JAVASCRIPT: JUST THE BASICS - A PRIMER FOR THE COMPLETE BEGINNER
JavaScript has become one of the most widespread and versatile computer languages. It's now used not only for adding active behavior to web pages, but also for developing applications for web servers, mobile devices, and even the computer desktop. Despite its popularity, however, JavaScript isn't so easy to learn or to understand. JavaScript has evolved into a large, complex, unique, and somewhat confusing computer language.
This book makes your JavaScript learning task much easier and gets you started quickly by selecting just the MOST ESSENTIAL JavaScript features. It then thoroughly explains and simplifies these features, using many easy-to-follow code examples. To offer a vision of the possibilities, the book also briefly introduces several more advanced JavaScript technologies, such as multi-window web applications, animations, cookies, and Ajax. The book doesn't duplicate the free online JavaScript documentation, but rather is meant to be used in conjunction with it, and it includes many documentation links to help you quickly find additional information.
This guide to beginning web development provides your FIRST JavaScript step. Using it to learn the fundamentals will prepare you for your JavaScript journey no matter what direction it takes. For example, the book provides the ideal background for going on to learn jQuery. It serves as the "prequel" to "jQuery: Just the Basics," available as a Kindle book by the same author (bit.ly/JQBasics).
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
This book is written for the JavaScript beginner -- no prior JavaScript experience required! It would be helpful, although not essential, to know something about HTML and CSS, and to have worked with another programming language.
THE BOOK
The book is approximately 290 pages long. It was designed, written, and formatted specifically for the Kindle, and you can read it on any Kindle device or free reading app. (Reading the book in Kindle Cloud Reader isn't recommended because of the reader's non-standard formatting.) The manuscript was prepared so that the source code listings are easy to view and the book is simple to navigate. Because using an index in an ebook is slow and awkward, the book doesn't include a traditional index. You can easily find topics with your Kindle's powerful Search feature, as well as the book's detailed Table of Contents.
THE COMPANION WEBSITE
You'll find a companion website for the book at DigitalArtisanPress.com, where you can contact the author.
THE CONTENTS
Introduction
Part I. The Core JavaScript Language
Chapter 1. Variables and Values
Chapter 2. Expressions and Operators
Chapter 3. Flow Control
Chapter 4. Objects and Arrays
Chapter 5. Defining Functions and Methods
Chapter 6. Constructors and Inheritance
Chapter 7. Pattern Matching with Regular Expressions
Part II. Client-Side JavaScript: Adding Dynamic Behavior to Web Pages
Chapter 8. Running JavaScript in the Browser
Chapter 9. Scripting Browser Windows
Chapter 10. Scripting Web-Page Content
Chapter 11. Scripting Web-Page Styles
Chapter 12. Handling Web-Page Events
THE AUTHOR
Michael J Young has a master's degree in computer science and is the author of 30 books on computing. His book "XML Step by Step" won the top award, "Distinguished Technical Communication," in the 2000-2001 International Technical Publications Competition of the Society for Technical Communication.
ALSO BY MICHAEL J YOUNG
"jQuery: Just the Basics - A Primer for the JavaScript Programmer," available as a Kindle book (bit.ly/JQBasics).
JavaScript has become one of the most widespread and versatile computer languages. It's now used not only for adding active behavior to web pages, but also for developing applications for web servers, mobile devices, and even the computer desktop. Despite its popularity, however, JavaScript isn't so easy to learn or to understand. JavaScript has evolved into a large, complex, unique, and somewhat confusing computer language.
This book makes your JavaScript learning task much easier and gets you started quickly by selecting just the MOST ESSENTIAL JavaScript features. It then thoroughly explains and simplifies these features, using many easy-to-follow code examples. To offer a vision of the possibilities, the book also briefly introduces several more advanced JavaScript technologies, such as multi-window web applications, animations, cookies, and Ajax. The book doesn't duplicate the free online JavaScript documentation, but rather is meant to be used in conjunction with it, and it includes many documentation links to help you quickly find additional information.
This guide to beginning web development provides your FIRST JavaScript step. Using it to learn the fundamentals will prepare you for your JavaScript journey no matter what direction it takes. For example, the book provides the ideal background for going on to learn jQuery. It serves as the "prequel" to "jQuery: Just the Basics," available as a Kindle book by the same author (bit.ly/JQBasics).
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
This book is written for the JavaScript beginner -- no prior JavaScript experience required! It would be helpful, although not essential, to know something about HTML and CSS, and to have worked with another programming language.
THE BOOK
The book is approximately 290 pages long. It was designed, written, and formatted specifically for the Kindle, and you can read it on any Kindle device or free reading app. (Reading the book in Kindle Cloud Reader isn't recommended because of the reader's non-standard formatting.) The manuscript was prepared so that the source code listings are easy to view and the book is simple to navigate. Because using an index in an ebook is slow and awkward, the book doesn't include a traditional index. You can easily find topics with your Kindle's powerful Search feature, as well as the book's detailed Table of Contents.
THE COMPANION WEBSITE
You'll find a companion website for the book at DigitalArtisanPress.com, where you can contact the author.
THE CONTENTS
Introduction
Part I. The Core JavaScript Language
Chapter 1. Variables and Values
Chapter 2. Expressions and Operators
Chapter 3. Flow Control
Chapter 4. Objects and Arrays
Chapter 5. Defining Functions and Methods
Chapter 6. Constructors and Inheritance
Chapter 7. Pattern Matching with Regular Expressions
Part II. Client-Side JavaScript: Adding Dynamic Behavior to Web Pages
Chapter 8. Running JavaScript in the Browser
Chapter 9. Scripting Browser Windows
Chapter 10. Scripting Web-Page Content
Chapter 11. Scripting Web-Page Styles
Chapter 12. Handling Web-Page Events
THE AUTHOR
Michael J Young has a master's degree in computer science and is the author of 30 books on computing. His book "XML Step by Step" won the top award, "Distinguished Technical Communication," in the 2000-2001 International Technical Publications Competition of the Society for Technical Communication.
ALSO BY MICHAEL J YOUNG
"jQuery: Just the Basics - A Primer for the JavaScript Programmer," available as a Kindle book (bit.ly/JQBasics).
