JavaScript Primitives A primitive value is a value that has no properties or methods.

A primitive
data type is data that has a primitive value. JavaScript defines 5 types of primitive data types: •
string • number • boolean • null • undefined Primitive values are immutable (they are hardcoded
and therefore cannot be changed). if x = 3.14, you can change the value of x. But you cannot
change the value of 3.14. Objects are Variables JavaScript variables can contain single values:
Example var person = "John Doe"; Objects are variables too. But objects can contain many
values. [Link] | [Link] |
[Link] The values are written as name : value pairs (name and value separated
by a colon). Example var person = {firstName:"John", lastName:"Doe", age:50,
eyeColor:"blue"}; Object Properties The named values, in JavaScript objects, are called
properties. Property Value firstName John lastName Doe age 50 eyeColor Blue Objects written
as name value pairs are similar to: • Associative arrays in PHP • Dictionaries in Python • Hash
tables in C • Hash maps in Java • Hashes in Ruby and Perl Object Methods Methods are actions
that can be performed on objects. Object properties can be both primitive values, other objects,
and functions. An object method is an object property containing a function definition. Property
Value firstName John lastName Doe age 50 eyeColor Blue fullName function() {return
[Link] + " " + [Link];} You will learn more about methods in the next chapters.
Creating a JavaScript Object With JavaScript, you can define and create your own objects. There
are different ways to create new objects: • Define and create a single object, using an object
literal. • Define and create a single object, with the keyword new. • Define an object constructor,
and then create objects of the constructed type. Using an Object Literal This is the easiest way to
create a JavaScript Object. Using an object literal, you both define and create an object in one
statement. [Link] | [Link] |
[Link] [Link] |
[Link] | [Link] [Link]
| [Link] | [Link] An object literal is a list of name:value
pairs (like age:50) inside curly braces {}. The following example creates a new JavaScript object
with four properties: Example var person = {firstName:"John", lastName:"Doe", age:50,
eyeColor:"blue"}; Spaces and line breaks are not important. An object definition can span
multiple lines: Example var person = { firstName: "John", lastName: "Doe", age: 50, eyeColor:
"blue" }; Using the JavaScript Keyword new The following example also creates a new
JavaScript object with four properties: Example var person = new Object(); [Link] =
"John"; [Link] = "Doe"; [Link] = 50; [Link] = "blue"; JavaScript
Objects are Mutable Objects are mutable: They are addressed by reference, not by value. If
person is an object, the following statement will not create a copy of person: var x = person; //
This will not create a copy of person. The object x is not a copy of person. It is person. Both x
and person are the same object. Any changes to x will also change person, because x and person
are the same object. Example var person = {firstName:"John", lastName:"Doe", age:50,
eyeColor:"blue"} var x = person; [Link] = 10; // This will change both [Link] and [Link] java
scripting names, Literals: JavaScript is a dynamic computer programming language. It is
lightweight and most commonly used as a part of web pages, whose implementations allow
client-side script to interact with the user and make dynamic pages. It is an interpreted
programming language with object-oriented capabilities. JavaScript was first known as
LiveScript, but Netscape changed its name to JavaScript, possibly because of the excitement
being generated by Java. JavaScript made its first appearance in Netscape 2.0 in 1995 with the
name LiveScript. The general-purpose core of the language has been embedded in Netscape,
Internet Explorer, and other web browsers. The ECMA-262 Specification defined a standard
version of the core JavaScript language. • JavaScript is a lightweight, interpreted programming
language. • Designed for creating network-centric applications. • Complementary to and
integrated with Java. • Complementary to and integrated with HTML. • Open and cross-platform
[Link] | [Link] |
[Link] [Link] | [Link] |
[Link] Client-Side JavaScript Client-side JavaScript is the most common form
of the language. The script should be included in or referenced by an HTML document for the
code to be interpreted by the browser. It means that a web page need not be a static HTML, but
can include programs that interact with the user, control the browser, and dynamically create
HTML content. The JavaScript client-side mechanism provides many advantages over traditional
CGI server-side scripts. For example, you might use JavaScript to check if the user has entered a
valid e-mail address in a form field. The JavaScript code is executed when the user submits the
form, and only if all the entries are valid, they would be submitted to the Web Server. JavaScript
can be used to trap user-initiated events such as button clicks, link navigation, and other actions
that the user initiates explicitly or implicitly. Advantages of JavaScript The merits of using
JavaScript are − • Less server interaction − You can validate user input before sending the page
off to the server. This saves server traffic, which means less load on your server. • Immediate
feedback to the visitors − They don't have to wait for a page reload to see if they have forgotten
to enter something. • Increased interactivity − You can create interfaces that react when the user
hovers over them with a mouse or activates them via the keyboard. • Richer interfaces − You can
use JavaScript to include such items as drag-and-drop components and sliders to give a Rich
Interface to your site visitors. Limitations of JavaScript We cannot treat JavaScript as a full-
fledged programming language. It lacks the following important features − • Client-side
JavaScript does not allow the reading or writing of files. This has been kept for security reason. •
JavaScript cannot be used for networking applications because there is no such support available.
