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17 Javascript

The document provides an introduction to JavaScript as a scripting language, detailing its characteristics, history, and common uses. It covers JavaScript's unique features, such as first-class functions and object manipulation, as well as its integration within HTML pages. Additionally, it discusses language fundamentals, including data types, functions, objects, and error handling, while emphasizing JavaScript's role in creating dynamic web applications.

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Stephen Cajelo
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7 views30 pages

17 Javascript

The document provides an introduction to JavaScript as a scripting language, detailing its characteristics, history, and common uses. It covers JavaScript's unique features, such as first-class functions and object manipulation, as well as its integration within HTML pages. Additionally, it discusses language fundamentals, including data types, functions, objects, and error handling, while emphasizing JavaScript's role in creating dynamic web applications.

Uploaded by

Stephen Cajelo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WS 101

Introduction to JavaScript

slide 1
What’s a Scripting Language?
 Language used to write programs that compute
inputs to another language processor
• One language embedded in another
– Embedded JavaScript computes HTML input to the browser
– Shell scripts compute commands executed by the shell
 Common characteristics of scripting languages
• String processing – since commands often strings
• Simple program structure, define things “on the fly”
• Flexibility preferred over efficiency, safety
– Is lack of safety a good thing? (Example: JavaScript used for
Web applications…)

slide 2
Why JavaScript?
 “Active” web pages
 Web 2.0
• AJAX, huge number of Web-based applications
 Some interesting and unusual features
• First-class functions - interesting
• Objects without classes - slightly
unusual
• Powerful modification capabilities - very unusual
– Add new method to object, redefine prototype, …
 Many security and correctness issues
 “The world’s most misunderstood prog.
language” slide 3
JavaScript History
 Developed by Brendan Eich at Netscape
• Scripting language for Navigator 2
 Later standardized for browser
compatibility
• ECMAScript Edition 3 (aka JavaScript 1.5)
 Related to Java in name only
• “JavaScript is to Java as carpet is to car”
• Name was part of a marketing deal
 Various implementations available
• SpiderMonkey C implementation (from Mozilla)
• Rhino Java implementation (also from Mozilla) slide 4
Motivation for JavaScript
 Netscape, 1995
• > 90% browser market share
– “I hacked the JS prototype in ~1 week in May and it showed!
Mistakes were frozen early. Rest of year spent embedding in
browser” -- Brendan Eich, ICFP talk, 2006
 Design goals
• Make it easy to copy/paste snippets of code
• Tolerate “minor” errors (missing semicolons)
• Simplified onclick, onmousedown, etc., event
handling
• Pick a few hard-working, powerful primitives
– First-class functions, objects everywhere, prototype-based
• Leave all else out! slide 5
Common Uses of JavaScript
 Form validation
 Page embellishments and special effects
 Navigation systems
 Basic math calculations
 Dynamic content manipulation
 Sample applications
• Dashboard widgets in Mac OS X, Google Maps,
Philips universal remotes, Writely word
processor, hundreds of others…

slide 6
Example 1: Add Two
Numbers
<html>
…
<p> … </p>
<script>
var num1, num2, sum
num1 = prompt("Enter first number")
num2 = prompt("Enter second number")
sum = parseInt(num1) + parseInt(num2)
alert("Sum = " + sum)
</script>
…
</html>

slide 7
Example 2: Browser Events
<script type="text/JavaScript"> Mouse event causes
page-defined
function whichButton(event) {
function to be called
if (event.button==1) {
alert("You clicked the left mouse button!")
}
else {
alert("You clicked the right mouse
button!")
}}
</script>
…
<body onmousedown="whichButton(event)">
…
</body>
Other events: onLoad, onMouseMove, onKeyPress, onUnLoad
slide 8
Example 3: Page
Manipulation
 Some possibilities
• createElement(elementName)
• createTextNode(text)
• appendChild(newChild)
• removeChild(node)
 Example: add a new list item
var list = document.getElementById('t1') This uses the browser
var newitem = document.createElement('li')Document Object
Model (DOM). We will
var newtext = document.createTextNode(text)
focus on
list.appendChild(newitem)
JavaScript as a
newitem.appendChild(newtext) language,
slide 9
not its use in the
Document Object Model
(DOM)
 HTML page is structured data
 DOM provides representation of this
hierarchy
 Examples
• Properties: document.alinkColor,
document.URL, document.forms[ ],
document.links[ ], document.anchors[ ], …
• Methods: document.write(document.referrer)
– These change the content of the page!
 Also Browser Object Model (BOM)
• Window, Document, Frames[], History, Location,
Navigator (type and version of browser) slide 10
Browser and Document
Structure

