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New Perspectives on Creating Web Pages with HTML

Tutorial 9: Working with JavaScript Objects and Events

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Tutorial Objectives
Learn about form validation Study the object-based nature of the JavaScript language Work with objects, properties, methods, and events of your Web page Create a program to calculate a value

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Tutorial Objectives Continued

Copy a value into a form field Extract a value from a selection list and radio button Display a message box to the user Control a form submission

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Sample Order Form

This figure shows a sample order form.

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Understanding Form Validation

A form validation is a process by which the server on the browser checks form entries and, where possible, eliminates errors. On the Web, validation can occur on the client or server side. Form validation is a critical aspect of data entry. A properly designed form reduces the possibility of faulty data being entered.
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Server-Side and Client-Side Validation

This figure shows server-side and client-side validation.

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JavaScript and Client-Side Validation

A powerful use of JavaScript is to provide clientside validation. Using a script built into the Web page form provides immediate feedback to users as they enter data. Client-side validation can reduce the network traffic between users and the Web server.

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An Example of the Use of JavaScript

This figure shows an example of the use of JavaScript, which will provide users with immediate feedback.

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Working with JavaScript Objects

JavaScript is an object-based language. JavaScript is based on manipulating objects by modifying an objects properties or by applying methods to an object.
objects are items that have a defined existence each object has properties that describe its appearance, purpose, or behavior each object has methods, which are actions that can be performed with the object or to it
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Understanding JavaScript Objects and Object Names

In JavaScript, each object is identified by an object name.
for example, when you want to use JavaScript to manipulate the current window, you use the object name window operations that affect the current Web page use the document object name the object name can also be based on the name assigned to the object by the user
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Some JavaScript Objects and Their Object Names

This figure shows a list of the many objects available in JavaScript and their corresponding object names.

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Introducing the Document Object Model

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JavaScript arranges objects in a Document Object Model or DOM. The DOM defines the logical structure of objects and the way an object is accessed and manipulated. The document object model can be thought of as a hierarchy moving from the most general object to the most specific.
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A Part of the Document Object Model

This figure shows a section of the entire Document Object Model (DOM). The full DOM would be a much larger figure.
window

frame

event

history

document

location

navigator

screen

document

anchor

form

image

link

style

tag

button

checkbox

input

radio

reset

select

submit

textarea

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DOM Hierarchy
The topmost object in the hierarchy is the window object, which contains the other objects in the list, such as the current frame, history list, and the Web page document. The Web page document contains its own set of objects, including links, anchors, and forms. Within each form are form objects, such as input boxes, radio buttons, or selection lists.

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Object Names and Browsers

Include the DOM hierarchy when referring to an object i.e window.document.order. Some browsers cannot interpret the object names without the complete hierarchy.

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Field Names in a Order Form

This figure shows that each field in the order form has been given a name. To refer to a particular field, you attach the field name to the JavaScript reference for the form.
<form name = order> qty product shipping sname sstreet scity billcb bname bstreet bcity cname ccard cnumber formdate sub1 sub2 sub3 total sstate szip creditcb bstate bzip expmonth expyear

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Field Names
To refer to a particular field, attach the field name to the JavaScript reference for the form.
for example, in the order form to display the current date in the formdata field use the following JavaScript object reference: document.order.formdate

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Object Collections
There is another way to reference an object and that is with an object collection.

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Object Collections Continued

An object collection is an array of all objects of a particular type, such as all of the hyperlinks for a single document or all of the elements within a single form. An item from an object collection can be referenced in one of three ways:
collection[i] collection[name] collection.name collection is the JavaScript name of the collection i is an index number of the item in the collection name is the name assigned to the object using the name attribute
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Some JavaScript Object Collections

Collection Description Browser Support Netscape document.all All HTML elements in the document IE 4.0

This figure lists some of the more commonly used JavaScript object collections. Not all object collections are supported by all browsers or browser versions.

document.anchors document.applets document.embeds document.form.elements

All anchor elements in the document All Java applets in the document. The applet must be started before being recognized as part of the DOM All embedded objects in the document All of the elements in the form named form.

