JavaScript

5

Overview

A "scripting" language for HTML pages - a scripting language is a lightweight programming language

Embed code in HTML pages so they are downloaded directly to browser

The browser interprets and executes the script (it is not compiled)

Was designed to add interactivity to HTML pages

Everyone can use JavaScript without purchasing a license

Supported by all major browsers

… Overview

Do not declare data types for variables (loose typing)

Dynamic binding – object references checked at runtime

Scripts can manipulate "browser objects:" HTML form elements Images Frames etc.

For security – cannot write to disk (when run on a client)

Abilities

Generating HTML content dynamically

Monitoring and responding to user events

Validate forms before submission

Manipulate HTTP cookies

Interact with the frames and windows of the browser

Customize pages to suit users

It is not Java

JavaScript is not Java, or even related to Java The original name for JavaScript was “LiveScript” The name was changed when Java became popular Released in the Fall of 1995

Statements in JavaScript resemble statements in Java, because both languages borrowed heavily from the C language JavaScript should be fairly easy for Java programmers to learn

JavaScript is seldom used to write complete “programs” Instead, small bits of JavaScript are used to add functionality to

HTML pages JavaScript is often used in conjunction with HTML “forms”

JavaScript is reasonably platform-independent

… It is not Java

JavaScript has some features that resemble features in Java: JavaScript has Objects and primitive data types JavaScript has qualified names; for example,

document.write("Hello World"); JavaScript has Events and event handlers Exception handling in JavaScript is almost the same as in Java

JavaScript has some features unlike anything in Java: Variable names are untyped: the type of a variable depends on

the value it is currently holding Objects and arrays are defined in quite a different way JavaScript has with statements and a new kind of for

statement

Scripting

The entire script is stored in memory as plain text

When requested by the user the applicable portion of the script is executed by fetching the associated machine instructions from a library Tends to be a bit slower than compiling programs However, there is no burden on the author to

compile anything Errors are not obvious when scripting; only rigorous

testing will find errors

History

Built into Netscape Navigator since v2.0 (early 1996)

Developed independently of Java

Proprietary, but submitted as standard and built into Microsoft IE 3.0 and later

Standardized by ECMA (European Computer Manufacture’s Association) into ECMAscript

EMCAscript joins JavaScript and Jscript to one standard

Javascript has many names

In Netscape it’s Javascript

In Internet Explorer it’s JScript IE also supports it’s own VB Script, a Visual Basic

scripting language VB Script won’t work in Netscape

There is also ECMAscript A variation of Javascript 1.1 Open Standard Promoted by European Computer Manufacturers

Association (ECMA) JScript is essentially ECMAscript in IE 4.0+

Javascript Versions

1.0 – Original version, largely obsolete Supported in Navigator 2.0 Buggy version of it supported in IE 3.0 as JScript

1.1 Improved array processing Supported in Navigator 3.0 as JScript, some discrepancies

1.2 Supports regular expressions, new statements Supported in Navigator 4.0

1.3 Fixed some problems with dates, introduced in Navigator 4.06

ECMAScript First supported in IE 4.0, also in Navigator 4.06 Largely the same as Javascript 1.1

Dynamic HTML

HTML

CSSJava Script

HTML HTMLHTML

CSS

Java Script

Web browser

HTML Page:

<SCRIPT>

…code..…

</SCRIPT>

Desktop access

InternetHTML/HTTP

TCP/IP

HTML/HTTP

TCP/IP

Web

(HTTP)

Server

HTML

pages w/

embedded

script

Remote host

built-in

JavaScript

interpreter

Web Architecture for JavaScript"CLIENT" "SERVER"

Client and Server

JavaScript can be used On the client side On the server

More lightweight and reliable on clients than Java (Applets)

Useful for developing interactive interface (Dynamic HTML)

Example

JavaScript code is included within <script> tags: <script type="text/javascript">

document.write("<h1>Hello World!</h1>") ;</script>

Notes: The type attribute is to allow you to use other scripting

languages (but JavaScript is the default) This simple code does the same thing as just putting

