JavaScript & Ajax for Dummies

Description

Learn to use these powerful tools together and build Web sites that work If you want to build Web pages that offer real value to your site's visitors, JavaScript and AJAX are top tools for the job. Even if you're new to Web programming, this book helps you create sites any designer will admire. With easy-to-understand steps and an emphasis on free tools, you'll be able to jump right into building a site using the same techniques as the pros. Down to basics ? learn your way around JavaScript and choose an editor and test browser Manage complexity ? use functions, arrays, and objects to create more sophisticated programs Page magic ? discover how to control what happens on your pages, animate objects, and put pages in motion Get beautiful ? Use the jQuery User Interface library to add sliders, tabbed interfaces, and custom dialogs to a site Come clean with AJAX ? build AJAX requests into your programs, use jQuery, and work with AJAX data Open the book and find: How to choose a test browser How to discuss string concatenation with a straight face Tips for debugging your code How to add useful information to a dropdown list Why AJAX connections should be asynchronous The exciting possibilities of the jQuery library How to use the Aptana editor Online resources for JavaScript programmers JavaScript & AJAX for Dummies About the Author Dedication Author’s Acknowledgments Contents at a Glance Table of Contents Introduction What You Will Need How This Book Is Organized It’s Even on the Internet! Icons Used in This Book Where to Go from Here A Final Word Part I: Programming with JavaScript Chapter 1: Taking the Web to the Next Level Building Something Cool Getting Started Picking an Editor Creating Your Browser Collection Turning Firefox into a Development Machine Chapter 2: Writing Your First Program Becoming a Programmer Introducing Variables Using Concatenation to Build Better Greetings Understanding the string Object Understanding Variable Types Changing Variables to the Desired Type Chapter 3: Changing Program Behavior with Conditions Working with Random Numbers Using if to Control Flow Do What I Say or Else It’s Time to Switch Your Thinking Nesting if Statements Chapter 4: Loops and Debugging Building Counting Loops with for Looping for a while Introducing Some Bad Loops Debugging Your Code Catching Logic Errors Using an Interactive Debugger Chapter 5: Functions, Arrays, and Objects Breaking Code into Functions Passing Data into and out of Functions Managing Scope Building a Basic Array Working with Two-Dimensional Arrays Creating Your Own Objects Introducing JSON Part II: Using JavaScript to Enhance Your Pages Chapter 6: Talking to the Page Understanding the Document Object Model Harnessing the DOM through JavaScript Managing Button Events Interacting with Text Input and Output Writing to the Document Working with Other Text Elements Chapter 7: Getting Valid Input Getting Input from a Drop-Down List Managing Multiple Selections Check, Please — Reading Check Boxes Working with Radio Buttons Working with Regular Expressions Working with Special Characters Repetition Operations Working with Pattern Memory Chapter 8: Moving and Grooving Making Things Move Reading Input from the Keyboard Following the Mouse Automatic Motion Image-Swapping Animation Working with Compound Images Movement and Swapping Part III: Moving Up to AJAX Chapter 9: AJAX Essentials AJAX: Return to Troy AJAX Spelled Out Making a Basic AJAX Connection All Together Now: Making the Connection Asynchronous Chapter 10: Improving JavaScript and AJAX with jQuery Introducing JavaScript Libraries Getting to Know jQuery Writing Your First jQuery App Creating an Initialization Function Investigating the jQuery Object Adding Events to Objects Making an AJAX Request with jQuery Chapter 11: Animating jQuery Getting Prepared for Animation Hiding and Showing the Content Changing an Element’s Position with jQuery Modifying Elements on the Fly Chapter 12: Using the jQuery User Interface Toolkit Looking Over the ThemeRoller Visiting the Theme Park Wanna Drag? Dragging and Dropping Elements Downloading the Library Resizing on a Theme Dragging, Dropping, and Calling Back Chapter 13: Improving Usability with jQuery Multi-Element Designs Improving Usability Chapter 14: Working with AJAX Data Getting an Overview of Server-Side Programming Sending Requests AJAX-Style Building a More Interactive Form Working with XML Data Working with JSON Data Part IV: The Part of Tens Chapter 15: Ten Amazing jQuery Plugins Using the Plugins ipwEditor jQuery Cookies flot Tag Cloud Tablesorter Jquery-translate Droppy galleria Jmp3 Chapter 16: Ten Great Resources jQuery PHP library JSAN — JavaScript Archive Network W3Schools tutorials and examples Google AJAX APIs Aflax MochiKit Dojo Ext JS YUI DZone Index