3.0 3.0 3.0

3.0 3.0 4.0

document.forms document.frames

All forms in the document All internal frames in the document

2.0

3.0 4.0

document.images document.links document.plugins

All inline images in the document All hyperlinks in the document All plug-ins in the document

2.0 2.0

3.0 3.0 4.0

document.scripts

All scripts (created with the <script> tag) in the document

4.0

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Working with Object Properties

Each object in JavaScript has properties associated with it. The number of properties depends on the particular object; some objects have only a few properties, while others have many. As with object names, certain keywords identify properties.

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JavaScript Objects and Properties

This figure shows a partial list of objects and their properties.

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JavaScript Properties
There are several ways of working with properties.
the value of a property can be changed store the propertys value in a variable test whether the property equals a specified value in an IfThen expression

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Modifying a Propertys Value

The syntax for changing the value of a property is:
object.property = expression object is the JavaScript name of the object you want to manipulate property is a property of that object expression is a JavaScript expression that assigns a value to the property

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Setting an Objects Property Value

This figure shows how you can use objects and properties to modify a Web page and Web browser.
document.fgColor document.bgColor

JavaScript commands

window.defaultStatus resulting Web page

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Changing Properties
Not all properties can be changed. Some properties are read-only, which means that you can read the property value, but cannot modify it.

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Displaying Some Read-Only Browser Properties

This figure shows how you can use JavaScript to display additional read-only information about your browser.

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JavaScript commands browser code name browser name browser version

resulting Web page

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Assigning a Property to a Variable

Although you cannot change the value of readonly properties, you can assign a value to a variable in your JavaScript program. The syntax for assigning a property to a variable is:
variable = object.property variable is the variable name object is the name of the object property is the name of its property
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Assigning Property Values to Variables

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This figure shows three examples of property values being assigned to JavaScript variables.

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Using Property Values to Variables

A conditional statement changes how the Web page behaves based on the value of an object property. The following JavaScript code shows how you can incorporate object properties into a simple conditional expression: If (document.bgColor==black) { document.fgColor=white; } else { document.fgColor=black; } Using objects, properties, and conditional statement provides a great deal of control over the appearance of a Web page.
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Working with Object Methods

Another way to control a Web page is to use methods. Methods are either actions that objects perform or actions applied to objects. The syntax for applying a method to an object is:
object.method(parameters); object is the name of the object method is the method to be applied parameters are any values used in applying the method to the object

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Examples of JavaScript Objects and Methods

This figure shows three examples of objects and methods.

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JavaScript Objects and Their Methods

This figure lists some additional JavaScript objects and some of the methods associated with them. A more complete list of objects, properties, and methods is included in Appendix G.

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Managing Events
An event is a specific occurrence within the Web browser. For example:
opening up a Web page positioning the mouse pointer over a location on that page

Events are an important part of JavaScript programming, you can write scripts that run in response to the actions of the user, even after the Web page has been opened.
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Working with Event Handlers

Events are controlled in JavaScript using event handlers that indicate what actions the browser takes in response to an event. Event handlers are created as attributes added to the HTML tags in which the event is triggered. The general syntax is:
< tag onevent = JavaScript commands;> tag is the name of the HTML tag onevent is the name of the event that occurs within the tag JavaScript commands are the commands the browser runs in response to the event
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JavaScript Event Holders

Category Event Handler onload onunload onabort onerror onmove onresize onscroll onfocus onblur onchange onselect onsubmit onreset onkeydown onkeyup onkeypress onclick ondblclick onmousedown onmouseup onmousemove onmouseover onmouseout Description The browser has completed loading the document. The browser has completed unloading the document. The transfer of an image as been aborted. An error has occurred in the JavaScript program. The user has moved the browser window. The user has resized the browser window. The user has moved the scrollbar. The user has entered an input field. The user has exited an input field. The content of an input field has changed. The user has selected text in an input or textarea field. A form has been submitted. The user has clicked the Reset button. The user has begun pressing a key. The user has released a key. The user has pressed and released a key. The user has clicked the mouse button. The user has double-clicked the mouse button. The user has begun pressing the mouse button. The user has released the mouse button. The user has moved the mouse pointer. The user has moved the mouse over an element. The user has moved the mouse out from an element. Netscape 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 2.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 2.0 3.0 IE 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 4.0

This figure describes event handlers that JavaScript provides.