W3C standard differs from


models supported in existing
browsers slide 11
Reading Properties with
JavaScript
Sample
Sample script HTML
<ul id="t1">
1. document.getElementById('t1').nodeName
<li> Item 1 </li>
2. document.getElementById('t1').nodeValue
</ul>
3. document.getElementById('t1').firstChild.nodeName
4. document.getElementById('t1').firstChild.firstChild.nodeName
5. document.getElementById('t1').firstChild.firstChild.nodeValue
• Example 1 returns "ul"
• Example 2 returns "null"
• Example 3 returns "li"
• Example 4 returns "text"
– A text node below the "li" which holds the actual text data as
its value
• Example 5 returns " Item 1 " slide 12
Language Basics
 JavaScript is case sensitive
• onClick, ONCLICK, … are HTML, thus not case-sensitive
 Statements terminated by returns or semi-colons
• x = x+1; same as x = x+1
 “Blocks” of statements enclosed in { …}
 Variables
• Define using the var statement
• Define implicitly by its first use, which must be an
assignment
– Implicit defn has global scope, even if occurs in nested scope!

slide 13
JavaScript Blocks
 Use { } for grouping; not a separate scope
js> var x=3;
js> x
3
js> {var x=4; x}
4
js> x
4
 Not blocks in the sense of other languages

slide 14
JavaScript Primitive
Datatypes
 Boolean: true and false
 Number: 64-bit floating point
• Similar to Java double and Double
• No integer type
• Special values NaN (not a number) and Infinity
 String: sequence of zero or more Unicode
chars
• No separate character type (just strings of length
1)
• Literal strings using ' or " characters (must match)
 Special objects: null and undefined
slide 15
Objects
 An object is a collection of named properties
 Think of it as an associative array or hash
table
• Set of name:value pairs
– objBob = {name: “Bob", grade: 'A', level: 3};
• Play a role similar to lists in Lisp / Scheme
 New members can be added at any time
– objBob.fullname = 'Robert';
 Can have methods
 Can refer to this

slide 16
Functions
 Functions are objects with method called “( )”
• A property of an object may be a function (=method)
– function max(x,y) { if (x>y) return x; else return y;};
– max.description = “return the maximum of two arguments”;
• Local declarations may appear in function body
 Call can supply any number of arguments
• functionname.length : # of arguments in definition
• functionname.arguments.length : # arguments in call
• Basic types are passed by value, objects by reference
 “Anonymous” functions
• (function (x,y) {return x+y}) (2,3);

slide 17
Examples of Functions
 Curried functions
– function CurriedAdd(x) { return function(y){ return
x+y} };
– g = CurriedAdd(2);
– g(3)
 Variable number of arguments
– function sumAll() {
var total=0;
for (var i=0; i< sumAll.arguments.length; i++)
total+=sumAll.arguments[i];
return(total); }
– sumAll(3,5,3,5,3,2,6)
slide 18
Anonymous Functions
 Anonymous functions very useful for callbacks
• setTimeout(function() { alert("done"); }, 10000)
• Evaluation of alert("done") delayed until function call
 Simulate blocks by function definition and call
• var u = { a:1, b:2 }
• var v = { a:3, b:4 }
• (function (x,y) {
var tempA = x.a; var tempB =x.b; // local
variables
x.a=y.a; x.b=y.b;
y.a=tempA; y.b=tempB
}) (u,v) // Works because objs are passed by ref slide 19
Basic Object Features
 Use a function to construct an object
• function car(make, model, year) {
this.make = make;
this.model = model;
this.year = year; }
 Objects have prototypes, can be changed
• var c = new car(“Ford”,”Taurus”,1988);
• car.prototype.print = function () {
return this.year + “ “ + this.make + “ “ +
this.model;}
• c.print();
slide 20
JavaScript in Web Pages
 Embedded in HTML page as <script> element
• JavaScript written directly inside <script> element
– <script> alert("Hello World!") </script>
• Linked file as src attribute of the <script> element
<script type="text/JavaScript" src=“functions.js"></script>
 Event handler attribute
<a href="http://www.yahoo.com "
onmouseover="alert('hi');">
 Pseudo-URL referenced by a link
<a href=“JavaScript: alert(‘You clicked’);”>Click me</a>

