Applying JavaScript

JavaScript is a scripting language most often used for client-side

web development. It was the originating dialect of the ECMAScript

standard. It is a dynamic, weakly typed, prototype-based language

with first-class functions. JavaScript was influenced by many languages

and was designed to have a similar look to Java, but be easier for non-

programmers to work with. The language is best known for its use in

websites (as client-side JavaScript), but is also used to enable scripting

access to objects embedded in other applications (for example

Microsoft Gadgets in Windows Vista Sidebar).

Despite the name, JavaScript is essentially unrelated to the Java

programming language, though both have a common debt to C syntax,

and JavaScript copies many Java names and naming conventions. The

language was renamed from LiveScript in a co-marketing deal between

Netscape and Sun in exchange for Netscape bundling Sun's Java

runtime with their browser, which was dominant at the time. The key

design principles within JavaScript are inherited from the Self

programming language.

"JavaScript" is a trademark of Sun Microsystems. It was used

under license for technology invented and implemented by Netscape

Communications and current entities such as the Mozilla Foundation.

Common uses of JavaScript include:

  opening new browser windows and "pop-up" message boxes
 form validation (i.e. checking that a user has typed sensible
information into a web form before they are allowed to submit it)
 image-swapping effects and dynamic "drop-down" navigational
menu systems

JavaScript is a scripting language, which means that JavaScript

code does not need to be compiled before it can be run. JavaScript

code can simply be embedded within the XHTML code of the web page

in which it is to be used. In this respect, JavaScript is similar to the PHP

scripting language.

The advantage of JavaScript is that both Netscape and Microsoft

Web servers have built-in interpreters. Both of these companies have

implemented this in a different fashion, but, as a Web developer, you

still have the ability to use the same language on the server-side that

they do on the client-side. The only real competitor to JavaScript in this

aspect is Java with its Java applet and servlet technology.

The platform-independence is probably the number one reason

to use JavaScript within your applications. True, there are some

environments that interpret JavaScript a bit differently, but the

majority of the language is processed the same. The code is

interpreted, so you can write it once and let the execution environment

interpret it.

The object-orientation An OO approach is a key part of your

Javascript/Ajax programming arsenal. There are multiple ways to

program Javascript in an object-oriented way. The Prototype library

adds some helper constructs to facilitate object orientation, as do

many other Javascript libraries. Regardless of which framework you

use (or if you choose to use none at all), an object-oriented approach

can make your Ajax programming easier.

Demonstrating a basic syntax for OO; you can use this syntax

literally, or use it to enhance your understanding of the various

framework-based OO approaches available out here.

• Class - in Javascript, classes are defined as functions. The "new"

keyword together with the function gives you new instances of the

class. Here's an example:

// a Person class
function Person (sName, nAge) {
this.sName = sName;
this.nAge = nAge;
}

// add a method to the class by adding a function to its prototype

Person.prototype.tellMe = function() {
return ("My Name is "+this.sName+". I am "+this.nAge+" years old");
}

That's all there is too it. You have now defined a class (Person),
with one method (tellMe).
Using the Object - to use the Person class we just defined:
var oPerson = new Person("Bob", 28);
alert (oPerson.tellMe());

The Basic Language Features

The best part of JavaScript is that it's forgiving, especially in

regards to data typing. If you start out with a string and then want to

use it as a number, that's perfectly fine with the language. (Well, as

long as the string actually contains a number and not something like

an email address.) If you later want to treat it as a string again, that's

fine, too.

One could also say that the forgiving nature of JavaScript is one

of the worst aspects of the language. If you try to add two numbers

together, but the JavaScript engine interprets the variable holding one

of them as a string data type, you end up with an odd string, rather

than the sum you were expecting.

Context is everything when it comes to JavaScript data typing,

and also when it comes to working with the most basic of JavaScript

elements: the variable.

This chapter covers the three basic JavaScript data types: string,

boolean, and number. Along the way, we'll explore escape sequences

in strings and take a brief look at Unicode. The chapter also delves into

the topic of variables, including variable scope and what makes valid

and meaningful variable identifiers. We'll also look at the influences on

identifiers that originate from the newest generation of JavaScript

applications based on Ajax.

