1. Chapter 1 Introduction to JavaScript

   1. JavaScript Myths

   2. Versions of JavaScript

   3. Client-Side JavaScript

   4. JavaScript in Other Contexts

   5. Client-Side JavaScript: Executable Content in Web Pages

   6. Client-Side JavaScript Features

   7. JavaScript Security

   8. Example: Computing Loan Payments with JavaScript

   9. Using the Rest of This Book

   10. Exploring JavaScript

2. Core JavaScript

   1. Chapter 2 Lexical Structure

      1. Character Set
      2. Case Sensitivity
      3. Whitespace and Line Breaks
      4. Optional Semicolons
      5. Comments
      6. Literals
      7. Identifiers
      8. Reserved Words

   2. Chapter 3 Data Types and Values

      1. Numbers
      2. Strings
      3. Boolean Values
      4. Functions
      5. Objects
      6. Arrays
      7. null
      8. undefined
      9. The Date Object
      10. Regular Expressions
      11. Error Objects
      12. Primitive Data Type Wrapper Objects

   3. Chapter 4 Variables

      1. Variable Typing
      2. Variable Declaration
      3. Variable Scope
      4. Primitive Types and Reference Types
      5. Garbage Collection
      6. Variables as Properties
      7. Variable Scope Revisited

   4. Chapter 5 Expressions and Operators

      1. Expressions
      2. Operator Overview
      3. Arithmetic Operators
      4. Equality Operators
      5. Relational Operators
      6. String Operators
      7. Logical Operators
      8. Bitwise Operators
      9. Assignment Operators
      10. Miscellaneous Operators

   5. Chapter 6 Statements

      1. Expression Statements
      2. Compound Statements
      3. if
      4. else if
      5. switch
      6. while
      7. do/while
      8. for
      9. for/in
      10. Labels
      11. break
      12. continue
      13. var
      14. function
      15. return
      16. throw
      17. try/catch/finally
      18. with
      19. The Empty Statement
      20. Summary of JavaScript Statements

   6. Chapter 7 Functions

      1. Defining and Invoking Functions
      2. Functions as Data
      3. Function Scope: The Call Object
      4. Function Arguments: The Arguments Object
      5. Function Properties and Methods

   7. Chapter 8 Objects

      1. Objects and Properties
      2. Constructors
      3. Methods
      4. Prototypes and Inheritance
      5. Object-Oriented JavaScript
      6. Objects as Associative Arrays
      7. Object Properties and Methods

   8. Chapter 9 Arrays

      1. Arrays and Array Elements
      2. Array Methods

   9. Chapter 10 Pattern Matching with Regular Expressions

      1. Defining Regular Expressions
      2. String Methods for Pattern Matching
      3. The RegExp Object

   10. Chapter 11 Further Topics in JavaScript

       1. Data Type Conversion
       2. By Value Versus by Reference
       3. Garbage Collection
       4. Lexical Scoping and Nested Functions
       5. The Function( ) Constructor and Function Literals
       6. Netscape's JavaScript 1.2 Incompatibilities

3. Client-Side JavaScript

   1. Chapter 12 JavaScript in Web Browsers

      1. The Web Browser Environment
      2. Embedding JavaScript in HTML
      3. Execution of JavaScript Programs

   2. Chapter 13 Windows and Frames

      1. Window Overview
      2. Simple Dialog Boxes
      3. The Status Line
      4. Timeouts and Intervals
      5. Error Handling
      6. The Navigator Object
      7. The Screen Object
      8. Window Control Methods
      9. The Location Object
      10. The History Object
      11. Multiple Windows and Frames

   3. Chapter 14 The Document Object

      1. Document Overview
      2. Dynamically Generated Documents
      3. Document Color Properties
      4. Document Information Properties
      5. Forms
      6. Images
      7. Links
      8. Anchors
      9. Applets
      10. Embedded Data

   4. Chapter 15 Forms and Form Elements

      1. The Form Object
      2. Defining Form Elements
      3. Scripting Form Elements
      4. Form Verification Example

   5. Chapter 16 Scripting Cookies

      1. An Overview of Cookies
      2. Storing Cookies
      3. Reading Cookies
      4. Cookie Example

   6. Chapter 17 The Document Object Model

      1. An Overview of the DOM
      2. Using the Core DOM API
      3. DOM Compatibility with Internet Explorer 4
      4. DOM Compatibility with Netscape 4
      5. Convenience Methods: The Traversal and Range APIs

