JavaScript For Dummies Quick Reference

by Vander Veer, Emily A.

• ISBN13: 9780764501128
• ISBN10: 0764501127
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-04-11
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

Tucking a few JavaScript statements in among the HTML code that makes up your Web pages makes a dramatic difference. Enhanced, more interactive navigation buttons, user input validation, and scrolling messages are but a few of the improvements that you can make with JavaScript. Now, with JavaScript For Dummies Quick Reference, all the JavaScript statements and examples of how to use them are right at your fingertips. Internet technology expert Emily A. Vander Veer not only organizes all the relevant HTML and JavaScript topics for easy access but also points out potential pitfalls, offers neat tricks, and provides complete code for doing such things as interacting with cookies, displaying pop-up messages, and making your script compatible with JavaScript-challenged Web browsers. Best of all, JavaScript For Dummies Quick Reference features handy cross-references to topics covered in greater depth in JavaScript For Dummies.

Author Biography

Emily A. Vander Veer has written several Internet-related books, including IDG Books' JavaScript For Dummies and JavaBeans For Dummies. Her work has appeared in numerous online and print publications including Byte, CNET, Object Magazine, and WEBTechniques. Emily resides in the hill country of Austin, Texas, where she lives with her husband, Clay (a jazz guitarist nonpareil), and her two-pound pooches, Lochlan and Ceilidh. When she's not hard at work at her keyboard, Emily enjoys traveling, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Table of Contents