<h1>Hello World!</h1> in the same place in the HTML document

The semicolon at the end of the JavaScript statement is optional

You need semicolons if you put two or more statements on the same line

It’s probably a good idea to keep using semicolons

Dealing with old browsers

Some old browsers do not recognize script tags These browsers will ignore the script tags but will

display the included JavaScript To get old browsers to ignore the whole thing, use:

<script type="text/javascript"> <!-- document.write("Hello World!") //--> </script>

The <!-- introduces an HTML comment To get JavaScript to ignore the HTML close

comment, -->, the // starts a JavaScript comment, which extends to the end of the line

Where to put JavaScript

JavaScript can be put in the <head> or in the <body> of an HTML document JavaScript functions should be defined in the <head>

This ensures that the function is loaded before it is needed JavaScript in the <body> will be executed as the page loads

JavaScript can be put in a separate .js file <script src="myJavaScriptFile.js"></script> Put this HTML wherever you would put the actual JavaScript code An external .js file lets you use the same JavaScript on multiple HTML

pages The external .js file cannot itself contain a <script> tag

JavaScript can be put in HTML form object, such as a button This JavaScript will be executed when the form object is used

Primitive data types

JavaScript has three “primitive” types: number, string, and boolean Everything else is an object

Numbers are always stored as floating-point values Hexadecimal numbers begin with 0x Some platforms treat 0123 as octal, others treat it as decimal

Strings may be enclosed in single quotes or double quotes Strings can contains \n (newline), \" (double quote), etc.

Booleans are either true or false 0, "0", empty strings, undefined, null, and NaN are

false, other values are true

Variables

Variables are declared with a var statement: var pi = 3.1416, x, y, name = "Dr. ABC" ; Variables names must begin with a letter or underscore Variable names are case-sensitive Variables are untyped (they can hold values of any type) The word var is optional (but it’s good style to use it)

Variables declared within a function are local to that function (accessible only within that function)

Variables declared outside a function are global (accessible from anywhere on the page)

Operators, I

Because most JavaScript syntax is borrowed from C (and is therefore just like Java), we won’t spend much time on it

Arithmetic operators: + - * / % ++ --

Comparison operators: < <= == != >= >

Logical operators: && || ! (&& and || are short-circuit operators)

Bitwise operators: & | ^ ~ << >> >>>

Assignment operators: += -= *= /= %= <<= >>= >>>= &= ^= |=

Operators, II

String operator: +

The conditional operator: condition ? value_if_true : value_if_false

Special equality tests: == and != try to convert their operands to the same type

before performing the test === and !== consider their operands unequal if they are of

different types

Additional operators:new typeof void delete

Comments

Comments are as in C or Java: Between // and the end of the line Between /* and */

Statements, I

Most JavaScript statements are also borrowed from C Assignment: greeting = "Hello, " + name; Compound statement:

{ statement; ...; statement } If statements:

if (condition) statement; if (condition) statement; else statement;

Familiar loop statements: while (condition) statement;

do statement while (condition); for (initialization; condition; increment)

statement;

Statements, II

The switch statement: switch (expression){ case label : statement; break; case label : statement; break; ... default : statement; }

Other familiar statements: break; continue; The empty statement, as in ;; or { }

Exception handling, I

Exception handling in JavaScript is almost the same as in Java

throw expression creates and throws an exception The expression is the value of the exception, and can be of

any type (often, it's a literal String)

try { statements to try} catch (e) { // Notice: no type declaration for e exception-handling statements} finally { // optional, as usual code that is always executed}

With this form, there is only one catch clause

Exception handling, II

try { statements to try} catch (e if test1) { exception-handling for the case that test1 is true} catch (e if test2) { exception-handling for when test1 is false and test2 is true} catch (e) { exception-handling for when both test1 and test2 are false} finally { // optional, as usual code that is always executed}

Typically, the test would be something like e == "InvalidNameException"

Object literals

You don’t declare the types of variables in JavaScript

JavaScript has object literals, written with this syntax: { name1 : value1 , ... , nameN : valueN }

Example: car = {myCar: "Toyota", 7: "Mazda",

getCar: CarTypes("Honda"), special: Sales} The fields are myCar, getCar, 7 (this is a legal field name) , and special

