP, CIW Associate, has eleven years of professional software design and development experience including having spent five of the past six years on web-based application development. He has written several books including "How to Do Everything with JavaScript" published by Osborne McGraw-Hill in 2002.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	xv
	Introduction	xvii
Part I	Learn JavaScript Basics
Chapter 1	Prepare to Program in JavaScript	3
	Learn the History of JavaScript	4
	The Origin of JavaScript	5
	JavaScript Makes Its Way into Internet Explorer	5
	JavaScript Becomes an Official Standard	5
	Where JavaScript Is Today	6
	Choose a Development Environment	7
	Develop JavaScript-Enabled Web Pages	7
	Create Server-Based Web Applications	8
	Use JavaScript in a DOS or Windows Environment	9
	JavaScript Development Tools	9
	Learn What JavaScript Can and Cannot Do	13
	Use JavaScript as a Client-Side Language	14
	Use JavaScript as a Server-Side Language	14
	Decide Which Version of JavaScript to Use	15
	Test JavaScript Programs Using HTML	16
	Create a JavaScript Template	16
	Understand the JavaScript Template	18
	Communicate with the User	19
	Display an Alert Message	20
	Write Text to the Browser Window	21
	Learn More about Topics Discussed in this Chapter	22
Chapter 2	Learn JavaScript Fundamentals	25
	Understand Basic Terminology	26
	Store Data in Variables	26
	Define Variables	27
	Define Constants	28
	Understand Program Flow	29
	Control Program Flow with Statements	30
	Execute Code Conditionally	30
	Repeat Statements Using Loops	34
	Comment Your Code	43
	Set a Default Object	44
	Handle Errors	46
	Understand the Basics of Expressions	49
	Use Operators to Create Complex Expressions	50
	Organize Your Code into Functions	51
	Define Functions	52
	Accept Parameters	54
	Understand Variable Scope	56
	Return Values	58
	Use the Improvements in JavaScript 2.0 to Create More Powerful Functions	59
	Use Named Optional Parameters	60
	Accept Any Number of Parameters	61
Chapter 3	Use Built-in JavaScript Classes	63
	Learn about Objects in JavaScript	64
	Write Unstructured Programs	65
	Organize Code into Procedures	65
	Separate a Program into Modules	66
	Use the Object-Oriented Approach	66
	Turn Properties and Functions into a Class	68
	JavaScript's Built-in Classes and Data Types	69
	Instantiate an Object with the new Operator	72
	Access an Object with the Operator	73
	Access an Object with the [] Operator	73
	Create a String Object in JavaScript	73
	Create a String Object Using a String Literal	74
	Create a String Object Using the String Data Type	76
	Use the String Object's Built-in Functionality	76
	Perform Mathematical Functions	78
	Apply JavaScript's Date-Handling Functions	79
	Convert Strings into Numbers	82
	Use the parseInt and parseFloat Functions	82
	Prepare Text Before Sending to Web Server	84
	Use the escape and unescape Functions	85
	Decide When to Use Regular Expressions	86
	Understand the Basics of Regular Expressions	87
	Create Patterns with a RegExp Object	89
	Understand JavaScript 2.0's Powerful New Data Types	91
	Use the Boolean, Integer, and Number Data Types	91
	Use the char Data Type	91
	Use the Object Data Type	92
	Understand Special Data Types	92
Chapter 4	Organize Data into Arrays	95
	Create an Array Object	97
	Create an Empty Array	97
	Specify an Initial Array Length	99
	Create and Initialize an Array in One Line of Code	100
	Use Array Literals	100
	Call the Properties and Methods of the Array Object	101
	Set and Retrieve Values in an Array	104
	Use Multidimensional Arrays	107
	Use JavaScript 2.0's Enhanced Arrays	111
	The StaticArray Class	112
	The DynamicArray Class	114
	The ConstArray Class	114
Chapter 5	Create Your Own JavaScript Classes	117
	Learn about Classes in JavaScript	118
	Create Objects in JavaScript 1.x	118
	Call a Constructor Function	119
	Use an Object Literal	122
	Extend an Existing Class	123
	Extend an Existing Object	125
	Create Objects in JavaScript 2.0	126
	Define Your Own Classes	127
	Organize Classes Using Inheritance	130
	Choose Between Static and Instance Members	135
	Make Class Members Public or Private	136
Part II	Build JavaScript-Enabled Web Sites
Chapter 6	Embed JavaScript in a Web Page	141
	Understand Basic HTML Structure	142
	Build an HTML Document	145
	Indicate the Document Type with [left angle bracket]!DOCTYPE[right angle bracket]	146