Introduction: How to Use This Book	1	(8)
Relating JavaScript to the World Wide Web	2	(2)
The Internet	2	(1)
The World Wide Web	2	(1)
JavaScript the Magnificent	3	(1)
Finding Exactly What You're Looking for in This Book	4	(1)
Understanding the Conventions Used in This Book	5	(2)
Figuring Out What the Icons Mean	7	(1)
Where to Go from Here	8	(1)
Part I: First Things First: Creating HTML Objects to Work within JavaScript	9	(26)
Creating a Meat-and-Potatoes Web Page	10	(5)
Body section: BODY...BODY	11	(1)
Header section: HEAD...HEAD	12	(1)
Interactive form: FORM...FORM	12	(1)
JavaScript script: SCRIPT...SCRIPT	13	(1)
Web page: HTML...HTML	14	(1)
Inserting Form Elements into Your Web Page	15	(6)
ActiveX component: OBJECT...OBJECT	15	(1)
Graphic image: IMG	16	(2)
HTML comment: !-...-	18	(1)
Frame: FRAMESET...FRAME...FRAMESET	18	(1)
Hypertext anchor: A.../A	19	(1)
Hypertext link: A.../A	20	(1)
Inserting Interactive Form Elements: INPUT	21	(8)
Button	22	(1)
Check box	22	(1)
fileUpload	23	(1)
Hidden	23	(1)
Password	24	(1)
Radio button	24	(1)
Reset	25	(1)
Select	25	(2)
Submit	27	(1)
Text	27	(1)
Textarea	28	(1)
Inserting a Java Applet: APPLET.../APPLET	29	(2)
Mapping an Area: MAP...AREA.../MAP	31	(1)
Plugging in a Plug-in: EMBED.../EMBED	32	(1)
Specifying Useful Web Page Features	33	(2)
CGI program to call on submit: FORM.../FORM	34	(1)
Title for your Web page: TITLE.../TITLE	34	(1)
Part II: JavaScript Basics	35	(20)
About JavaScript Security	36	(1)
Basics of the JavaScript Object Model	36	(4)
Built-in JavaScript data types	37	(1)
Hierarchy of JavaScript objects	37	(2)
Utility objects	39	(1)
Basic Punctuation and Syntax	40	(2)
Nested quotes	40	(1)
Pairs	41	(1)
Spelling and capitalization (case)	41	(1)
Top-down	42	(1)
Comments (/*...*/and //)	42	(1)
Conditional Expressions: if...else	43	(12)
Loops	43	(4)
break	44	(1)
continue	44	(1)
for	45	(1)
for...in	46	(1)
while	46	(1)
Operators	47	(3)
Assignment operators	47	(1)
Comparison operators	48	(1)
Logical operators	48	(1)
Mathematical operators	49	(1)
Operator precedence	49	(1)
Special Operators	50	(3)
typeof	50	(1)
void	51	(1)
String operators	52	(1)
Unary operators	52	(1)
Variables	53	(2)
Accessing variables	53	(1)
Assigning values to a variable	53	(1)
Declaring variables	53	(1)
Understanding variable scope	54	(1)
Part III: HTML Objects: The Heart of It All	55	(18)
About Objects	56	(1)
anchor	56	(1)
applet	57	(1)
area	57	(1)
button	58	(1)
checkbox	59	(1)
document	59	(1)
fileUpload	60	(1)
form	61	(1)
frame	61	(1)
hidden	62	(1)
history	62	(1)
image	63	(1)
link	64	(1)
location	64	(1)
Math	65	(1)
navigator	66	(1)
password	66	(1)
plugin	67	(1)
radio	67	(1)
reset	68	(1)
select	68	(1)
Submit	69	(1)
text	69	(1)
textarea	70	(1)
window	70	(3)
Part IV: Data Types: Building Basic JavaScript Objects	73	(8)
Array	74	(1)
Date	75	(2)
Function	77	(1)
Option	77	(2)
String	79	(2)
Part V: Functions	81	(10)
About Using Functions	82	(2)
Calling a function	82	(1)
Defining a function	83	(1)
Returning values	83	(1)
Built-In Functions	84	(4)
escape()--encodes a string	84	(1)
eval()--evaluates a string	84	(1)
isNaN()--is not a number	85	(1)
parseFloat()--turns strings into floating-point numbers	85	(1)
parseInt()--turns strings into integers	86	(1)
unescape()--decodes a string	87	(1)
Creating a Custom JavaScript Function	88	(1)
With a fixed number of parameters	88	(1)
With a variable number of parameters	88	(1)
Functions that Help You Create and Work with Objects	89	(2)
new	89	(1)
this	90	(1)
with	90	(1)
Part VI: Methods: How an Object Behaves	91	(34)
Methods	92	(33)
abs	92	(1)
acos	93	(1)
alert	93	(1)
anchor	93	(1)
asin	94	(1)
atan	94	(1)
atan2	94	(1)
back	94	(1)
big	95	(1)
blink	95	(1)
blur	95	(1)
bold	96	(1)
ceil	96	(1)
charAt	97	(1)
clearTimeout	97	(1)
click	97	(1)
close (document)	98	(1)
close (window)	98	(1)
confirm	98	(1)
cos	99	(1)
exp	99	(1)
fixed	99	(1)
floor	100	(1)
focus	100	(1)
fontcolor	101	(1)
fontsize	101	(1)
forward	101	(1)
getDate	102	(1)
getDay	102	(1)
getHours	102	(1)
getMinutes	103	(1)
getMonth	103	(1)
getSeconds	103	(1)
getTime	104	(1)
getTimezoneOffset	104	(1)
getYear	104	(1)
go	105	(1)
indexOf	105	(1)
italics	106	(1)
javaEnabled()	106	(1)
join	106	(1)
