The Complete Idiot's Guide to JavaScript

By Aaron Weiss & Scott J. Walter

Table of Contents

Part 1: What's It All About?

1. The Top Ten Things You Need To Know
   • 1. JavaScript Is New--I Mean New
   • 2. JavaScript Is Strictly for the World Wide Web
   • 3. JavaScript Is a "Scripting Language"
   • 4. To See the Magic That JavaScript Can Produce, You Need a Browser That Can Handle It: Netscape Navigator 2.0
   • 5. You Can "Borrow" JavaScript Programs from Other People's Web Pages
   • 6. JavaScript Is a Language That Extends HTML; You Stick It into Your Pages Using the <SCRIPT> Tag
   • 7. With JavaScript, You Can Bypass Mastering CGI
   • 8. JavaScript Is Built Around the Concept of "Objects"
   • 9. Learning JavaScript by Example Is the Easiest Approach
   • 10. If You Can Imagine It, JavaScript Can Help You Create It
2. Coffee? In My Computer? I Prefer Decaf…
   • Extending the Web
   • Java: Web Programming for the Common Man
   • Enter JavaScript
   • The Least You Need To Know

   Part 2: Let's Get Jivin'!

3. Netscape Navigator 2.0: The World Wide Web on a Caffeine High
   • Let's Brew Up a Browser
     • Where Can I Get a Cup?
     • All Right… Now What?
   • Just Browsing
     • Configuration Bonanza
       • The General Preferences Command
       • The Mail and News Preferences Command
       • The Security Preferences Command
   • Where Are the Manuals?
   • Applets and Oranges
   • The Least You Need To Know
4. Tag…You're It!
   • Giving HTML a Caffeine Boost
   • The <SCRIPT> Tag
   • Rules of the Web
   • What about Browsers That Don't Read JavaScript?
   • Shhhhh… Can You Keep a Secret?
   • The Least You Need To Know
5. Off and Running… with Someone Else's Help
   • The Best Way To Learn
   • Where Are They?
   • Netscape: The "Good" Got "Better"
     • Eyeing Some Code
   • Gamelan
   • JavaScript Index
   • Dimension X
   • Sample Platter: What You're Likely To Find
   • The Least You Need To Know

   Part 3: JavaScript: Espresso for the Masses

6. Objects, Names, and Literals
   • What's in a Name? (A Variable Name, That Is)
     • Tom, Dick42, and _Harry
   • Full of Value(s)
     • Handing Out Assignments
       • Your Basic Assignment
       • Assigning a String to a Variable
       • Boolean Assignments
       • And Don't Forget Null
   • The Plain (Literal) Truth
   • Treating Values Like Objects
     • Objects à la Carte vs. Prepackaged
   • The Least You Need To Know
7. Operators and Expressions
   • Let's Play Operation!
   • One Lump or Two? Binary and Unary Operators
     • Unary Increment: ++
     • Unary Decrement: - -
     • Unary Negation: -
   • No More Math--but More Operators
     • Assignment Operators
     • Comparison Operators
     • Not Just for Vulcans Anymore: Logical Operators
       • && (aka "the AND Operator")
       • || (aka "the OR Operator")
       • ! (aka "the NOT Operator")
     • String Operators: The Loom of JavaScript
   • Full of Expressions
   • The Least You Need To Know
8. Making a Statement
   • The if … else Statement
   • The while Statement
   • The for Statement
   • The break and continue Statements: Bringing It All Together
   • Object-Related Statements
     • The for … in Statement
     • The with Statement
     • The Comment Statement
     • The var Statement
   • The Least You Need To Know
9. Conjunction Junction, What's a Function?
   • What Is a Function?
   • The Role of Parameters
   • Returned Results
   • Now I'm Hungry-Defining and Calling a Function
     • More about Function Calls
   • Let's Make a Function!
   • The Whole Burrito--A Finished Function
   • Making the Call
   • Method Programming
   • Object Creationism
     • Method Making
   • The Least You Need To Know
10. An Eye on Events
    • The Main Event
    • Who They Are
      • Click
      • Focus
      • Blur
      • Change
      • MouseOver
      • Select
      • Submit
    • One Eye Open--Watching for Events
      • Between the Lines--Calling an Event Handler
        • Function Call
        • Explicit Code
    • Examples, Exemplars, and Instantiations
      • onClick
      • onFocus
      • onSubmit
    • The Least You Need To Know
11. How Much Is That Object in the Window?
    • The Looking Glass
    • Properties
      • The status Property
      • The self Object
      • Frames
    • Methods
      • alert( )
      • confirm( )
      • prompt( )
      • open( ) and close( )
    • The Least You Need To Know
12. Mapping and Tracking: Locations and Histories
    • Wherefore Art Thou, URL?
      • href
      • host
      • hostname
      • port
      • pathname
      • protocol
      • hash
      • search
    • Let's Do the Time Warp Again--The history Object
      • Historic Properties
        • current
        • length
      • Ways of Old--Historic Methods
        • back( )
        • forward( )
        • go(offset) or go("substring")
    • In Closing…
    • The Least You Need To Know
13. The Document Shuffle
    • Document Defined
    • Welcome to the Property
      • bgColor and fgColor
      • More Colors: alinkColor, vlinkColor, and linkColor
      • The title Property
      • The anchors Property
      • The links Property
      • Some Miscellaneous Properties
        • The lastModified Property
        • The referrer Property
        • The location Property
      • Forms
    • Methods to This Madness
      • The clear( ) Method
      • write( ) and writeln( )
    • Bonus Events
      • The onLoad Event
      • The onUnload Event
    • The Least You Need To Know
14. Fiddling with Forms and Emulating Events
    • Behind the Form
    • Object of Form
    • Properties of Forms
      • The action Property
      • The method Property
      • The target Property
    • Elements, Up Close and Personal
      • The checkbox Element
      • The this Object
    • The Faked Event
      • It's All in the Method
    • All Together Now
    • The Least You Need To Know