• JavaScript doesn't have any multi-threading or multiprocessor capabilities. Once again,
JavaScript is a lightweight, interpreted programming language that allows you to build
interactivity into otherwise static HTML pages. JavaScript Development Tools One of major
strengths of JavaScript is that it does not require expensive development tools. You can start with
a simple text editor such as Notepad. Since it is an interpreted language inside the context of a
web browser, you don't even need to buy a compiler. To make our life simpler, various vendors
have come up with very nice JavaScript editing tools. Some of them are listed here − • Microsoft
FrontPage − Microsoft has developed a popular HTML editor called FrontPage. FrontPage also
provides web developers with a number of JavaScript tools to assist in the creation of interactive
websites. • Macromedia Dreamweaver MX − Macromedia Dreamweaver MX is a very popular
HTML and JavaScript editor in the professional web development crowd. It provides several
handy prebuilt JavaScript components, integrates well with databases, and conforms to new
standards such as XHTML and XML. • Macromedia HomeSite 5 − HomeSite 5 is a well-liked
HTML and JavaScript editor from Macromedia that can be used to manage personal websites
effectively. Where is JavaScript Today ? [Link] |
[Link] | [Link] [Link]
| [Link] | [Link] The ECMAScript Edition 5 standard will
be the first update to be released in over four years. JavaScript 2.0 conforms to Edition 5 of the
ECMAScript standard, and the difference between the two is extremely minor. The specification
for JavaScript 2.0 can be found on the following site: [Link] Today,
Netscape's JavaScript and Microsoft's JScript conform to the ECMAScript standard, although
both the languages still support the features that are not a part of the standard. JavaScript -
Syntax JavaScript can be implemented using JavaScript statements that are placed within the
HTML tags in a web page. You can place the The script tag takes two important attributes − •
Language − This attribute specifies what scripting language you are using. Typically, its value
will be javascript. Although recent versions of HTML (and XHTML, its successor) have phased
out the use of this attribute. • Type − This attribute is what is now recommended to indicate the
scripting language in use and its value should be set to "text/javascript". So your JavaScript
segment will look like − Your First JavaScript Code Let us take a sample example to print out
"Hello World". We added an optional HTML comment that surrounds our JavaScript code. This
is to save our code from a browser that does not support JavaScript. The comment ends with a
"//-->". Here "//" signifies a comment in JavaScript, so we add that to prevent a browser from
reading the end of the HTML comment as a piece of JavaScript code. Next, we call a function
[Link] which writes a string into our HTML document. This function can be used to
write text, HTML, or both. Take a look at the following code.
This code will produce the following result − Hello World! Whitespace and Line Breaks
JavaScript ignores spaces, tabs, and newlines that appear in JavaScript programs. You can use
spaces, tabs, and newlines freely in your program and you are free to format and indent your
programs in a neat and consistent way that makes the code easy to read and understand.
[Link] | [Link] |
[Link] [Link] | [Link] |
[Link] Semicolons are Optional Simple statements in JavaScript are generally
followed by a semicolon character, just as they are in C, C++, and Java. JavaScript, however,
allows you to omit this semicolon if each of your statements are placed on a separate line. For
example, the following code could be written without semicolons. But when formatted in a
single line as follows, you must use semicolons − Note − It is a good programming practice to
use semicolons. Case Sensitivity JavaScript is a case-sensitive language. This means that the
language keywords, variables, function names, and any other identifiers must always be typed
with a consistent capitalization of letters. So the identifiers Time and TIME will convey different
meanings in JavaScript. NOTE − Care should be taken while writing variable and function
names in JavaScript. Comments in JavaScript JavaScript supports both C-style and C++-style
comments, Thus − • Any text between a // and the end of a line is treated as a comment and is
ignored by JavaScript. • Any text between the characters /* and */ is treated as a comment. This
may span multiple lines. • JavaScript also recognizes the HTML comment opening sequence is
not recognized by JavaScript so it should be written as //-->. Example The following example
shows how to use comments in JavaScript. Enabling JavaScript in Browsers All the modern
browsers come with built-in support for JavaScript. Frequently, you may need to enable or
disable this support manually. This chapter explains the procedure of
[Link] | [Link] |
[Link] [Link] | [Link] |
[Link] enabling and disabling JavaScript support in your browsers: Internet
Explorer, Firefox, chrome, and Opera. JavaScript in Internet Explorer Here are simple steps to
turn on or turn off JavaScript in your Internet Explorer − • Follow Tools → Internet Options
from the menu. • Select Security tab from the dialog box. • Click the Custom Level button. •
Scroll down till you find Scripting option. • Select Enable radio button under Active scripting. •
Finally click OK and come out To disable JavaScript support in your Internet Explorer, you need
to select Disable radio button under Active scripting. JavaScript in Firefox Here are the steps to
turn on or turn off JavaScript in Firefox − • Open a new tab → type about: config in the address
bar. • Then you will find the warning dialog. Select I’ll be careful, I promise! • Then you will
find the list of configure options in the browser. • In the search bar, type [Link]. •
There you will find the option to enable or disable javascript by right-clicking on the value of
that option → select toggle. If [Link] is true; it converts to false upon clicking toogle.
