Chapter 4. JavaScript

I would like to point out that JavaScript has nothing to do with the Java programming language itself. Many people unfamiliar with JavaScript have a real problem with this, thinking that the word Java in JavaScript denotes some kind of relationship. Well, the relationship is similar to the relationship between "pine" trees and pineapples, or apples and pineapples. Yes, they are all distantly related, but that is the end of it.

My first encounter with coding JavaScript was in a web development class that was taught at Penn State as part of a web design certificate program. Impatiently I took the precursors, waiting for the class in which my programming skills would help. About 5 minutes into the class, it quickly became apparent that certain experiences would be more useful JavaScript precursors than others. For example, other than providing somewhere for the JavaScript to go, the HTML class wouldn't be of much use. Knowledge of C or any similar language, such as C++, Java, Pascal, or even PL/I, on the other hand, would go a long way toward helping to learn JavaScript.

In this chapter, I cover the following aspects of JavaScript:

• Data types

• Variables

• Operators

• Flow-control statements

• Functions

• Recursion

• Constructors

• Event handling