Window and Document events

Form events

Keyboard and Mouse events

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Using the Onclick Event Handler

This figure shows an example of the onclick event handler used with a collection of radio buttons. When the user clicks a radio button, the click event is initiated and the onclick event handler instructs the browser to run a JavaScript command to change the background color of the Web page.

JavaScript commands users clicks the red button users clicks the blue button initial Web page users clicks the green button
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Events Initiated by the User During Data Entry

This figure shows that events often take place in rapid succession.

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JavaScript Events
This figure shows JavaScript events.

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Browser and Event Handlers

Generally, Internet Explorer and Netscape 6.0 can apply event handlers to most HTML tags. Versions of Netscape prior to 6.0 apply event handlers to a smaller number of HTML tags. Test Web pages with a variety of browsers and browser versions, especially if the Web page relies on JavaScript functions to operate correctly.

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Running JavaScript Commands as Hyperlinks

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To run a command in response to the click event, an easy way of doing this is to create a hyperlink around the object to receive the mouse click. The syntax for doing this is:
<a href=javascript:JavaScript commands>Hypertext</a>

JavaScript commands are the commands you want to run when the text link Hypertext is clicked by the user

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Running JavaScript Commands as Hyperlinks Continued

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The following code changes the Web pages background color to red when the hypertext Change background to red is clicked.
<a href=javascript:document.bgcolor= red;> Change background to red </a>

One advantage of this technique is that you can apply it to objects that might not support the onclick event handler in all browsers or browser versions.
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Using the onload Event Handler

The event handler for loading the Web page is the onload event handler. This handler is associated with the document object and must be placed in the <body> tag of the HTML file. When the browser encounters the load event, it runs the startform() function.

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Events Initiated by the User During Data Entry

This figure shows events initiated by the user during data entry.

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event handler

function to run when the page is loaded by the browser

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The startform() Function

The startform() function relies on another JavaScript function named todaytxt(). The code for the todaytxt() function is as follows:
function todaytxt() { var Today=new Date(); return today.getMonth()+1+/+Today.getDate()+ /+Today. getFullYear(); }
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Creating The startform() Function

This figure shows that one of the purposes of the startform() function, is to retrieve the date string and display it in the formdate field of the order form.

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current date

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Properties, Methods, and Event Handlers of Input Fields

This figure shows additional properties and methods that can be associated with fields.
Property defaultvalue maxlength name size type value Method blur() focus() select() Event Handler onfocus() onblur() onchange() Description Default value of the field Maximum number of characters in the field The name of the field The width of the field in characters The type of input field The value of the input field Description Remove the focus from the field Give focus to the field Select the field Description Run when the field receives the focus Run when the field loses the focus Run when the value of the field changes IE 3.0 4.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 IE 3.0 3.0 3.0 IE 3.0 3.0 3.0

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Netscape 2.0 6.0 2.0 6.0 3.0 2.0 Netscape 2.0 2.0 2.0 Netscape 2.0 2.0 2.0

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Initiating Events and JavaScript

When using JavaScript to initiate an event, you are instructing the Web page to perform an action that a user would normally do.
for example, such as moving the cursor to a specific field in the form

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Initiating an Event with JavaScript

This figure shows three examples of JavaScript commands that initiate events in a order form.

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Moving the Focus to the Product Field

This figure shows an example of moving the focus to the product field.

the product field receives the focus of the cursor after the current date is entered in the formdate field

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Emulating an Event with Event Methods

This figure shows additional events you can emulate in forms.

