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What is JavaScript?
JavaScript is a scripting language developed by Netscape. With JavaScript you can easily create interactive web pages. JavaScript statements can be embedded directly in an HTML page. Web developer programs such as Dreamweaver can also create JavaScripts. These statements can recognize and respond to user events such as mouse clicks, popup windows, page navigation, last page update info and MUCH more! Essentially, events are messages generated by browsers indicating that a visitor to your page has done something. For example, you can write a JavaScript function to verify that users enter valid information into a form. Without any network transmission, an HTML page with embedded JavaScript can interpret the entered text and alert the user with a message dialog if the input is invalid. JavaScript shares the fundamental feature of all programming languages: it can get data from some source, process that data, and output the results. Because it is integrated into HTML, JavaScript already knows what your browser knows. One of the best things about JavaScript is that you can do a great deal with very little programming. You don't need a fancy computer, you don't need any software other than a word processor and a Web browser, and you don't need access to a Web server; you can do all your work right on your own computer.
Running JavaScript
You need a JavaScript-enabled browser - for example, Netscape Navigator (version 2.0 or higher) or Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 3.0 or higher). Since these two browsers are widely spread many people are able to run scripts written in JavaScript.
*This is an important point for choosing JavaScript to enhance your web pages
In the Property inspector, type in the following command in the link field of the property inspector: javascript:; Now, hit enter.
*Important: Dont forget to include both the colon and the semicolon, by doing this you are essentially adding a hyperlink for the JavaScript command to work properly. 4. With the text still selected (or highlighted), open the Behaviors panel. You can do this several ways: Pressing Shift + F3 at the same time opens the behaviors panel Select from the menu bar, WINDOW > BEHAVIORS Click on the cog wheel icon at lower right corner of screen 5. icon. You will now choose 2 actions from the actions pop-up menu by clicking on the This plus command is a pop-up menu of actions (or events) that can be attached to the currently selected element. Do the following 3 steps: Select show events for and then choose 4.0 and later browsers. Click on the icon again. Select from the menu: popup message. When the message box appears, type the following message:
When this popup window appears on your screen, it will make you smile.
6. 7. 8. Now click on the okay button. To test your JavaScript command, hit F12 to open up a browser window and test your event. Click once on your text and your pop-up window should appear congratulations!
Example: Displaying automatic page update information Let's say you have a homepage and you update it frequently. Wouldn't it be nice to include the last update date on your page? Well, here is how you can do that:
1. 2. 3. Open a new browser (Netscape or Internet Explorer) Open notepad, go to START >PROGRAMS >ACCESSORIES >NOTEPAD In the notepad screen, type the following HTML code exactly as it appears:
<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Displaying Update Info</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgcolor=lightblue> <script language="JavaScript"> <!--hide script from old browsers document.write("<h2>This page has been updated: " + document.lastModified + "</h2>"); // end hiding --> </script > </BODY> </HTML>
4. 5. 6. Save file as sample.html onto the DESKTOP Go to your browser window menu, click on FILE>OPEN PAGE >BROWSE >SELECT>sample.html Your first JavaScript will appear on your screen Congratulations!