JavaScript^TM For Dummies^?, 4th Edition

by Emily A. Vander Veer (South St. Paul, MN, author)

• ISBN13: 9780764576591
• ISBN10: 0764576593
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-11-01
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

Responding to reader feedback, the author has thoroughly revamped the book with more step-by-step coverage of JavaScript basics, an exclusive focus on Internet Explorer, and many complete sample scripts Updated to cover JavaScript 1.5, the latest release of this popular Web scripting language Using lots of examples, including a sample working Web site, the book shows how to create dynamic and interactive pages, build entire sites, and automate pages

Author Biography

Emily Vander Veer is an experienced Web developer with a talent for making technology understandable. She's the author or coauthor of eleven books on Web technology.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(1)
System Requirements	1	(1)
About This Book	2	(1)
Conventions Used in This Book	2	(1)
What You're Not to Read	3	(1)
Foolish Assumptions	4	(1)
How This Book Is Organized	4	(1)
Part I: Building Killer Web Pages for Fun and Profit	4	(1)
Part II: Creating Dynamic Web Pages	4	(1)
Part III: Making Your Site Easy for Visitors to Navigate and Use	5	(1)
Part IV: Interacting with Users	5	(1)
Part V: The Part of Tens	5	(1)
Part VI: Appendixes	5	(1)
Icons Used in This Book	5	(1)
Where to Go from Here	6	(1)
Part I: Building Killer Web Pages for Fun and Profit	7	(96)
Hitting the Highlights: JavaScript Basics	9	(14)
What Is JavaScript? (Hint: It's Not the Same Thing as Java!)	10	(4)
It's easy! (Sort of)	11	(2)
It's speedy!	13	(1)
Everybody's doing it! (Okay, almost everybody!)	13	(1)
JavaScript and HTML	14	(2)
JavaScript and Your Web Browser	16	(1)
What Can I Do with JavaScript That I Can't Do with Web Languages?	17	(2)
Make your Web site easy for folks to navigate	18	(1)
Customize the way your Web site looks on-the-fly	18	(1)
Create cool, dynamic animated effects	19	(1)
What Do I Need to Get Started?	19	(4)
Hardware	19	(1)
Software	20	(1)
Documentation	21	(2)
Writing Your Very First Script	23	(12)
From Idea to Working JavaScript Application	24	(8)
Ideas?! I got a million of 'em!	24	(1)
Part I: Creating an HTML file	25	(4)
Part II: Creating your script	29	(1)
Part III: Putting it all together by attaching a script to an HTML file	30	(2)
Testing Your Script	32	(3)
JavaScript Language Basics	35	(38)
JavaScript Syntax	35	(23)
Don't keep your comments to yourself	36	(6)
Fully functioning	42	(8)
Operators are standing by	50	(6)
Working with variables	56	(2)
Putting It All Together: Building JavaScript Expressions and Statements	58	(15)
The browser-detection script	59	(5)
The date-formatting script	64	(4)
The data-gathering script	68	(5)
JavaScript-Accessible Data: Getting Acquainted with the Document Object Model	73	(30)
Object Models Always Pose Nude	74	(10)
Object-ivity	75	(2)
For sale by owner: Object properties	77	(2)
There's a method to this madness!	79	(2)
How do you handle a hungry event? With event handlers!	81	(1)
Company functions	82	(2)
Anatomy of an Object: Properties, Methods, Event Handlers, and Functions in Action	84	(12)
Dynamic objects: The least you need to know about CSS and DHTML	84	(2)
Example DHTML script: Adding text dynamically	86	(4)
Example DHTML script: Positioning text dynamically	90	(3)
Example DHTML script: Changing page appearance on-the-fly	93	(3)
Browser Object Models	96	(1)
Netscape Navigator	96	(4)
JavaScript data types	98	(2)
Microsoft Internet Explorer	100	(3)
Part II: Creating Dynamic Web Pages	103	(52)
Detecting Your Users' Browser Environments	105	(20)
Whacking Your Way through the Browser Maze	105	(1)
Detecting Features	106	(19)
Browser make and version	106	(6)
Embedded objects	112	(9)
The referrer page	121	(1)
User preferences	122	(3)
That's How the Cookie Crumbles	125	(18)
Cookie Basics	125	(6)
Why use cookies?	126	(1)
Cookie security issues	126	(1)
Looking at cookies from a user's perspective	127	(4)
Saving and Retrieving User Information	131	(12)
Setting a cookie	132	(1)
Accessing a cookie	133	(1)
Displaying content based on cookie contents: The repeat-visitor script	134	(9)
Working with Browser Windows and Frames	143	(12)
Working with Browser Windows	144	(4)
Opening and closing new browser windows	144	(3)
Controlling the appearance of browser windows	147	(1)
Working with Frames	148	(7)
Creating HTML frames	149	(3)
Sharing data between frames	152	(3)
Part III: Making Your Site Easy For Visitors to Navigate and Use	155	(58)
Creating Interactive Images	157	(24)
Creating Simple Animations	157	(11)
Now you see it, now you don't: Turning images on and off	161	(4)
Slideshow Bob: Displaying a series of images	165	(3)
Creating Rollovers, Hotspots, and Navigation Bars	168	(13)
Creating a simple rollover	169	(2)
