JavaScript
Chapter 01- What is JavaScript?
JavaScript is a dynamic, cross-platform, object-oriented scripting language. It can be used to make web applications more interactively using complex animations, popup windows etc. There are more advanced server side versions such as Node.js, and that code can be seen as C, C# or any other server side language code. This allows you to add more functionalities to your application than downloading files and libraries.
JavaScript was first know as LiveScript, but Netscape changed its name to JavaScript. The general purpose core of the language has been embedded in Netscape, Internet Explorer and other browsers.
This contains more standard library of objects like Array, Date, and Math and a core set of language elements such as operators, control structure and statements. Core JavaScript can be extended for Client-side JavaScript and Server-side JavaScript.
Client Side JavaScript (CSJS)
CSJS is an extended version of JavaScript and the most common form of the language. This enables the administration and intensification of web pages and client browsers. The main tasks of CSJS are validating inputs, administrating UI/UX elements, animations, styles, calculation parts, popup windows are done when you don’t want the page to refresh so often. The script should be included HTML document for the interpreted by the browser. This is not static HTML, but can include programs that interact with the user, dynamically create HTML content.
This provides many advantages. As an example, we can use JavaScript to check a user input email address or a password in a form field. The JavaScript code is executed when the user submits the form, and only if all the entries are valid, it would submitted to the web server.
Server Side JavaScript (SSJS)
SSJS is also an extended version of JavaScript that enables back-end access to databases, servers and other file systems. It’s running over a local resources like C# or Java. But it’s syntaxes is based on JavaScript.
Node.JS is the best example for this. With Node.JS we write JavaScript to program on the server side, and that code can be seen as normal C#, C, or any other server side language code. As well as with server-side code, we can still send JavaScript to the client-side, but there is a huge difference between both, because CSSJ code is restricted to the clients machine resources according to the terms of computing permissions. As a example, client-side JavaScript can’t access the clients hard disk. But using server-side, clients can access to the hard disk without any problem.
SSJS advantage is the ability to highly customize the response based on the client’s requirements, access rights into data stores.
Advantages of JavaScript
- Less server interactions — Validate user inputs before sending the page off to the server.
- Immediate feedback to the visitors — Don’t have to wait until the reload page.
- Richer interfaces —Can add more elements to the web pages.
Limitations of JavaScript
- Client-side JavaScript doesn’t allow reading or writing files because of the computing permissions.
- Can’t use for networking applications because there isn’t any support.
- It doesn’t have any multithreading or multiprocessing capabilities.
JavaScript Development Tools
There are many JavaScripting tools. As well as we can use a simple text editor like Notepad or Notepad++.
- WebStorm — Provides full support for JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS.
- Microsoft FrontPage — Provides number of JavaScript tools to assist in the creation of interactive websites.
- Macromedia Dreamweaver MX — Provides several handy prebuilt JavaScript components, integrates well with databases, and conforms to new standards such as XHTML and XML.
- Macromedia HomeSite 5 — Used to manage personal websites effectively.