"Toyota" and "Mazda" are Strings CarTypes is a function call Sales is a variable you defined earlier

Example use: document.write("I own a " + car.myCar);

Three ways to create an object

You can use an object literal: var course = { number: “CS450", teacher="Dr. ABC" }

You can use new to create a “blank” object, and add fields to it later: var course = new Object();

course.number = “CS450";course.teacher = "Dr. ABC";

You can write and use a constructor: function Course(n, t) { // best placed in <head>

this.number = n; this.teacher = t;}

var course = new Course(“CS450", "Dr. ABC");

Array literals

You don’t declare the types of variables in JavaScript

JavaScript has array literals, written with brackets and commas Example: color = ["red", "yellow", "green", "blue"]; Arrays are zero-based: color[0] is "red"

If you put two commas in a row, the array has an “empty” element in that location Example: color = ["red", , , "green", "blue"];

color has 5 elements However, a single comma at the end is ignored

Example: color = ["red", , , "green", "blue”,]; still has 5 elements

Four ways to create an array

You can use an array literal: var colors = ["red", "green", "blue"];

You can use new Array() to create an empty array: var colors = new Array(); You can add elements to the array later:

colors[0] = "red"; colors[2] = "blue"; colors[1]="green";

You can use new Array(n) with a single numeric argument to create an array of that size var colors = new Array(3);

You can use new Array(…) with two or more arguments to create an array containing those values: var colors = new Array("red","green", "blue");

The length of an array

If myArray is an array, its length is given by myArray.length

Array length can be changed by assignment beyond the current length Example: var myArray = new Array(5); myArray[10] = 3;

Arrays are sparse, that is, space is only allocated for elements that have been assigned a value Example: myArray[50000] = 3; is perfectly OK But indices must be between 0 and 232-1

As in C and Java, there are no two-dimensional arrays; but you can have an array of arrays: myArray[5][3]

Arrays and objects

Arrays are objects

car = { myCar: “Toyota", 7: "Mazda" }

car[7] is the same as car.7 car.myCar is the same as car["myCar"]

If you know the name of a property, you can use dot notation: car.myCar

If you don’t know the name of a property, but you have it in a variable (or can compute it), you must use array notation: car.["my" + "Car"]

Array functions

If myArray is an array, myArray.sort() sorts the array alphabetically myArray.sort(function(a, b) { return a - b; })

sorts numerically myArray.reverse() reverses the array elements myArray.push(…) adds any number of new

elements to the end of the array, and increases the array’s length

myArray.pop() removes and returns the last element of the array, and decrements the array’s length

myArray.toString() returns a string containing the values of the array elements, separated by commas

The for…in statement

You can loop through all the properties of an object with for (variable in object) statement; Example: for (var prop in course) {

document.write(prop + ": " + course[prop]); }

Possible output: teacher: Dr. ABC number: CS450

The properties are accessed in an undefined order If you add or delete properties of the object within the loop, it is

undefined whether the loop will visit those properties Arrays are objects; applied to an array, for…in will visit the

“properties” 0, 1, 2, … Notice that course["teacher"] is equivalent to

course.teacher You must use brackets if the property name is in a variable

Functions

Functions should be defined in the <head> of an HTML page, to ensure that they are loaded first

The syntax for defining a function is:function name(arg1, …, argN) { statements } The function may contain return value; statements Any variables declared within the function are local to it

The syntax for calling a function is just name(arg1, …, argN)

Simple parameters are passed by value, objects are passed by reference

Regular expressions

A regular expression can be written in either of two ways: Within slashes, such as re = /ab+c/ With a constructor, such as re = new RegExp("ab+c")

Regular expressions are almost the same as in Perl or Java (only a few unusual features are missing)

string.match(regexp) searches string for an occurrence of regexp It returns null if nothing is found If regexp has the g (global search) flag set, match returns an

array of matched substrings If g is not set, match returns an array whose 0th element is the

matched text, extra elements are the parenthesized subexpressions, and the index property is the start position of the matched substring

Debugging

If you mess up on the syntax you will get a Javascript Error Netscape

You will see a notification of an error on the status bar in the bottom left corner

You type “javascript:” in the URL field to pinpoint the error Internet Explorer

By default a tiny little Javascript error message appears at the bottom left corner of the browser in yellow. Usually you won’t see it.