Creating navigation bars by putting rollovers together	171	(6)
Carving up a single image into multiple hotspots	177	(4)
Creating Menus	181	(10)
Getting Acquainted with Menus	182	(8)
Pull-down menus	182	(4)
Sliding menus	186	(4)
Taking Advantage of Third-Party DHTML Menu Components	190	(1)
Creating Expandable Site Maps	191	(10)
Site Map Basics	191	(8)
The pull-down menu revisited	193	(3)
Adding frames to the pull-down menu	196	(1)
Putting it all together: Adding targeted hyperlinks	197	(2)
Taking Advantage of Third-Party Site-Mapping Tools	199	(2)
Creating Pop-Up Help (Tooltips)	201	(12)
Creating Plain HTML Tooltips	202	(2)
Building DHTML Tooltips	204	(7)
Creating an HTML map and designating active areas	204	(1)
Defining a style for the tooltip	205	(1)
Creating custom JavaScript functions to display and hide tooltips	206	(1)
Calling custom functions in response to the onMouseOver and onMouseOut events	207	(2)
Putting it all together: Using DHTML code to create simple tooltips	209	(2)
Taking Advantage of Third-Party Tooltips Scripts	211	(2)
Part IV: Interacting with Users	213	(40)
Handling Forms	215	(24)
Capturing User Input by Using HTML Form Fields	215	(7)
Creating an input-validation script	216	(5)
Calling a validation script	221	(1)
Putting It All Together: The Order Form Validation Script	222	(17)
Testing for existence	224	(1)
Testing for a numeric value	225	(2)
Testing for patterns	227	(1)
Form-level validation	228	(11)
Handling User-Initiated Events	239	(10)
The Skinny on Events and Event Handlers	239	(1)
Handling Events	240	(9)
Window events	243	(1)
Mouse events	244	(1)
Form events	245	(2)
Keyboard events	247	(2)
Handling Runtime Errors	249	(4)
Exceptional Basics	249	(1)
Handling Exceptions	250	(3)
Part V: The Part of Tens	253	(40)
Top Ten (Or So) Online JavaScript Resources	255	(6)
Ten Web Sites to Check Out	255	(3)
Netscape	256	(1)
Microsoft	256	(1)
Builder.com	256	(1)
Webmonkey	256	(1)
Project Cool's JavaScript QuickStarts	256	(1)
EarthWeb.com	257	(1)
About.com	257	(1)
IRT.org	257	(1)
WebReference.com	258	(1)
ScriptSearch.com	258	(1)
Not-to-Be-Missed Newsgroups	258	(3)
Ten (Or So) Most Common JavaScript Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)	261	(12)
Typing-in-a-Hurry Errors	262	(1)
Breaking Up a Happy Pair	263	(2)
Lonely angle brackets	263	(1)
Lonely tags	263	(1)
Lonely parentheses	264	(1)
Lonely quotes	265	(1)
Putting Scripting Statements in the Wrong Places	265	(1)
Nesting Quotes Incorrectly	266	(1)
Treating Numbers as Strings	267	(1)
Treating Strings as Numbers	268	(1)
Missing the Point: Logic Errors	269	(1)
Neglecting Browser Incompatibility	270	(3)
Ten (Or So) Tips for Debugging Your Scripts	273	(20)
JavaScript Reads Your Code, Not Your Mind!	274	(1)
Isolating the Bug	275	(1)
Consulting the Documentation	276	(1)
Displaying Variable Values	276	(3)
Breaking Large Blocks of Statements into Smaller Functions	279	(1)
Honing the Process of Elimination	280	(2)
Debugging browser problems	281	(1)
Tracking HTML bugs	281	(1)
Checking the JavaScript code	282	(1)
Taking Advantage of Others' Experience	282	(1)
Exercising the Time-Honored Trial-and-Error Approach	283	(1)
Just Try and Catch Me Exception Handling!	283	(4)
Taking Advantage of Debugging Tools	287	(6)
Netscape's JavaScript console	288	(2)
Microsoft Internet Explorer's built-in error display	290	(3)
Part VI: Appendixes	293	(2)
Appendix A: JavaScript Reserved Words	295	(2)
Appendix B: JavaScript Color Values	297	(6)
Appendix C: Document Object Model Reference	303	(26)
The Document Object Model	303	(22)
Anchor	304	(1)
Applet	304	(1)
Area	305	(1)
arguments	305	(1)
Array	305	(1)
Boolean	306	(1)
Button	306	(1)
Checkbox	306	(1)
clientInformation	307	(1)
crypto	307	(1)
Date	308	(1)
document	308	(1)
elements[ ]	309	(1)
event	309	(1)
FileUpload	310	(1)
Form	310	(1)
Frame	311	(1)
Function	311	(1)
Hidden	311	(1)
History	312	(1)
Image	312	(1)
java	312	(1)
JavaArray	313	(1)
JavaClass	313	(1)
JavaObject	313	(1)
JavaPackage	313	(1)
Link	314	(1)
location	314	(1)
Math	314	(1)
MimeType	315	(1)
navigator	315	(1)
netscape	316	(1)
Number	316	(1)
Object	316	(1)
Option	317	(1)
Packages	317	(1)
Password	318	(1)
Plugin	318	(1)
Radio	318	(1)
RegExp	319	(1)
Reset	320	(1)
screen	320	(1)
Select	320	(1)
String	321	(1)
Style	321	(1)
Submit	322	(1)
sun	323	(1)
Text	323	(1)
Textarea	323	(1)
window	324	(1)
Global Properties	325	(1)
Built-in JavaScript Functions	325	(4)
escape()	325	(1)
eval()	325	(1)
isFinite()	326	(1)
isNaN()	326	(1)
Number()	326	(1)
parseFloat()	326	(1)
parselnt()	327	(1)
String()	327	(1)
taint()	327	(1)
unescape()	328	(1)
untaint()	328	(1)
Appendix D: Special Characters	329	(6)
Appendix E: About the CD	335	(6)
Getting the Most from This CD	335	(1)
System Requirements	336	(1)
Using the CD	336	(1)
JavaScript For Dummies Chapter Files	337	(1)
What You'll Find	337	(1)
If You Have Problems (Of the CD Kind)	338	(3)
Index	341