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Calculate the Cost of a Customers Order

You can use JavaScript to calculate the cost of a customers order based on product purchased, quantity, sales tax, and shipping costs.

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Creating a Calculated Field

JavaScript: treats the values of input fields as text strings does not round off the values to nice digits displays calculated values to several digits The dollar() function takes a value, n, and rounds it to two digits to the right of the decimal point.

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Inserting the total_cost() Function

This figure shows the function to calculate the total cost of a customers order.

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Working with a Selection List

JavaScript treats a selection list as an array of option values.

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Select List Array Text and Values

This figure shows the JavaScript object references and property values for the items in a product selection list. The array of selection options starts with an index value of 0.
Object Object Properties .text document.order.product.options[0] document.order.product.options[1] document.order.product.options[2] document.order.product.options[3] document.order.product.options[4] document.order.product.options[5] document.order.product.options[6] Products from GPS-ware GoMap 1.0 ($19.95) Drive Planner 2.0 ($29.95) Hiker 1.0 ($29.95) G-Receiver I ($149.50) G-Receiver II ($199.50) G-Receiver III ($249.50) .value 0 19.95 29.95 29.95 149.50 199.50 249.50

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The selectedIndex Property

There is no value property for the selection list itself, only for the options within the list. The selectedIndex property indicates the index number of the selected option. The index number of the selected item is stored in the item_index variable. The item_index variable is then used to determine the value of the selected item and stores the value in the item_value variable. The text of the selected item is stored in the item_text variable.
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Selection Lists and Selection Options

This figure shows some of the other properties and methods associated with selection lists and selection options.

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Creating the order_price() Function

This figure shows the order_price() function.

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Working with Radio Buttons

The JavaScript reference for a radio button is:
document.form.field[i] form is the name of the Web page form field is the name assigned to the radio button i is the index number of specific radio button

The first radio button has an index value of 0, the second button has an index value of 1, and so on.
the JavaScript object references for three shipping radio buttons are:
document.order.shipping[0] document.order.shipping[1] document.order.shipping[2]
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Properties, Methods, and Event Handlers of Radio Buttons

This figure describes some of the properties, methods, and event handlers associated with radio buttons.
Property checked Description A Boolean value indicating whether the radio button has been checked The name of the radio button field The value of radio button Description Give focus to the radio button Remove focus from the radio button Click the radio button Description Run when the radio button receives the focus Run when the radio button loses the focus Run when the radio button is clicked IE 3.0 Netscape 2.0

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name value Method focus() blur() click() Event Handler onfocus() onblur() onclick()

3.0 3.0 IE 3.0 3.0 3.0 IE 3.0 3.0 3.0

2.0 2.0 Netscape 2.0 2.0 2.0 Netscape 2.0 2.0 2.0

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Working with Radio Buttons Continued

For example, the values of the three shipping radio buttons can be expressed as follows in JavaScript:
document.order.shipping[0].value = 7.95; document.order.shipping[1].value = 9.95; document.order.shipping[2].value = 12.95;

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A Problem with Radio Buttons

There is no JavaScript object that refers to the entire collection of radio buttons; thus there is no single value property that tells us which button was selected. There are only value properties for the individual radio buttons. You could treat each radio button as a different field and run a different function for each button. You could use an IfThen statement to test which radio button was selected. There is an easier way: use the this keyword.
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Working the this Keyword

The this keyword is a JavaScript object name that refers to the currently selected object. Useful in situations where several different objects on the page might access the same function.
in that situation, the this keyword can pass along information about the object that initiated the function

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Properties, Methods, and Event Handlers of Check Boxes

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This figure lists some of the properties, methods, and event handlers of check box objects.
Property checked name value Method focus() blur() click() Event Handler onfocus() onblur() onclick() Description A Boolean value indicating whether the check box has been checked The name of the check box field The value of the check box Description Give focus to the check box Remove focus from the check box Click the check box Description Run when the check box receives the focus Run when the check box loses the focus Run when the check box is clicked IE 3.0 3.0 3.0 IE 3.0 3.0 3.0 IE 3.0 3.0 3.0 Netscape 2.0 2.0 2.0 Netscape 2.0 2.0 2.0 Netscape 2.0 2.0 2.0

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Submitting a Form
If a condition of the form is not met, the browser should refuse the form submission and indicate to the user why the form was not submitted.