Can be explicitly disabled under Tools/Internet Options Recommend under Tools/Internet

Options/Advanced/Browsing to uncheck “Disable Script Debugging” and to check “Display a Notification about every script error” while doing development

Fixing Javascript Errors

If possible use the debugging tool to locate the line containing the error

Errors can be hard to find and fix “code a little, test a little” strategy

Often errors are due to things that are easy to overlook, like not closing a quote

Numbers

In JavaScript, all numbers are floating point

Special predefined numbers: Infinity, Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY -- the result of dividing a

positive number by zero Number.NEGATIVE_INFINITY -- the result of dividing a negative

number by zero NaN, Number.NaN (Not a Number) -- the result of dividing 0/0

NaN is unequal to everything, even itself There is a global isNaN() function

Number.MAX_VALUE -- the largest representable number Number.MIN_VALUE -- the smallest (closest to zero) representable

number

Strings and characters

In JavaScript, string is a primitive type

Strings are surrounded by either single quotes or double quotes

There is no “character” type

Special characters are:

\0 NUL

\b backspace

\f form feed

\n newline

\r carriage return

\t horizontal tab

\v vertical tab

\' single quote

\" double quote

\\ backslash

\xDD Unicode hex DD

\xDDDD Unicode hex DDDD

Some string methods

charAt(n) Returns the nth character of a string

concat(string1, ..., stringN) Concatenates the string arguments to the recipient string

indexOf(substring) Returns the position of the first character of substring in the

recipient string, or -1 if not found

indexOf(substring, start) Returns the position of the first character of substring in the given

string that begins at or after position start, or -1 if not found

lastIndexOf(substring), lastIndexOf(substring, start) Like indexOf, but searching starts from the end of the recipient string

More string methods

match(regexp) Returns an array containing the results, or null if no match is found On a successful match:

If g (global) is set, the array contains the matched substrings If g is not set:

Array location 0 contains the matched text Locations 1... contain text matched by parenthesized groups The array index property gives the first matched position

replace(regexp, replacement) Returns a new string that has the matched substring replaced with the

replacement

search(regexp) Returns the position of the first matched substring in the given string,

or -1 if not found.

boolean

The boolean values are true and false

When converted to a boolean, the following values are also false: 0 "0" and '0' the empty string, '' or "" undefined null NaN

Arrays

As in C and Java, there are no “true” multidimensional arrays However, an array can contain arrays The syntax for array reference is as in C and Java

Example: var a = [ ["red", 255], ["green", 128] ]; var b = a[1][0]; // b is now "green" var c = a[1]; // c is now ["green", 128] var d = c[1]; // d is now 128

Input Programming languages need to start with some data and

manipulate it

Confirm asks a yes or no question in a dialog box

Prompt prompts the user to type in some information into a text field inside the dialog box

Sources of data can include: Files Databases User (keyboard & mouse typically) Variable assignments (ex: pi=3.14159) Javascript objects

Example: date object

Example: User_name = prompt(“What is your name?”, “Enter your

name here”);

Output

After a program manipulates the input data with various statements it usually creates an output of some kind

Source of output may include: Files Database Display or Printer Devices (sound card, modems etc) Javascript Objects

Via Object Methods

Simple Output

document is an object (not a class) representing the current document

write is a method on the document object that let’s you write any text to the browser window at the current location of the cursor

Warning: if invoked as part of a form action output will appear in a new window

Example: document.write(“Hello world!”);

alert method

A dialog box containing information can be written by using the window.alert method

Example: alert(“This brings up an annoying non-

modal dialog box. The user can’t do anything until they click OK.”);

HTML names in JavaScript

In HTML the window is the global object It is assumed that all variables are properties of this object, or of

some object decended from this object The most important window property is document

HTML form elements can be referred to by document.forms[formNumber].elements[elementNumber]

