CHAPTER 1 ■ GETTING STARTED WITH JAVASCRIPT
12
Note that you’re measuring the screen size here, and the user might have a 800×600 screen, but that doesn’t
mean his browser window is maximized. You might be applying a style that is not appropriate.
You’re using another object, the document object, to write to the page (an HTML document). The document
object’s write() method allows you to insert HTML into the page. Note that document.write() doesn’t actually
change the source HTML page, just the page the user sees on his computer.
Note ■ In fact, you’ll find document.write() very useful as you work through the first few chapters of the book. It’s
good for small examples that show how a script is working, for communicating with the user, and even for debugging an
area of a program that you’re not sure is doing what you think it should be doing. It also works on all browsers that support
JavaScript. More modern browsers have better tools and methods for debugging, but I’ll say more on that later in the book.
You use document.write() to write out the appropriate link element with your defined style in the head:
document.write( '<link rel="StyleSheet" href="' +
cssName + '" type="text/css" />' );
And in the document’s body, you write out the message explaining which resolution style was applied:
<script type="text/javascript">
document.write( '<p>Applied Style: '+ resolutionInfo + '</p>' );
</script>
Later on, we’ll work with more complex examples that use JavaScript to test capabilities of the user’s agent and
interface. For now, though, I hope this simple example gives you an inkling of the kind of flexibility you can add to
your web pages using JavaScript.
Summary
In this chapter, we took a look at what JavaScript is, how it works, and what its advantages and disadvantages are.
I noted that the biggest disadvantage is that you cannot rely on it as a given. However, I also mentioned that using
JavaScript can make web sites a nicer and slicker experience for your users.
You ran some JavaScript code, saw how to add comments to the code, and saw how to separate JavaScript
statements using semicolons. You also saw that you can tell JavaScript to treat a group of lines of code as a single block
using curly braces, following an if statement, for example. You learned that JavaScript execution generally runs from
top to bottom, and from the first script block to the last, with the exception of functions that execute only when you
tell them to.
You also looked at objects, which are central to writing JavaScript. Not only is JavaScript itself very much
dependent on objects, but the browser also uses objects and methods to make itself and the document available for
scripting. Finally, you looked at a simple example that reads out the user’s screen resolution and applies a suitable
style sheet.
In the next chapter, I’ll cover the language fundamentals of JavaScript. You’ll see how JavaScript stores and
manipulates data, and uses it in calculations. We’ll also look at creating “intelligent” JavaScript programs using
decision-making statements that allow you to evaluate data, do calculations with it, and decide on an appropriate
course of action. With that chapter under your belt, you’ll have most of the fundamental knowledge needed to go on
to more exciting and useful web programming.
Download from Join eBook (www.joinebook.com)