JavaScript Essentials For Dummies

Introduction

HTML and CSS are awesome technologies, and you can use them to create pages that look amazing. But after you funnel your page to your web server and look at it a few (dozen) times, you may notice a subtle feeling of disappointment creeping in. Why? It can be hard to pin down, but that hint of dismay comes from a stark fact: Your web page just kind of sits there.

Sure, you probably have a link or three to click, but most likely those links just take you to more of your pages that also just kind of sit there. Or maybe a link takes you to another site altogether, one that feels dynamic and alive and interactive. Ah, engagement! Ooh, excitement!

What’s the difference between a page that does nothing and a page that seems to be always dancing? One word: JavaScript. If you want your pages to be dynamic and interactive, you need a bit of behind-the-scenes JavaScript to make it so.

“But,” I hear you object, “HTML isn’t that hard to learn. JavaScript is a programming language, for crying out loud!” I hear you. It’s true that anyone can learn HTML as long as they start with the basic tags, examine lots of examples of how they work, and slowly work their way up to more complex pages. It’s just a matter of creating a solid foundation and then building on it.

I’m convinced that JavaScript can be approached in much the same way. I’m certainly not going to tell you that JavaScript is as easy to learn as HTML. That would be a bald-faced lie. However, I will tell you that there is ...