Every HTML form element has a name attribute The name can be used in place of the array reference Hence, if

<form name="myForm"> <input type="button" name="myButton" ...>

Then instead of document.forms[0].elements[0] you can say document.myForm.myButton

Document Object Model (DOM)

Document Object Model The Dynamic HTML Document Object Model in this case There are other DOM’s

It allows a document (in this case the web browser) to be manipulated as multiple objects

For example, the document with focus in the browser is the document object

You manipulate properties of the objects by setting object properties and calling methods of objects

DOM Object Hierarchy

Navigating through the DOM

5 objects have predefined names that can’t be changed and are available to any page window, document, history, location, navigator

Any object of a type that can be replicated is accessed by the HTML name or ID attribute. Ex: <form name=“form1”> Accessed by: window.document.form1

If an object is named uniquely it is not necessary to give a fully qualified name Ex: use form1 instead of window.document.form1

Objects that are not named may be accessed indirectly through an array. Element 0 indicates the number of objects Ex: document.forms[1] or forms[1]

Javascript object example

Document Properties

fgcolor: specifies color of document text same as <body text=“color”>

Methods clear: erases contents of current document write: sends text to the browser

Math Object

Can be accessed as Math.property, ex: x=Math.pow(3,3); // x=27

Allows many common mathematical calculations including: abs(x) : absolute value ceil(x) and floor(x) : smallest integer not less than x and

largest integer not greater than x cos(x), exp(x), log(x), sin(x), tan(x) :

trigonometric and log rhythmic functions min(x,y) or max(x,y) : returns the minimum or maximum

of values x and y pow(x,y) : raises x to the power y round(x) : rounds to nearest integer sqrt(x) : Square root

Date Object

By default creates an object with the computer’s current date and time, ex: now = new Date(); // variable now contains

current date and time Note: months are expressed 0-11, 0 being January, 11 being

December

Dates are actually stored as an integer representing the number of milliseconds since January 1st, 1970 Negative values indicate dates before this date

Once you have a date object you can set the date, or read the date in a number of useful formats now.setFullYear(2003, 0, 31); /* Jan 31st,

2003 */ Now.setHours(13, 13, 13); /* 1:13:13 PM, local

time zone */

Date Properties

Some of the more useful properties of the date class include: now.getDay(); /* returns 0-6 for the day of

the week, 0=Sunday, 6=Saturday */ now.getFullYear(); /* year of this date object

*/ now.getMonth(); /* 0-11 returned for the

current month */ now.getDate(); /* 1-31 for the day in the

month */ now.getHours(); /* 0-23, may need to translate

to PM */ now.getMinutes(); /* 1-60 */ Now.getSeconds(); /* 1-60 */

Window Object

The window object is the “master” DOM object at the top of the DOM hierarchy

Useful properties: length: number of frames in window frames: an array of window objects, one for each frame parent: Since frames are window objects, sometimes parent

window is needed

Examples: window.document : if frameless, accesses the top level

document. If frames, accesses the top frame’s document window.frame[1].document : Access the document

contained in the first frame frame[1].parent.document : Access the document

contained in the parent frame

Window Object Methods

alert, confirm and prompt are actually methods of the window object, ex: window.alert

window.open(); /* opens a window */

window.close(); /* closes window */

Navigator Object

Contains information about the browser

Can be accessed as window.navigator or just navigator

Useful properties: appName: name of browser used (can be deceiving;

more on this in a later class) appVersion: version of browser used (can be

deceiving; more on this in a later class) platform: operating system in use cookieEnabled: can the browser store cookies?