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Creating the check_form() Function

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test that a product, quantity, and shipping method has been selected test that a shipping address has been entered

test whether a billing address has been entered test whether a card name and number has been entered test whether a credit card type has been selected test whether the user has entered a billing address or complete credit information test whether the entire form has been completed 67 properly

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Controlling Form Submission

When a user completes a form and then clicks the submit button, a submit event is initiated. JavaScript provides the onsubmit event handler that allows you to run a program in response to this action. The submit event is associated with the form object, the event handler must be placed within the <form> tag. The onsubmit event handler must be able to override the act of submitting the form if the form fails a validation test.

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The onsubmit Event Handler

The syntax for doing this is:
<form onsubmit=return function();>
function is the name of the function that validates your form the function must return a value of true or false
if the value is true, the form is submitted if the value is false, the submission is canceled, and the user is returned to the form

the keyword return in this syntax.

if the return keyword is not included, the browser submits the form whether or not it passes the validation test
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Using the onsubmit Event Handler

This figure shows the code to return the value of the form_ok variable that indicates whether or not the form was completed properly.

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Dialog Boxes
You may want to use a dialog box to display a message to the user to indicate that the form was not properly completed.

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Creating a Dialog Box

JavaScript supports three types of dialog boxes: alert, prompt, and confirm.
an alert dialog box displays a message, usually alerting the user to a problem. the prompt dialog box displays both a message and a text box. the confirm dialog box display a message along with OK and Cancel buttons.

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The Dialog Boxes Syntax

The syntax for creating these dialog boxes is:
alert(message); prompt (message, default); confirm (message); message is the text displayed in the dialog box default is the default text for the prompt dialog box

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JavaScript Dialog Boxes Displayed by Internet Explorer

This figure shows examples of JavaScript dialog boxes. Different browsers display their dialog boxes with subtle differences, but all dialog boxes share the common features of a title bar, default value, OK button, and Cancel button.
alert(Form Completed)

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alert dialog box

prompt(User Name, Enter your name) prompt dialog box

confirm(Continue Program?)

confirm dialog box

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Responses to Dialog Boxes

You can store the response of the user for both the prompt and the confirm dialog boxes. The syntax is:
variable = prompt(message, default); variable = confirm(message);

variable is a variable that stores the users response

in the case of the prompt dialog box, this is the contents of the text box for the confirm dialog box, variable has a value of true if the user clicks the OK button and false if the user clicks the Cancel button
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Creating Alert Dialog Boxes

This figure shows how to create an alert dialog box.

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Displaying an Alert Dialog Box

This figure shows an example of an alert dialog box.

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Resetting a Form
When designing a form, it is important to allow the user to reset the form.

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Resetting a Form
Resetting a form does not load the page. Use JavaScript to reload the page.
this has the effect of resetting all field values and rerunning the startform() function that inserts the current date. use the location object to reload a Web page

One of the methods associated with the location object is the reload()method, which reloads the current page. The syntax is simply:
location.reload();

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Resetting a Form Continued

Use JavaScript to load a different page, the command is:
location=URL; URL is the address of the Web page you want to display in the browser

To control the reset event, use the onreset handler and apply it to the <form> tag.

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Specifying an Action for the Form Reset

This figure shows how specify an action for the form reset.

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Tutorial 9 Summary
Learned the object-oriented nature of the JavaScript language. Used JavaScript as a validation tool for online forms. Learned the basic concepts of form validation. Introduced to object-based programming concepts i.e. objects, properties, and methods. Learned about events, and how to run programs in response to events.
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Tutorial 9 Summary Continued

Used event handlers and simulating events with event methods. Learned about form elements. Learned how to request information from the user by creating dialog boxes. Learned how to create calculated fields by working with a fields value property.

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