We are looking at JavaScript as a language; ignore BOM, DOM, AJAX

slide 21
Language Features in This
Class
 Stack memory management
• Parameters, local variables in activation records
 Garbage collection
 Closures
• Function together with environment (global
variables)
 Exceptions
 Object features
• Dynamic lookup, encapsulation, subtyping,
inheritance
 Concurrency slide 22
Stack Memory Management
 Local variables in activation record of
function
function f(x) {
var y = 3;
function g(z) { return y+z;};
return g(x);
}
var x= 1; var y =2;
f(x) + y;

slide 23
Garbage Collection
 Automatic reclamation of unused memory
 Navigator 2: per-page memory
management
• Reclaim memory when browser changes page
 Navigator 3: reference counting
• Each memory region has associated count
• Count modified when pointers are changed
• Reclaim memory when count reaches zero
 Navigator 4: mark-and-sweep, or equivalent
• Garbage collector marks reachable memory
• Sweep and reclaim unreachable memory slide 24
Closures
 Return a function from function call
• function f(x) {
var y = x;
return function (z){y += z; return y;}
}
• var h = f(5);
• h(3);
 Can use this idea to define objects with
“private” fields (subtle)
• See
http://www.crockford.com/JavaScript/private.html
slide 25
Exceptions
 Throw an expression of any type
throw "Error2";
throw 42;
throw {toString: function() { return "I'm an object!"; } };
 Catch
try {
} catch (e if e == “FirstException") { // do something
} catch (e if e == “SecondException") { // do something
else
} catch (e){ // executed if no match
above
}
Reference: http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/
Core_JavaScript_1.5_Guide :Exception_Handling_Statements
slide 26
Object features
 Dynamic lookup
• Method depends on run-time value of object
 Encapsulation
• Object contains private data, public operations
 Subtyping
• Object of one type can be used in place of
another
 Inheritance
• Use implementation of one kind of object to
implement another kind of object
slide 27
Concurrency
 JavaScript itself is single-threaded
• How can we tell if a language provides concurrency?
 AJAX provides a form of concurrency
• Create XMLHttpRequest object, set callback function
• Call request method, which continues asynchronously
• Reply from remote site executes callback function
– Event waits in event queue…
• Closures important for proper execution of callbacks
 Another form of concurrency
• Use SetTimeout to do cooperative multi-tasking

slide 28
JavaScript eval
 Evaluate string as code (seen this before?)
• The eval function evaluates a string of JavaScript
code, in scope of the calling code
– var code = "var a = 1";
– eval(code); // a is now '1‘
– var obj = new Object();
– obj.eval(code); // obj.a is now 1
• Common use: efficiently deserialize a complicated
data structure received over network via
XMLHttpRequest
 What does it cost to have eval in the language?
• Can you do this in C? What would it take to
implement?
slide 29
Unusual Features of
JavaScript
 Eval, run-time type checking functions
 Support for pattern matching (reg.
expressions)
 Can add methods to an object
 Can delete methods of an object
• myobj.a = 5; myobj.b = 12; delete myobj.a;
 Iterate over methods of an object
• for (variable in object) { statements }
 With statement (“considered harmful” –
why?)
• with (object) { statements }
slide 30

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