Introduction

Some claim that JavaScript is now the most popular programming language in the world, running any number of complex web applications that the world relies on to do business, make purchases, manage processes, and more.

JavaScript is very loosely based on Java, an object-oriented programming language popularized for use on the Web by way of embedded applets. Although JavaScript has a similar syntax and programming methodology, it is not a "light" version of Java. Instead, JavaScript is its own dynamic language, finding its home in web browsers around the world and enabling enhanced user interaction on web sites and web applications alike.

In this book, JavaScript is covered from its very beginning in the earliest Netscape browsers to the present-day incarnations flush with support for the DOM and Ajax. You learn how to extend the language to suit specific needs and how to create seamless client-server communication without intermediaries such as Java or hidden frames. In short, you learn how to apply JavaScript solutions to business problems faced by web developers everywhere.

What Does This Book Cover?

Professional JavaScript for Web Developers, 2nd Edition, provides a developer-level introduction along with the more advanced and useful features of JavaScript.

Starting at the beginning, the book explores how JavaScript originated and evolved into what it is today. A detailed discussion of the components that make up a JavaScript implementation follows, with specific focus ...

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