If javascript is disabled; it gets enabled upon clicking toggle. JavaScript in Chrome Here are the
steps to turn on or turn off JavaScript in Chrome − • Click the Chrome menu at the top right hand
corner of your browser. • Select Settings. • Click Show advanced settings at the end of the page.
• Under the Privacy section, click the Content settings button. • In the "Javascript" section, select
"Do not allow any site to run JavaScript" or "Allow all sites to run JavaScript (recommended)".
JavaScript in Opera Here are the steps to turn on or turn off JavaScript in Opera − • Follow Tools
→ Preferences from the menu. • Select Advanced option from the dialog box. • Select Content
from the listed items. • Select Enable JavaScript checkbox. • Finally click OK and come out. To
disable JavaScript support in your Opera, you should not select the Enable JavaScript checkbox.
Warning for Non-JavaScript Browsers If you have to do something important using JavaScript,
then you can display a warning message to the user using tags. You can add a noscript block
immediately after the script block as follows −
[Link] | [Link] |
[Link] [Link] | [Link] |
[Link] Sorry...JavaScript is needed to go ahead.
Now, if the user's browser does not support JavaScript or JavaScript is not enabled, then the
message from will be displayed on the screen. JavaScript - Placement in HTML File There is a
flexibility given to include JavaScript code anywhere in an HTML document. However the most
preferred ways to include JavaScript in an HTML file are as follows − • Script in ... section. •
Script in
...
section. • Script in
...
and ... sections. • Script in an external file and then include in ... section. In the following section,
we will see how we can place JavaScript in an HTML file in different ways. JavaScript in ...
section If you want to have a script run on some event, such as when a user clicks somewhere,
then you will place that script in the head as follows −
This code will produce the following results − JavaScript in
...
section If you need a script to run as the page loads so that the script generates content in the
page, then the script goes in the
portion of the document. In this case, you would not have any function defined using JavaScript.
Take a look at the following code.

This is web page body

This code will produce the following results − JavaScript in

and Sections You can put your JavaScript code in and
section altogether as follows −
This code will produce the following result − JavaScript in External File As you begin to work
more extensively with JavaScript, you will be likely to find that there are cases where you are
reusing identical JavaScript code on multiple pages of a site. You are not restricted to be
maintaining identical code in multiple HTML files. The script tag provides a mechanism to allow
you to store JavaScript in an external file and then include it into your HTML files. Here is an
example to show how you can include an external JavaScript file in your HTML code using
script tag and its src attribute.
.......
To use JavaScript from an external file source, you need to write all your JavaScript source code
in a simple text file with the extension ".js" and then include that file as shown above.
[Link] | [Link] |
[Link] [Link] | [Link] |
[Link] For example, you can keep the following content in [Link] file and
then you can use sayHello function in your HTML file after including the [Link] file.
function sayHello() { alert("Hello World") } JavaScript - Variables JavaScript Datatypes One of
the most fundamental characteristics of a programming language is the set of data types it
supports. These are the type of values that can be represented and manipulated in a programming
language. JavaScript allows you to work with three primitive data types − • Numbers, eg. 123,
120.50 etc. • Strings of text e.g. "This text string" etc. • Boolean e.g. true or false. JavaScript also
defines two trivial data types, null and undefined, each of which defines only a single value. In
addition to these primitive data types, JavaScript supports a composite data type known as
object. We will cover objects in detail in a separate chapter. Note − JavaScript does not make a
distinction between integer values and floating-point values. All numbers in JavaScript are
represented as floating-point values. JavaScript represents numbers using the 64-bit floating-
point format defined by the IEEE 754 standard. JavaScript Variables Like many other
programming languages, JavaScript has variables. Variables can be thought of as named
containers. You can place data into these containers and then refer to the data simply by naming
the container. Before you use a variable in a JavaScript program, you must declare it. Variables
are declared with the var keyword as follows. You can also declare multiple variables with the
same var keyword as follows − Storing a value in a variable is called variable initialization. You
can do variable initialization at the time of variable creation or at a later point in time when you
need that variable. For instance, you might create a variable named money and assign the value
2000.50 to it later. For another variable, you can assign a value at the time of initialization as
follows. Note − Use the var keyword only for declaration or initialization, once for the life of any
variable name in a document. You should not re-declare same variable twice. JavaScript is
untyped language. This means that a JavaScript variable can hold a value of any data type.
Unlike many other languages, you don't have to tell JavaScript during variable declaration what
type of value the variable will hold. The value type of a variable can change during the execution
of a program and JavaScript takes care of it automatically. JavaScript Variable Scope The scope
of a variable is the region of your program in which it is defined. JavaScript variables have only
two scopes. • Global Variables − A global variable has global scope which means it can be
defined anywhere in your JavaScript code. • Local Variables − A local variable will be visible
only within a function where it is defined. Function parameters are always local to that function.
Within the body of a function, a local variable takes precedence over a global variable with the
same name. If you declare a local variable or function parameter with the same name as a global
variable, you effectively hide the global variable. Take a look into the following example.