Location Object

Contains information about the current URL

Can be accessed as window.location or just location

Useful properties: href: retrieves entire URL host: retrieves just the domain name (ex:

yahoo.com) pathname: retrieves just the path inside the domain

(page name is at end) hash: retrieves the anchor

History Object

Contains information on the URLs that the browser has visited in this session within a window

Can be accessed as window.history or just history

Useful properties: next, previous (tells you the URL, but won’t direct you there)

Useful methods: back: same as pressing the back arrow button forward: same as pressing the forward arrow button go: go back or forward a given number of pages; to go back 3

pages: history.go(-3);

Document Object

This is the typically the most accessed object

You can access all items in the document window through the document object Forms, tables, paragraphs, lists, images, etc. Consult a reference for properties and methods

Frameless document: Access as window.document or document

Document contained in a frame: window.frame[x].document, where x is the number or name of the frame

DOM Collections

Inside objects may be one or more collections of child objects Syntax: object.collection

object is either a standard object (like document) or the HTML ID attribute that uniquely identifies an item on a page

collection is a group of objects all of the same type Ex: document.links

document is the DOM object links is a collection of link objects inside the document

object The document object may have many links embedded

inside of it (just as a page may have many links in it) The collection of links can be thought of as an array of link

objects, i.e. links[0], links[1] etc.

Addressing DOM Collections

Collection objects: anchors, applets, embeds, forms, frames, images, links, plugins, scripts, styleSheets

Addressing an element in a collection can be done in a number of ways. Pick the way easiest for you: document.collection[i]

i is a number, 0 thru n where n is the last element in the collection array and 0 the first

Ex: document.links[0] references the first link on the page Use this if there was no HTML ID attribute assigned to an element

document.collection.id id is the HTML ID attribute of the object HTML: <a href=“a.htm” id=“B”>Link</a> DOM reference (using IE): document.all.B

document.collection[“id”] HTML: <a href=“a.htm” id=“B”>Link</a> DOM reference: document.all[“B”]

Addressing blocks by ID

Assume tag <div id=“X”> … </div>

IE: document.all.id

Ex: document.all.X or just id

Ex: X

Mozilla/Netscape 6+: find by ID, ex: handle = document.getElementById("X"); // Now use the handle variable to access properties

Cross platform code

Sometimes you have to write one set of code that will work for both browsers

Here is a sample technique:var isNS = false;var isIE = false;if (!(document.all)) isNS=true;if (document.all) isIE=true;if (isNS) { el = document.getElementById("X"); el.setAttribute("style", "background-

color:pink;");}if (isIE)

document.all.X.style.backgroundColor="pink";

Events

Most browser DOM objects have “events” associated with them Recall Javascript objects include windows, frames,

forms, form fields, links, etc.

An event is Javascript code that can be triggered when something happens to a Javascript object Example: clicking on a hyperlink Example: leaving a form field

Events

Event code is usually invoked through HTML “Javascript only attributes” They are not “HTML” attributes

They are not in the HTML specification

However, if Javascript is enabled and the event is valid for the Javascript object then associated code is executed.

Example:<form name=“test” onsubmit=“return validate();”>

Events

Some events will behave differently depending on whether the code associated with the event returns a true or a false value

Example: If the form onsubmit event returns false, the form is not submitted

All events start with “on”, ex: onclick, onsubmit, etc. This makes them easy to distinguish

this

“this” is a shortcut that can be used to refer to the current object

It is useful in event handlers to pass properties of the object to generic functions

This example passes the entire text object named “month” to the function checkrange()<input type="text" name="month" size="2"

onblur="checkrange(this, 1, 12);” />

Otherwise would have to code somethinglike document.form1.month!

this Example

This function embedded in the <head> tag processes the example on the previous page. Note that field can be any Javascript object which has a numeric value attribute

function checkrange (field, min_value, max_value) {if ((field.value < min_value) || (field.value >

max_value)) { alert("The field value must be at least " +

min_value + " and may not be greater than " + max_value + ".");

return false; }else return true;}

onabort Event

Action to occur when the user aborts loading an image

Occurs when the browser STOP button is pressed or clicks on an image before it is loaded

By default nothing happens which is out of the ordinary

Example: <img src=“myimage.gif” onabort=“alert(‘User

decided not to wait for image to load!’);” />

onblur Event

Occurs when the user leaves a form field (either by clicking outside the form field or pressing the tab key)

onblur and its cousin onchange are very popular for validating form fields

Example: <input type=“text” name=“LastName” size=“30”

onblur=“checklength(this, 5, 30);” />

onchange Event

Occurs when the value of a form field is changed by the user and loses focus, or when a new choice is made in a select element

