JavaScript

JavaScript is a programming language that allows you to implement complex things on web pages — every time a web page does more than just sit there and display static information for you to look at — displaying timely content updates, or interactive maps, or animated 2D/3D graphics, or scrolling video jukeboxes, etc. — you can bet that JavaScript is probably involved. It is the third layer of the layer cake of standard web technologies, two of which (HTML and CSS).

Why use JavaScript

• all browsers process JavaScript
•  many web services rely on JavaScript in browser
•  can use it in your own web pages
•  can understand what other web pages are doing (and steal from them)
• easy to start with
• easy to do useful things with it
• programming ideas carry over into other languages

Using Variables, Objects and Arrays

var str = “Hello”;                // local variable, when inside a function

str2 = “Hello World”;             // global variable in default context (window.str2)

str3 = ‘My quote char: ” ‘;       // single or double quote

str4 = “My really really really \

really long string broken into \

multiple lines”;

str = 19;                         // change to int

str = 0xfe + 2.343 + 2.5e3;       // hex, floats, exp

var newObject = new Object();     // constructor

newObject = {};           // shorthand for same

newObject.name = “bob”            // dynamic attributes

newObject.name = null         // it’s there (null item)

delete newObject.name         // it’s gone (undefined)

newObject[“real age”] = 33;       // array notation/hash table

 

var obj = {           // create object using JSON

name: “Bob”,          //   aka JavaScript Object Notation

details: {

age: 33,

“favorite color”: “green”

}

}

obj.name

obj.details[“favorite color”]

var newArray = [];                // no size

newArray[3] = “hi”;               // grows dynamically

newArray[2] = 13;                 // any type

newArray.push(newObject);         // add new item

newArray.pop();               // remove it

Comparisons and Manipulations

JavaScript has some funky types and comparisons.

/* javascript types */

typeof(“string”) == “string”

typeof(3) == typeof(3.4) == typeof(0x34) == “number”

typeof(myObject) == typeof(myArray) == “object” // arrays are objects

typeof(true) == typeof(1 == 2) == “boolean”

typeof(Math.sin) == “function”

typeof(notthere) == “undefined”

/* comparisons */

123 == “123”                     // true => converts type

123 === “123”                    // false => checks type

typeof(x) == “undefined”     // x isn’t there

x == null            // x is defined, but null

/* Numbers */

parseInt(“123”)          // base 10 => 123

parseInt(“123”, 16);         // base 16 => 291

parseFloat(“123.43”);        // 123.43

isNaN(0/0) == true       // illegal number

3/0 == Infinity          // legal…

-3/0 == -Infinity        //

isFinite(3/0) == false       // … but not finite

/* regular expression (regex) string comparisons */

matches = “hello”.match(/h../)   // returns array [“hel”] or null

re = new RegExp(“h..”, “ig”);    // construct regexp — no slashes

matches = “hello”.match(re);     // use it

“hello”.replace(/h/,”b”)     // => “bello”

Conditionals and Loops

if (str == “Hello”){    // if-else

alert(“Hi”);      // popup dialog

}

else{

alert(“something is wrong!”);

}

a = 3, b = 4;       // multi-assigment

c = a > b ? a : b;  // c gets bigger item (b)

switch (name){      // switch statement

case “Bob”:

alert(“Hi Bob!”)

break

case “Joe”:

alert(“Hey Joe.”)

break

default: alert(“Do I know you?”)

}

while (i < n){          // the basics

// do something

i++;

}

for (var i=0; i<n; i++){

// do something else

}

for (var key in obj){

// do something with obj[key]

}

Defining Functions

function foo(a,b){          // global function

return a + b;

}

var fn = function(a,b){     // save function as variable…

return foo(a,b);

}

obj.fn = function(a,b){     // …or as part of object

return a + b;

}

function bar(a,b){

var n = 1;                  // local var

function helper(x) {            // inner function…

return 1/Math.sqrt(x + n);  // .. can use local vars

}

return helper(input);           // avoid need for global function

}

foo(1,2) == fn(1,2) == 3;   // true

Browser Document Object Model (DOM), and GUI

Find and change HTML elements.

alert(“message”);  // messagebox with “OK”

var choice = confirm(“message”);  // OK/CANCEL true or false

var input = prompt(“message”, “default value”); // enter a value; null if cancelled

x = document.getElementById(“foo”);    // finds <div id=”foo”></div>

x.style.background = “#333”;           // set CSS style

x.style.borderLeft = “1px solid #ccc”; // border-left => borderLeft (camelCase)

x.className = “myclass”;           // set CSS class

x.innerHTML = “Hello”;             // set html inside div

y = document.getElementById(“myinput”); // input area/textarea

y.value = “Hi”;                 // get or set text