So, the 1st day of class was all about introducing us to JavaScript.
In brief, JavaScript is used to provide interactivity, and was especially crucial during the days of slow modem speeds, you know back when 28.8 kbs was blazing! JavaScript is useful because, unlike PHP, it is a client side technology. Meaning that all the magic happens inside the browser, limiting calls to the server. While it is a scripting language, JavaScript is fully programmable. It allows for form validation, can detect browser type, and adds or creates cool visual effects.
Originated by Netscape in circa 1995, JavaScript is made up of 3 parts:
- ECMA Script-provides core functionality, and has similar syntax to ActionScript
- DOM-Document Object Model- provides methods & interfaces for working with the content of a web page.The API are from XML that was extended for use with HTML, and supports CSS. Also supports mouse
and user interface events - BOM-Browser Object Model-provides methods & interfaces for interacting with the browser, allowing for manipulation for browser windows.
The use of JavaScript, and its maturity, has lead the way to the Web 2.0 revolution. Web 2.0 isn’t a new technology, rather it is a catch phrase that encompasses the 2nd generation of web development. Unlike the 1st generation of the web, Web 2.0 is the combination of technologies that allow for more user interactivity, and has lead the way to user created content. No longer is the web a push medium-meaning that information is being pushed to the end user, its becoming a pull medium allowing the end user to pull the information as they please. Web 2.0 is all about user created content, and it views the web as a platform. Additionally, data is presented in a manner that limits the reloading of the web page.
One of the aspects of Web 2.0 is the hybridization of technologies like JavaScript and XML, leading to the development of Ajax, or Asynchronous JavaScript and XMl. Ajax allows web apps to function more like desktop apps. This ability leads to Rich Internet Application (RIA), which are apps that operate independently from a web browser, are on the desktop, but are reliant on the internet to gather data.
Now that we have a brief background on JavaScript we’re going to delve into learning how to code it, and utilize it in our projects. That will be the gist of subsequent posts.
Yay, great information! What to go James!