	Add a Title and Define Document Keywords	147
	Format Text with HTML Elements	148
	Format Text with Style Sheets	150
	Use [left angle bracket]script[right angle bracket] to Add JavaScript to a Web Page	153
	Use [left angle bracket]noscript[right angle bracket] for Browsers That Don't Support Scripting	154
	Load an External JavaScript File	157
	Call JavaScript Using Hyperlinks	158
	Learn More about the Topics in this Chapter	159
Chapter 7	Create Scripts That Work in Every Browser	161
	Understand Browser Differences	162
	What Kind of Errors Can Occur?	163
	Detect What Type of Browser the User Is Running	164
	Query the Document Model	169
	Stick to Web Standards	170
	Write Cross-Browser Code	171
Chapter 8	Manipulate Web Forms	179
	Understand HTML Forms	180
	Request User Input Using an HTML Form	181
	Process Form Input with Client-Side JavaScript	182
	Process Form Input on a Web Server	183
	Insert an HTML Form into a Web Page	184
	Retrieve and Set Form Control Values in JavaScript	200
	Access Form Values Using the forms Array	200
	Access Form Values Using the elements Array	202
	Access Form Values Using getElementById()	204
	Access Form Values Using getElementsByName()	204
	Access Form Values Using getElementsByTagName()	205
Chapter 9	Handle Browser Events	207
	Write JavaScript Event Handlers	208
	Handle User Interface Events	209
	Handle Mouse Events	211
	Handle Key Events	212
	Handle HTML Events	215
	Handle Events Using the Event Property	218
	Trigger Events in JavaScript	219
	Call the Method Associated with an Event	219
	Use the fireEvent Method	220
	Overcome Browser Incompatibility	220
Chapter 10	Communicate Between Browser Frames	223
	Learn the Basics of HTML Frames	224
	Create a Frameset in HTML	225
	Define and Name Frames in a Frameset	233
	Call JavaScript Functions from Other Frames	235
	Access Another Frame Using JavaScript	236
	Call a JavaScript Function Located in Another Frame	237
	Handle Synchronization Between Frames	239
Chapter 11	Interact with the Web Browser	243
	Learn the Basics of the Document Object Model	245
	Manipulate the Contents of a Web Page	248
	Dynamically Modify the Contents of a Web Page	249
	Change the Items in a Drop-Down List Box	251
	Examine the Entire Browser Window	252
	Retrieve Properties of the Web Browser Software	254
	Examine the Operating System's Display Settings	256
	Access the Web Browser History List	257
	Send the Browser to a New Location	258
Chapter 12	Perform Simple Animation	259
	Learn the Basics of Cascading Style Sheets	260
	Assign Style to Web Pages Using HTML Elements	261
	Assign Style to Web Pages Using Style Sheets	264
	Use Basic Style Attributes	268
	Position Elements on a Web Page	268
	Modify Styles Using JavaScript	270
	Understand Cross-Platform Issues	272
	Perform Basic Animation Using JavaScript	274
	Dynamically Load Images	274
	Make Content Move Around the Screen	276
Part III	Take JavaScript to the Next Level
Chapter 13	Debug JavaScript Programs	281
	Understand the Possible Causes of Errors	282
	Find the Source of an Error Message	284
	Interpret Error Messages	285
	Use a JavaScript Validator	287
	Add Debugging Code to Your Programs	287
	Use the JavaScript Console	290
	Use a JavaScript Debugger	291
Chapter 14	Make Your Program Errorproof	295
	Learn the Basics of Exceptions	296
	Catch Exceptions Using the try and catch Statements	297
	Understand Exception Bubbling	299
	Use the IE Error Object	301
	Use Netscape-Only catch Clauses	302
	Use Nonstandard finally Clauses	302
	Create Exceptions Using the throw Statement	304
	Design Programs That Are Easy to Debug from the Start	306
	Avoid Unstructured Programming	307
	Break Code into Manageable Chunks	307
	Reuse Code Using Classes and Objects	308
	Test Your JavaScript Code Thoroughly	309
	Create a Testing Harness	309
	Force Errors to Test Error-Handling Code	311
	Try Your Program in Many Different Environments	312
Chapter 15	Use JavaScript to Manage Browser Plug-Ins	313
	Insert Scriptable Objects into HTML Web Pages	315
	Include Sun Java Applets	315
	Connect to Java Applets Using JavaScript	319
	Embed Movies and Music in Web Pages	321
	Connect to Music and Media Objects Using JavaScript	322
	Use the Microsoft Calendar Control in Your Web Pages	324
Appendix A	HTML 4.01 Tags	327
Appendix B	JavaScript Quick Reference	331
	Index	335