Professional JavaScript for Web Developers, 2nd Edition,
provides a developer-level introduction along with the more
advanced and useful features of JavaScript.
Starting at the beginning, the book explores how JavaScript
originated and evolved into what it is today. A detailed discussion
of the components that make up a JavaScript implementation follows,
with specific focus on standards such as ECMAScript and the
Document Object Model (DOM). The differences in JavaScript
implementations used in different popular web browsers are also
discussed.
Building on that base, the book moves on to cover basic concepts
of JavaScript including its version of object-oriented programming,
inheritance, and its use in various markup languages such as HTML.
An in-depth examination of events and event handling is followed by
an exploration of browser detection techniques and a guide to using
regular expressions in JavaScript. The book then takes all this
knowledge and applies it to creating dynamic user interfaces.
The last part of the book is focused on advanced topics,
including performance/memory optimization, best practices, and a
look at where JavaScript is going in the future.
This book is aimed at three groups of readers:
- Experienced developers familiar with object-oriented
programming who are looking to learn JavaScript as it relates to
traditional OO languages such as Java and C++
- Web application developers attempting to enhance the usability
of their web sites and web applications
- Novice JavaScript developers aiming to better understand the
language
In addition, familiarity with the following related technologies
is a strong indicator that this book is for you:
- Java
- PHP
- ASP.NET
- HTML
- CSS
- XML
This book is not aimed at beginners who lack a basic computer
science background or those looking to add some simple user
interactions to web sites. These readers should instead refer to
Wrox’s Beginning JavaScript, 3rd Edition (Wiley,
2007).
This book covers:
- What Is JavaScript?—Explains the origins of
JavaScript: where it came from, how it evolved, and what it is
today. Concepts introduced include the relationship between
JavaScript and ECMAScript, the Document Object Model (DOM), and the
Browser Object Model (BOM). A discussion of the relevant standards
from the European Computer Manufacturer’s Association (ECMA)
and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is also included.
- JavaScript in HTML—Examines how JavaScript is used
in conjunction with HTML to create dynamic web pages. Introduces
the various ways of embedding JavaScript into a page, including a
discussion surrounding the JavaScript content-type and its
relationship to the element.
- Language Basics—Introduces basic language
concepts, including syntax and flow control statements. Explains
the syntactic similarities of JavaScript and other C-based
languages and points out the differences. Type coercion is
introduced as it relates to built-in operators.
- Variables, Scope, and Memory—Explores how
variables are handled in JavaScript given their loosely typed
nature. A discussion about the differences between primitive and
reference values is included, as is information about execution
context as it relates to variables. Also, a discussion about
garbage collection in JavaScript explains how memory is reclaimed
when variables go out of scope.
- Reference Types—Covers all of the details
regarding JavaScript's built-in reference types, such as
Object and Array. Each reference type described in
ECMA-262 is discussed both in theory and how they relate to browser
implementations.
- Object-Oriented Programming—Explains how to use
object-oriented programming in JavaScript. Since JavaScript has no
concept of classes, several popular techniques are explored for
object creation and inheritance. Also covered is the concept of
function prototypes and how that relates to an overall OO
approach.
- Anonymous Functions—Explores one of the most
powerful aspects of JavaScript: anonymous functions. Topics include
closures, how the this object works, the module pattern, and
creating private object members.
- The Browser Object Model—Introduces the Browser
Object Model (BOM), which is responsible for objects allowing
interaction with the browser itself. Each of the BOM objects is
covered, including window, document, location,
navigator, and screen.
- Client Detection—Explains various approaches to
detecting the client machine and its capabilities. Different
techniques include capability detection and user-agent string
detection. Each approach is discussed for pros and cons as well as
situational appropriateness.
- The Document Object Model—Introduces the Document
Object Model (DOM) objects available in JavaScript as defined in
DOM Level 1. A brief introduction to XML and its relationship to
the DOM gives way to an in-depth exploration of the entire DOM and
how it allows developers to manipulate a page.
- DOM Levels 2 and 3 Explains how DOM Levels 2 and 3
augmented the DOM with additional properties, methods, and objects.
Compatibility issues between Internet Explorer and other browsers
are discussed.
- Events—Explains the nature of events in
JavaScript, where they originated, legacy support, and how the DOM
redefined how events should work. A variety of devices are covered,
including the Wii and iPhone.
- Scripting Forms—Looks at using JavaScript to
enhance form interactions and work around browser limitations.
Discussion focuses on individual form elements such as text boxes
and select boxes and on data validation and manipulation.
- Error Handling and Debugging—Discusses how
browsers handle errors in JavaScript code and presents several ways
to handle errors. Debugging tools and techniques are also discussed
for each browser, including recommendations for simplifying the
debugging process.
- XML in JavaScript—Presents the features of
JavaScript used to read and manipulate eXtensible Markup Language
(XML) data. Explains the differences in support and objects in
various web browsers, and offers suggestions for easier
cross-browser coding. This also covers the use of eXtensible
Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT) to transform XML data on
the client.
- ECMAScript for XML—Discusses the ECMAScript for
XML (E4X) extension to JavaScript, which is designed to simplify
working with XML. Explains the advantages of E4X over using the DOM
for XML manipulation.
- Ajax and JSON—Looks at common Ajax techniques,
including the use of the XMLHttpRequest object and Internet
Explorer's XDomainRequest object for cross-domain Ajax.
Explains the differences in browser implementations and support as
well as recommendations for usage.
- Advanced Techniques—Dives into some of the more
complex JavaScript patterns, including function currying, partial
function application, and dynamic functions. Also covers creating a
custom event framework to enable simple event support for custom
objects.
- Client-Side Storage—Discusses the various
techniques for storing data on the client machine. Begins with a
discussion of the most commonly supported feature, cookies, and
then discusses newer functionality such as DOM storage.
- Best Practices—Explores approaches to working with
JavaScript in an enterprise environment. Techniques for better
maintainability are discussed, including coding techniques,
formatting, and general programming practices. Execution
performance is discussed and several techniques for speed
optimization are introduced. Last, deployment issues are discussed,
including how to create a build process.
- Upcoming APIs—Introduces APIs being created to
augment JavaScript in the browser. Even though these APIs aren't
yet complete or fully implemented, they are on the horizon and
browsers have already begun partially implementing their features.
Includes the Selectors API and HTML 5.
- The Evolution of JavaScript—Looks into the future
of JavaScript to see where the language is headed. ECMAScript 3.1,
ECMAScript 4, and ECMAScript Harmony are discussed.