Example: <input type=“text” name=“lastname” size=“30”

onchange=‘confirm(“Are you SURE you want to change your last name?”);’ />

onclick Event

Occurs when user clicks on a clickable form control or hyperlink with a mouse

Example: <a href=“http://www.yahoo.com”

onclick=‘alert(“You are about to go to Yahoo!”;)’>Go to Yahoo!</a>

onerror Event

Occurs when a document or image fails to load properly

Example: <img src=“myimage.gif” onerror=“alert(‘The

image is corrupt! Please notify the Webmaster!’)” />

onfocus Event

Occurs when a window or form field is made active by moving the cursor into the field or clicking on the object

Example: <input type=“text” name=“lastname” size=“30”

onfocus=‘alert(“You have selected the field named “ + this.name);’ />

onload Event

Action to take when the page has finished loading onunload is similar and occurs when a document is

unloaded

Example: <body onload=‘alert(“The document has finished

loading. You may begin working on this page now.”);’ />

onmouseover Event

Occurs once each time the mouse pointer moves over an object or area from outside that object or area

Example: <a href="http://home.netscape.com/"

   onmouseover="window.status='Click this if you dare!'; return true;"> Click me</a>

onmouseout Event

Occurs each time the mouse pointer leaves an area (client-side image map) or link from inside that area or link

Example: <a href="http://www.buy.com/"

   onmouseout="window.status=‘You missed a fabulous opportunity for savings!’;

return true;"> Click me</a>

onsubmit Event

Can be used to prevent a form from being submitted

Commonly used with a form validation logic

Must put the word “return” in front of your code. Anything other than a false value will let the form submit

A common mistake is to instead attach logic to the onClick event of a submit button. This won’t keep the form from submitting!

Example: <form name=“myform"

action=“http://www.myurl.com/processform" onsubmit=“return validate_form(this);”>

onreset Event

Occurs when a reset button on the form is pressed

Event only works in the form tag

A common mistake is to attach logic to the onclick event of a reset button. This won’t keep the form from resetting!

Example: <form name="form1"

action=“http://www.myurl.com/processform" onsubmit=“return validate_form(this);”> onreset="alert(‘Defaults have been restored.');”>

onselect Event

Occurs when a user selects some of the text within a text or textarea field

Example: <input type="text" value="" name="valuefield"

onselect=“alert(‘onSelect event was triggered!’);” />

Object Event Handlers

Button - onclick

Check Box - onclick

Document - onload, onunload, onerror

Form - onsubmit, onreset

Frames - onblur, onfocus

Hyperlink - onclick, onmouseover, onmouseout

Image - onload, onerror, onabort

Object Event Handlers

Image Hot Spot - onmouseover, onmouseout

Input Box - onblur, onchange, onfocus, onselect

Radio Button - onclick

Reset Button - onclick

Selection List - onblur, onchange, onfocus

Submit Button - onclick

Text Area Box - onblur, onchange, onfocus, onselect

Window - onload, onunload, onblur, onfocus

Emulating Events

There are a number of methods for Javascript objects that let you pretend to be executing an event: click(), clear(), reset(), submit(),

blur(), close(), focus() and select()

These can be useful, for example, to force the focus back into a particular field, use the focus() event Use with care, particularly focus() events because

they can cause loops that will hang your browser!

Warnings

JavaScript is a big, complex language We’ve only scratched the surface It’s easy to get started in JavaScript, but if you need to use it

heavily, plan to invest time in learning it well Write and test your programs a little bit at a time

JavaScript is not totally platform independent Expect different browsers to behave differently Write and test your programs a little bit at a time

Browsers aren’t designed to report errors Don’t expect to get any helpful error messages Write and test your programs a little bit at a time

References

W3 Schools JavaScript Tutorial http://www.w3schools.com/js/default.asp

Several Online Presentations

Reading List

W3 Schools JavaScript Tutorial http://www.w3schools.com/js/default.asp

Voodoo's Introduction to JavaScript http://jimmy.qmuc.ac.uk/jimtools/voodoo.shtml