lastIndexOf	107	(1)
link	107	(1)
log	108	(1)
max	108	(1)
min	108	(1)
open (document)	108	(1)
open (window)	109	(1)
parse	110	(1)
pow	110	(1)
prompt	110	(1)
random	111	(1)
reload	111	(1)
replace	111	(1)
reset	112	(1)
reverse	112	(1)
round	112	(1)
scroll	113	(1)
select	113	(1)
setDate	113	(1)
setHours	114	(1)
setMinutes	114	(1)
setMonth	114	(1)
setSeconds	115	(1)
setTime	115	(1)
setTimeout	115	(1)
setYear	116	(1)
sin	116	(1)
small	117	(1)
sort	117	(1)
split	118	(1)
sqrt	118	(1)
strike	118	(1)
sub	119	(1)
submit	119	(1)
substring	119	(1)
sup	120	(1)
tan	120	(1)
toGMTString	120	(1)
toLocaleString	121	(1)
toLowerCase	121	(1)
toString	121	(1)
toUpperCase	122	(1)
UTC	122	(1)
write	122	(1)
writeln	123	(2)
Part VII: Properties (Object Data)	125	(24)
About Properties	126	(23)
action	126	(1)
alinkColor	126	(1)
appCodeName	127	(1)
applets	127	(1)
appName	127	(1)
appVersion	127	(1)
arguments	127	(1)
bgColor	128	(1)
border	128	(1)
checked (checkbox)	128	(1)
checked (radio)	128	(1)
complete	128	(1)
cookie	129	(1)
defaultChecked (checkbox)	129	(1)
defaultChecked (radio)	129	(1)
defaultSelected	129	(1)
defaultStatus	129	(1)
defaultValue (password)	130	(1)
defaultValue (text)	130	(1)
defaultValue (textarea)	130	(1)
description	130	(1)
E	130	(1)
elements	130	(1)
embeds	131	(1)
enabledPlugin	131	(1)
encoding	131	(1)
fgColor	131	(1)
filename	132	(1)
forms	132	(1)
frames	132	(1)
hash	132	(1)
height	133	(1)
host	133	(1)
hostname	133	(1)
href	133	(1)
hspace	134	(1)
images	134	(1)
index	134	(1)
lastModified	134	(1)
length	135	(1)
linkColor	136	(1)
links	136	(1)
LN2	136	(1)
LN10	136	(1)
location	137	(1)
LOG2E	137	(1)
LOG10E	137	(1)
lowsrc	137	(1)
method	137	(1)
mimeTypes	138	(1)
name	138	(1)
opener	139	(1)
options	139	(1)
parent (frame)	139	(1)
parent (window)	139	(1)
pathname	140	(1)
PI	140	(1)
plugins	140	(1)
port	140	(1)
protocol	141	(1)
prototype	141	(1)
referrer	142	(1)
search (link)	142	(1)
search (location)	142	(1)
selected	143	(1)
selectedIndex (options)	143	(1)
selectedIndex (select)	143	(1)
self (frame)	143	(1)
self (window)	143	(1)
SQRT1_2	144	(1)
SQRT2	144	(1)
src	144	(1)
status	144	(1)
suffixes	144	(1)
target (form)	145	(1)
target (link, area)	145	(1)
text	145	(1)
title	145	(1)
top	146	(1)
type	146	(1)
type (mimeTypes)	146	(1)
userAgent	147	(1)
value	147	(1)
vlinkColor	148	(1)
vspace	148	(1)
width	148	(1)
window	148	(1)
Part VIII: Event Handlers	149	(14)
About Events	150	(13)
onAbort	150	(1)
onBlur	151	(1)
onChange	152	(1)
onClick	153	(2)
onError	155	(1)
onFocus	155	(2)
onLoad	157	(1)
onMouseOut	158	(1)
onMouseOver	159	(1)
onReset	160	(1)
onSelect	160	(1)
onSubmit	161	(1)
onUnload	161	(2)
Part IX: Cool Things You Can Do with JavaScript	163	(26)
Adding Multimedia to Your Web Page	164	(2)
Color	164	(1)
Moving images	165	(1)
Pictures	165	(1)
Sound	165	(1)
Calling Other Components from JavaScript	166	(3)
ActiveX components	166	(1)
Java applets	167	(1)
Netscape plug-ins	168	(1)
Creating Your Own JavaScript Objects	169	(1)
Displaying Scrolling Text	170	(1)
Displaying the Contents of Nested Objects	171	(2)
Formatting Money Fields	173	(3)
Getting Started with a Bare-Bones HTML Template	176	(1)
Hiding JavaScript Source Code from Users	176	(2)
From JavaScript-enabled browsers	177	(1)
From non-JavaScript-enabled browsers	177	(1)
Interacting with Cookies	178	(1)
Loading and Running a JavaScript Script	179	(1)
Looking at JavaScript Source Code	180	(1)
Making an Embedded Image Respond to User Events	180	(1)
Making Your Script Compatible with Non-JavaScript-Enabled Browsers	181	(1)
Providing Feedback to Users with Pop-Up Messages	181	(1)
Saving JavaScript Files	182	(1)
Saving JavaScript files as HTML source code	182	(1)
Saving JavaScript files as text	182	(1)
Using JavaScript to Calculate Values for HTML Tags	183	(1)
Validating User Input	183	(4)
Validating before the form is submitted	184	(1)
Validating one field at a time	185	(2)
Web-Surfing: Creating Hypertext Links	187	(2)
Creating links between Web pages	187	(1)
Creating links within a single Web page	188	(1)
Appendix A: Reserved Words	189	(2)
Appendix B: Color Values	191	(6)
Glossary: Techie Talk	197	(6)
Index	203
Reader Response Card	Back of Book