Teach Yourself JavaScript in a Week By Arman Danesh

Teach Yourself JavaScript in a Week

By Arman Danesh

In this book we are going to take a look at JavaScript—the internal scripting language Netscape has developed and included in the Navigator browser.

JavaScript is an evolving tool, like so many tools associated with the Internet and the World Wide Web. Still, the future of JavaScript is sufficiently clear that many people have already developed sophisticated Web-based applications using the language.

We start by taking a broad look at Netscape Navigator 2.0, the current version of the popular Web browser, which some estimates say commands more than 80 percent of the Web browser market. Following this, we take an introductory look at JavaScript and its relationship with Java and its place in the Netscape suite of Web development tools.

Once this is done, we will be ready to look at the nuts and bolts of the JavaScript language and learn how to apply them to real-world scenarios on the Web. JavaScript can be used to add a wide range of interactivity and functionality to Web pages including the following:

• Dynamic forms that include built-in error checking
• Spread sheets and calculators
• User interaction in the form of warning messages and confirmation messages
• Dynamic changes to text and background colors
• The ability to analyze URLs and access URLs in a user's history list
• The capability to open, name, clear, and close new windows and direct output to specific frames

These types of functions already appear in numerous Web sites on the World Wide Web, and it is expected that the number will grow rapidly in early 1996 now that Navigator 2.0 has moved from being a beta product to commercial release software.

Throughout the book, you will have the opportunity to develop several small scripts that you can immediately use in your own Web pages.

Finally, we close with a review of the future of JavaScript and where it seems to be heading. We will consider Netscape's plans as well as announcements from other companies to include JavaScript in their products.

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