    Part 4: Scripting the Whole Bean

15. Script Example 1: Hello World
    • Putting It All Together
    • The Basic Template
    • Hello World 1
    • Hello World 2
    • Interactive Style
    • Web Etiquette
    • The Least You Need To Know
16. Script Example 2: Random Chatter
    • When Is Random Not Random?
    • Random Numbers with the Date Object
    • The Random Chatter Example
    • Color Me Random
    • The Least You Need To Know
17. Script Example 3: Bank Loan Calculator
    • Math on the Web?
    • JavaScript Algebra 101
    • Dollars and Decimals
    • The Monthly Payment
    • Amortization Tables
    • Forms in a Function
    • Amortized Loans: The Whole Picture
    • The Least You Need To Know
18. Script Example 4: Blackjack
    • Game Time
    • Pick a Card
    • Dealer Takes a Card
    • Deal Me In
    • The Least You Need To Know
19. Script Example 5: Creating an eZine
    • Start the Web-Presses!
    • JavaScript: The eZine!
    • I've Been Framed!
    • Help Me!
    • The Table of Contents
    • Stories
    • Cover (Page) Me with JavaScript
    • The Least You Need To Know
20. What To Do When It Won't Work: Debugging Your Scripts
    • Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!
    • The End Result
    • BZZT! The ERROR
      • Tpyo… er… Tipo… uh… Spelling Errors
      • A Capital Idea
      • Matching Mates
    • JavaScript Errors
      • ????? Is Not Defined
      • ????? Is Not a Function
      • ????? Is Not a Numeric Literal
    • The Dreaded "Crash"
    • Design Errors (or "Why Did My House Just Collapse?")
      • Finding the Holes Where the Rain Gets In
      • Sigh and Rebuild
    • The Least You Need To Know
21. Ideas
    • Document Madness
    • Custom Pages
    • Web Roulette
    • Tour Guide
    • Games, Games, Games
    • Sell T-Shirts
    • A Script That Writes Scripts
    • Spreadsheet
    • Database Query Front-End
    • Loan Amortization
    • Tutoring
    • And the Scripting Goes On
    • The Least You Need To Know
22. Stepping Up to Straight Java
    • JavaScript's Big Brother
    • Java Browsing
    • The Java Developer's Kit
    • Where Are the Manuals?
    • Introducing the <APPLET> Tag
      • CODEBASE
      • ALT
      • NAME
      • ALIGN
      • VSPACE and HSPACE
    • Passing Applet Parameters
    • Java with Class
    • Hello World!
    • The Least You Need To Know
23. JavaScript: The Complete Overview
    • The <SCRIPT> Tag
    • The window Object
    • The frame Object
    • The location Object
    • The document Object
    • The form Object
    • The text and textarea Objects
    • The checkbox object
    • The radio Object
    • The select Object
    • The button Object
    • The password Object
    • The navigator Object
    • The string Object
    • The Date Object
    • The Math Object
    • Reserved Words
    • Predefined JavaScript Colors