What is JavaScript?
- - It was designed to add interactivity to HTML pages like menu items.
- - It is a scripting language.
- - A scripting language is a lightweight programming language.
- - It is usually embedded directly into HTML pages like free javascript menu or other types of menu.
- - It is an interpreted language. (means that scripts execute without
preliminary compilation)
- - Everyone can use it without purchasing a license.
Are Java and JavaScript the same?
- NO!
Java and JavaScript are two completely different languages in both concept and design! - Java (developed by Sun Microsystems) is a powerful and much more complex programming language - in the same category as C and C++.
What can a JavaScript do?
- - It gives HTML designers a programming tool - HTML authors are normally not programmers, but JavaScript is a scripting language with a very simple syntax so you can make your menu so easy! Almost anyone can put small "snippets" of code into their HTML pages.
- - It can put dynamic text into an HTML page or a menu - A statement like this: document.write("<h1>" + name + "</h1>") can write a variable text into an HTML page.
- - It can react to events - It can be set to execute when something happens, like when a page has finished loading or when a user clicks on an HTML element.
- - It can read and write HTML elements - It can read and change the content of an HTML element.
- - It can be used to validate data - It can be used to validate form data before it is submitted to a server. This saves the server from extra processing.
- - It can be used to detect the visitor's browser - It can be used to detect the visitor's browser, and - depending on the browser - load another page specifically designed for that browser.
- It can be used to create cookies - A JavaScript can be used to store and retrieve information on the visitor's computer.
- - JavaScript® is the Netscape-developed object scripting language used in millions of web pages and server applications worldwide.
Netscape's JavaScript is a superset of the ECMA-262 Edition 3 (ECMAScript) standard scripting language, with only mild differences from the published standard.
Contrary to popular misconception, JavaScript is not 'Interpretive Java'. In a nutshell, JavaScript is a dynamic scripting language supporting prototype based object construction.
The basic syntax is intentionally similar to both Java and C++ to reduce the number of new concepts required to learn the language.
Language constructs, such as if statements, for and while loops, and switch and try ... catch blocks function the same as in these languages (or nearly so.)
JavaScript can function as both a procedural and an object oriented language.
Objects are created programmatically in JavaScript, by attaching methods and properties to otherwise empty objects at run time, as opposed to the syntactic class definitions common in compiled languages like C++ and Java.
Once an object has been constructed it can be used as a blueprint (or prototype) for creating similar objects.
JavaScript's dynamic capabilities include runtime object construction, variable parameter lists, function variables, dynamic script creation (via eval), object introspection (via for ... in), and source code recovery (JavaScript programs can decompile function bodies back into their source text) Intrinsic objects are Number, String, Boolean, Date, RegExp, and Math.
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Guidelines
Special Characters
Throw Statement
Try...Catch Statement
Events
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While Loop
Loops
Functions
Special Characters
Throw Statement
Try...Catch Statement
Events
For...In Statement
Break and Continue Statements
While Loop
Loops
Functions