JavaScript: The Definitive Guide

This guide provides a description of the core JavaScript language and both the legacy and standard DOMs implemented in web browsers. It includes sophisticated examples that show you how to handle common tasks, like validating form data, working with cookies and creating portable DHTML animations. It also contains detailed reference sections that cover the core JavaScript API, the legacy client-side API and the W3C standard DOM API, documenting every JavaScript object, method, property, constructor, constant, function and event handler in those APIs. This updated edition provides complete coverage of the W3C DOM standard (Level 1 and 2), while retaining material on the legacy Level 0 DOM for backward compatibility.

Table of Contents:
Preface 1. Introduction to JavaScript JavaScript Myths Versions of JavaScript Client-Side JavaScript JavaScript in Other Contexts Client-Side JavaScript: Executable Content in Web Pages Client-Side JavaScript Features JavaScript Security Example: Computing Loan Payments with JavaScript Using the Rest of This Book Exploring JavaScript Part I. Core JavaScript 2. Lexical Structure Character Set Case Sensitivity Whitespace and Line Breaks Optional Semicolons Comments Literals Identifiers Reserved Words 3. Data Types and Values Numbers Strings Boolean Values Functions Objects Arrays null undefined The Date Object Regular Expressions Error Objects Primitive Data Type Wrapper Objects 4. Variables Variable Typing Variable Declaration Variable Scope Primitive Types and Reference Types Garbage Collection Variables as Properties Variable Scope Revisited 5. Expressions and Operators Expressions Operator Overview Arithmetic Operators Equality Operators Relational Operators String Operators Logical Operators Bitwise Operators Assignment Operators Miscellaneous Operators 6. Statements Expression Statements Compound Statements if else if switch while do/while for for/in Labels break continue var function return throw try/catch/finally with The Empty Statement Summary of JavaScript Statements 7. Functions Defining and Invoking Functions Functions as Data Function Scope: The Call Object Function Arguments: The Arguments Object Function Properties and Methods 8. Objects Objects and Properties Constructors Methods Prototypes and Inheritance Object-Oriented JavaScript Objects as Associative Arrays Object Properties and Methods 9. Arrays Arrays and Array Elements Array Methods 10. Pattern Matching with Regular Expressions Defining Regular Expressions String Methods for Pattern Matching The RegExp Object 11. Further Topics in JavaScript Data Type Conversion By Value Versus by Reference Garbage Collection Lexical Scoping and Nested Functions The Function( ) Constructor and Function Literals Netscape's JavaScript 1.2 Incompatibilities Part II. Client-Side JavaScript 12. JavaScript in Web Browsers The Web Browser Environment Embedding JavaScript in HTML Execution of JavaScript Programs 13. Windows and Frames Window Overview Simple Dialog Boxes The Status Line Timeouts and Intervals Error Handling The Navigator Object The Screen Object Window Control Methods The Location Object The History Object Multiple Windows and Frames 14. The Document Object Document Overview Dynamically Generated Documents Document Color Properties Document Information Properties Forms Images Links Anchors Applets Embedded Data 15. Forms and Form Elements The Form Object Defining Form Elements Scripting Form Elements Form Verification Example 16. Scripting Cookies An Overview of Cookies Storing Cookies Reading Cookies Cookie Example 17. The Document Object Model An Overview of the DOM Using the Core DOM API DOM Compatibility with Internet Explorer 4 DOM Compatibility with Netscape 4 Convenience Methods: The Traversal and Range APIs 18. Cascading Style Sheets and Dynamic HTML Styles and Style Sheets with CSS Element Positioning with CSS Scripting Styles HTML in Fourth-Generation Browsers Other DOM APIs for Styles and Style Sheets 19. Events and Event Handling Basic Event Handling Advanced Event Handling with DOM Level 2 The Internet Explorer Event Model The Netscape 4 Event Model 20. Compatibility Techniques Platform and Browser Compatibility Language Version Compatibility Compatibility with Non-JavaScript Browsers 21. JavaScript Security JavaScript and Security Restricted Features The Same-Origin Policy Security Zones and Signed Scripts 22. Using Java with JavaScript Scripting Java Applets Using JavaScript from Java Using Java Classes Directly LiveConnect Data Types LiveConnect Data Conversion JavaScript Conversion of JavaObjects Java-to-JavaScript Data Conversion Part III. Core JavaScript Reference Part IV. Client-Side JavaScript Reference Part V. W3C DOM Reference Part VI. Class, Property, Method, and Event Handler Index Index