Beginning JavaScript, 4th Edition

Introduction xxv

Chapter 1: Introduction to JavaScript and the Web 1

Introduction to JavaScript 1

Where Do My Scripts Go? 7

Your First Simple JavaScript Programs 8

A Brief Look at Browsers and Compatibility Problems 15

Summary 16

Chapter 2: Data Types and Variables 17

Types of Data in JavaScript 17

Variables — Storing Data in Memory 20

Using Data — Calculations and Basic String Manipulation 26

Data Type Conversion 37

Arrays 40

Summary 49

Exercise Questions 50

Chapter 3: Decisions, Loops, and Functions 51

Decision Making — The if and switch Statements 51

Looping — The for and while Statements 71

Functions 79

Summary 84

Exercise Questions 86

Chapter 4: Common Mistakes, Debugging, and Error Handling 87

D’oh! I Can’t Believe I Just Did That: Some Common Mistakes 87

Error Handling 93

Debugging 103

Summary 131

Exercise Questions 131

Chapter 5: JavaScript — An Object-Based Language 133

Object-Based Programming 133

JavaScript’s Native Object Types 139

Creating New Types of Objects (Reference Types) 177

Summary 187

Exercise Questions 188

Chapter 6: Programming the Browser 189

Introduction to the Browser’s Objects 190

Responding to the User’s Actions with Events 199

Summary 215

Exercise Questions 217

Chapter 7: HTML Forms: Interacting with the User 219

HTML Forms 219

Other Form Object Properties and Methods 222

Summary 260

Exercise Questions 262

Chapter 8: Windows and Frames 263

Frames and the window Object 264

Opening New Windows 284

Security 298

Summary 298

Exercise Questions 299

Chapter 9: String Manipulation 301

Additional String Methods 302

Regular Expressions 306

The String Object — split(), replace(), search(), and match() Methods 327

Using the RegExp Object’s Constructor 335

Summary 345

Exercise Questions 345

Chapter 10: Date, Time, and Timers 347

World Time 348

Timers in a Web Page 358

Summary 364

Exercise Questions 365

Chapter 11: Storing Information: Cookies 367

Baking Your First Cookie 367

Creating a Cookie 377

Getting a Cookie’s Value 381

Cookie Limitations 386

Cookie Security and IE6+ 388

Summary 389

Exercise Questions 389

Chapter 12: Dynamic HTML and the W3C Document Object Model 391

The Web Standards 392

The Document Object Model 397

Manipulating the DOM 422

Writing Cross-Browser DHTML 447

JavaScript and XML 453

Summary 467

Exercise Questions 468

Chapter 13: Using ActiveX and Plug-Ins with JavaScript 469

Checking for and Embedding Plug-ins (Non-IE Browsers) 470

Checking for and Embedding ActiveX Controls on Internet Explorer 474

Using Plug-ins and ActiveX Controls 480

Summary 488

Exercise Question 489

Chapter 14: Ajax 491

What Is Ajax? 491

Using the XMLHttpRequest Object 494

Creating a Simple Ajax Module 500

Validating Form Fields with Ajax 505

Things to Watch Out For 515

Summary 525

Exercise Questions 525

Chapter 15: JavaScript Frameworks 527

Picking a Framework to Work With 527

Getting Started 528

Digging Deeper Into jQuery 537

Diving into Prototype 558

Delving into MooTools 575

Summary 590

Exercise Questions 590

Appendix A: Answers to Exercises 591

Appendix B: JavaScript Core Reference 665

Appendix C: W3C DOM Reference 697

Appendix D: Latin-1 Character Set 725

Index 733