   7. Chapter 18 Cascading Style Sheets and Dynamic HTML

      1. Styles and Style Sheets with CSS
      2. Element Positioning with CSS
      3. Scripting Styles
      4. DHTML in Fourth-Generation Browsers
      5. Other DOM APIs for Styles and Style Sheets

   8. Chapter 19 Events and Event Handling

      1. Basic Event Handling
      2. Advanced Event Handling with DOM Level 2
      3. The Internet Explorer Event Model
      4. The Netscape 4 Event Model

   9. Chapter 20 Compatibility Techniques

      1. Platform and Browser Compatibility
      2. Language Version Compatibility
      3. Compatibility with Non-JavaScript Browsers

   10. Chapter 21 JavaScript Security

       1. JavaScript and Security
       2. Restricted Features
       3. The Same-Origin Policy
       4. Security Zones and Signed Scripts

   11. Chapter 22 Using Java with JavaScript

       1. Scripting Java Applets
       2. Using JavaScript from Java
       3. Using Java Classes Directly
       4. LiveConnect Data Types
       5. LiveConnect Data Conversion
       6. JavaScript Conversion of JavaObjects
       7. Java-to-JavaScript Data Conversion

4. Core JavaScript Reference

   1. Chapter 23 Core JavaScript Reference

5. Client-Side JavaScript Reference

   1. Chapter 24 Client-Side JavaScript Reference

6. W3C DOM Reference

   1. Chapter 25 W3C DOM Reference

7. Class, Property, Method, and Event Handler Index

   1. Chapter 26 Class, Property, Method, and Event Handler Index

      1. A
      2. B
      3. C
      4. D
      5. E
      6. F
      7. G
      8. H
      9. I
      10. J
      11. K
      12. L
      13. M
      14. N
      15. O
      16. P
      17. Q
      18. R
      19. S
      20. T
      21. U
      22. V
      23. W
      24. X
      25. Y
      26. Z

1. Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of JavaScript: The Definitive Guide is a Javan rhinoceros. All five species of rhinoceros are distinguished by their large size, thick, armor-like skin, three-toed feet, and single or double snout horn. The Javan rhinoceros, along with the Sumatran rhinoceros, is one of two forest-dwelling species. The Javan rhinoceros is similar in appearance to the Indian rhinoceros, but smaller and with certain distinguishing characteristics, primarily skin texture. Rhinoceroses are often depicted standing up to their snouts in water or mud. In fact, they can frequently be found just like that. When not resting in a river, rhinos will dig deep pits in which to wallow. Both of these resting places provide a couple of advantages. First, they give the animal relief from the tropical heat and protection from blood-sucking flies. (The mud that the wallow leaves on the skin of the rhinoceros provides some protection from flies, also.) Second, mud wallows and river water help support the considerable weight of these huge animals, thereby relieving the strain on their legs and back. Folklore has long held that the horn of the rhinoceros possesses magical and aphrodisiacal powers, and that humans who gain possession of the horns will gain those powers, also. This is one of the reasons why rhinoceroses are a prime target of poachers. All species of rhinoceros are in danger, and the Javan rhino is the most precarious. There are fewer than 100 of these animals still living. At one time Javan rhinoceroses could be found throughout southeastern Asia, but they are now believed to exist only in Indonesia and Vietnam. Edie Freedman designed the cover of this book, using a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. The cover layout was produced by Kathleen Wilson with Quark XPress 3.3 using the ITC Garamond font. Whenever possible, our books use RepKoverTM, a durable and flexible lay-flat binding. If the page count exceeds RepKover's limit, perfect binding isused. The inside layout was designed by Nancy Priest and Mary Jane Walsh. Text was prepared in SGML using the DocBook 2.1 DTD. The print version of this book was created by translating the SGML source into a set of gtroff macros using a filter developed at ORA by Norman Walsh. Steve Talbott designed and wrote the underlying macro set on the basis of the GNU troff -gs macros; Lenny Muellner adapted them to SGML and implemented the book design. The GNU groff text formatter version 1.09 was used to generate PostScript output. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book; the constant-width font used in this book is Letter Gothic. The illustrations that appear in the book were created in Macromedia Freehand 5.0 by Chris Reilley.