Dummies - JavaScript 4th Ed For Dummies

Introduction

Welcome to the wonderful world of Web programming with JavaScript. If you’ve worked with HTML before but want to add more flexibility and punch to your pages, or even if you’ve never written a stick of code in your life but are eager to hop on the Infobahn-wagon, this book’s for you. Although I don’t assume that you know HTML, much of what you want to do with JavaScript is interact with objects created by using HTML — so you understand the examples in this book that much quicker if you have a good HTML reference handy. One to consider is HTML 4 For Dummies, 4th Edition, by Ed Tittel (Wiley Publishing, Inc.).

I do my best to describe how JavaScript works by using real-world examples — and not a foo (bar) in sight. When explaining things in formal notation makes sense, I do that, but not without a recap in plain English. Most importantly, I include tons of sample programs that illustrate the kinds of things you may want to do in your own pages.

Along with this book comes a companion CD-ROM. This CD-ROM contains all the sample code listings covered in the text along with many other interesting scripts, examples, and development tools. From experience, I can tell you that the best way to get familiar with JavaScript is to load the scripts and interact with them as you read through each chapter. If it’s feasible for you, I suggest installing the contents of the CD right away, before you dig into the chapters. Then, when you come across a listing in the book, all you have to do is doubleclick on the corresponding HTML file you’ve already installed. Doing so helps reinforce your understanding of each JavaScript concept described in this book. For more information and instructions on installing the CD-ROM, see the About the CD appendix in the back of this book.