Identifying Variables

Variables in JavaScript are much like those in any other

language; they're used to hold values in such a way that the value can

be explicitly accessed in different places in the code. Each has an

identifier unique to the scope of use (more on this later), consisting of

any combination of letters, digits, underscores, and dollar signs. There

is no required format for an identifier, other than that it must begin

with a character, dollar sign, or underscore:

_variableidentifier

variableIdentifier

$variable_identifier

var-ident

Starting with JavaScript 1.5, you can also use Unicode letters

(such as ü) and digits, as well as escape sequences (such as \

u0009) in variable identifiers. The following are also valid variable

identifiers for JS:

_üvalid

T\u0009

Expressions

An expression is any valid set of literals, variables, operators,

and expressions that evaluates to a single value. The value may be a

number, a string, or a logical value. Conceptually, there are two types

of expressions: those that assign a value to a variable, and those that

simply have a value. For example, the expression

x = 7 is an expression that assigns x the value 7. This expression itself

evaluates to 7. Such expressions use assignment operators. On the

other hand, the expression 3 + 4 simply evaluates to 7; it does not

perform an assignment. The operators used in such expressions are

referred to simply as operators.

JavaScript has the following kinds of expressions:

 Arithmetic: evaluates to a number, for example

 String: evaluates to a character string, for example "Fred" or

"234"

 Logical: evaluates to true or false

The special keyword null denotes a null value. In contrast, variables

that have not been assigned a value are undefined, and cannot be

used without a run-time error.

Conditional Expressions

A conditional expression can have one of two values based on a

condition. The syntax is

(condition) ? val1 : val2

If condition is true, the expression has the value of val1, Otherwise it

has the value of val2. You can use a conditional expression anywhere

you would use a standard expression.

For example,
status = (age >= 18) ? "adult" : "minor"

This statement assigns the value "adult" to the variable status if

age is eighteen or greater. Otherwise, it assigns the value "minor" to

status. And this also supported by the statements:

1. Conditional Statement – in JavaScript consist only of one

statement: the IF statement:

2. Loop Statement - A loop is a set of commands that executes

repeatedly until a specified condition is met. JavaScript supports

two loop structures: for and while. In addition, the break and

continue statements are used specifically with loops.

3. For Statement - A for loop repeats a loop until a specified

condition evaluates to false. The JavaScript for loop is similar to the

Java for loop and the traditional for loop in C. A for statement

looks as follows:

for ([initial-expression;] [condition;] [increment-

expression]) {
statements
}

4. While Statement - A while statement repeats a loop as long as a

specified condition evaluates to true. A while statement looks as

follows:

while (condition) {
statements
}
5. Break Statement - The break statement terminates the current

while or for loop and transfers program control to the statement

following the terminated loop.

break statement that terminates the while loop when i is 3, and then

returns the value 3 * x. function testBreak(x) { var i = 0 while (i)

Built in Browsers – the Frames

HTML gives you the possibility to split the window of the browser

into several frames. Each of these frames forms a window of its own

within the content window (or within other frames).

I use frames on this site: I split up the browser window in which you've

loaded this site into three frames: the logo frame above, the navigation

frame on the left and the content frame on the right.

Each frame holds a separate HTML document. You can add

JavaScripts to each of these pages and they will work inside that page.

You can also write scripts that influence other frames or even other

browser windows, for instance loading new pages into the frame, or

calling a script that resides in another frame.

Names and targets

First of all, you should give your frames a name:

<frame src="whatever.html" name="content">

You can use this name both in HTML and in JavaScript. HTML has the
TARGET attribute with which you can specify the frame in which a page

should be loaded:

<a href="the_page.html" target="content">

Now if someone clicks the link, the_page.html is loaded in the frame

named content. The TARGET attribute is very versatile: it searches in

all open frames and windows for the frame with name content and

loads the page into it.

Doing the same in JavaScript is more difficult. JavaScript also knows

the names of all the frames, but naming the name only is not enough:

you should also specify where in the frame tree the frame is.

The frame tree

When you create frames, you also create a frame tree. Each frame is

loaded inside another frame or inside the top window, and when you

use cross-frame JavaScript, you'll have to specify the path that leads to

the frame you want to influence. So first of all you need to understand

the frame tree. At the top of the frame tree there's always the window

in which the frames are opened, JavaScript calls this frame top. And

the new application of JavaScript have been use in many ways, as we

know of its uses. This not only for a gaming programs but also like any

interactive programs in gaming.