Chapter 1: JavaScript for Animation and Interactivity
In This Chapter
Using JavaScript in modern web design
Using JavaScript vis-à-vis Flash
Seeing how JavaScript works with HTML and CSS
Finding different ways to get JavaScript
Creating simple JavaScript
JavaScript is the main source of interactivity and animation in web pages. And of even greater value, it helps visitors interact with objects. They can click a button, scroll a drop-down menu, choose an option from a drop-down menu, and so on — all user-initiated events trigger an action. That action might be launching a slideshow, or opening a new browser window, or a form being validated (the data a user enters is tested before that data is sent to a server).
As such, JavaScript is the third leg of the basic building blocks of modern, inviting, dynamic websites, along with HTML (which we cover in Book III, and throughout this minibook) and CSS (which we cover in Book IV).
Understanding the Role of JavaScript
As you peruse the web ...