JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook

Solutions and Example for Web Programmers

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Solutions and Example for Web Programmers

By Danny Goodman

Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Released: April 2003

Pages: 544

On numerous online forums for JavaScript and DHTML, the majority of questions begin with "How do I...?" This new Cookbook provides the answers. After reading thousands of forum threads over the years, author and scripting pioneer Danny Goodman has compiled a list of problems that frequently vex scripters of various experience levels. He has now applied state-of-the-art ECMA and W3C DOM standards and used best practices to create this extensive collection of practical recipes that can bring your web pages to life.

The JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook is all about adding value to the content of a web page. The book focuses on practical and sensible applications of scripting, rather than flying images and gratuitous color changes. For every problem Goodman addresses, there's a solution or "recipe"--a focused piece of code that web developers can insert directly into their applications. Yet, rather than just cut-and-paste code, you also get explanations of how and why the code works, so you can learn to adapt the problem-solving techniques to your designs.

The recipes range from simple tasks, such as manipulating strings and validating dates in JavaScript, to entire libraries that demonstrate complex tasks, such as cross-browser positioning of HTML elements and sorting tables. This book contains over 150 recipes on the following topics:

Working with interactive forms and style sheets
Presenting user-friendly page navigation
Creating dynamic content
Producing visual effects for stationary content
Positioning HTML elements
Managing browser windows and multiple frames

This book is the ideal companion to O'Reilly's JavaScript: The Definitive Guide and Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference. If you own either of these books, the JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook is a must.

Chapter 1 Strings
1. Introduction
2. Concatenating (Joining) Strings
3. Accessing Substrings
4. Changing String Case
5. Testing Equality of Two Strings
6. Testing String Containment Without Regular Expressions
7. Testing String Containment with Regular Expressions
8. Searching and Replacing Substrings
9. Using Special and Escaped Characters
10. Reading and Writing Strings for Cookies
11. Converting Between Unicode Values and String Characters
12. Encoding and Decoding URL Strings
13. Encoding and Decoding Base64 Strings
Chapter 2 Numbers and Dates
1. Introduction
2. Converting Between Numbers and Strings
3. Testing a Number's Validity
4. Testing Numeric Equality
5. Rounding Floating-Point Numbers
6. Formatting Numbers for Text Display
7. Converting Between Decimal and Hexadecimal Numbers
8. Generating Pseudorandom Numbers
9. Calculating Trigonometric Functions
10. Creating a Date Object
11. Calculating a Previous or Future Date
12. Calculating the Number of Days Between Two Dates
13. Validating a Date
Chapter 3 Arrays and Objects
1. Introduction
2. Creating a Simple Array
3. Creating a Multidimensional Array
4. Converting Between Arrays and Strings
5. Doing Something with the Items in an Array
6. Sorting a Simple Array
7. Combining Arrays
8. Dividing Arrays
9. Creating a Custom Object
10. Simulating a Hash Table for Fast Array Lookup
11. Doing Something with a Property of an Object
12. Sorting an Array of Objects
13. Customizing an Object's Prototype
14. Converting Arrays and Custom Objects to Strings
Chapter 4 Variables, Functions, and Flow Control
1. Introduction
2. Creating a JavaScript Variable
3. Creating a Named Function
4. Nesting Named Functions
5. Creating an Anonymous Function
6. Delaying a Function Call
7. Branching Execution Based on Conditions
8. Handling Script Errors Gracefully
9. Improving Script Performance
Chapter 5 Browser Feature Detection
1. Introduction
2. Detecting the Browser Brand
3. Detecting an Early Browser Version
4. Detecting the Internet Explorer Version
5. Detecting the Netscape Navigator Version
6. Detecting the Client Operating System
7. Detecting Object Support
8. Detecting Object Property and Method Support
9. Detecting the Browser Written Language
10. Detecting Cookie Availability
11. Defining Browser- or Feature-Specific Links
12. Testing on Multiple Browser Versions
Chapter 6 Managing Browser Windows
1. Introduction
2. Setting the Main Window's Size
3. Positioning the Main Window
4. Maximizing the Main Window
5. Creating a New Window
6. Bringing a Window to the Front
7. Communicating with a New Window
8. Communicating Back to the Main Window
9. Using Internet Explorer Modal/Modeless Windows
10. Simulating a Cross-Browser Modal Dialog Window
11. Simulating a Window with Layers
Chapter 7 Managing Multiple Frames
1. Introduction
2. Creating a Blank Frame in a New Frameset
3. Changing the Content of One Frame from Another
4. Changing the Content of Multiple Frames at Once
5. Replacing a Frameset with a Single Page
6. Avoiding Being "Framed" by Another Site
7. Assuring a Page Loads in its Frameset
8. Reading a Frame's Dimensions
9. Resizing Frames
10. Setting Frameset Specifications Dynamically
Chapter 8 Dynamic Forms
1. Introduction
2. Auto-Focusing the First Text Field
3. Performing Common Text Field Validations
4. Preventing Form Submission upon Validation Failure
5. Auto-Focusing an Invalid Text Field Entry
6. Changing a Form's Action
7. Blocking Submissions from the Enter Key
8. Advancing Text Field Focus with the Enter Key
9. Submitting a Form by an Enter Key Press in Any Text Box
10. Disabling Form Controls
11. Hiding and Showing Form Controls
12. Allowing Only Numbers (or Letters) in a Text Box
13. Auto-Tabbing for Fixed-Length Text Boxes
14. Changing select Element Content
15. Copying Form Data Between Pages
Chapter 9 Managing Events
1. Introduction
2. Equalizing the IE and W3C Event Models
3. Initiating a Process After the Page Loads
4. Determining the Coordinates of a Click Event
5. Preventing an Event from Performing Its Default Behavior
6. Blocking Double Clicks
7. Determining Which Element Received an Event
8. Determining Which Mouse Button Was Pressed
9. Reading Which Character Key Was Typed
10. Reading Which Noncharacter Key Was Pressed
11. Determining Which Modifier Keys Were Pressed During an Event
12. Determining the Element the Cursor Rolled From/To
13. Synchronizing Sounds to Events
Chapter 10 Page Navigation Techniques
1. Introduction
2. Loading a New Page or Anchor
3. Keeping a Page Out of the Browser History
4. Using a select Element for Navigation
5. Passing Data Between Pages Via Cookies
6. Passing Data Between Pages Via Frames
7. Passing Data Between Pages Via URLs
8. Creating a Contextual (Right-Click) Menu
9. Creating Drop-Down Navigation Menus
10. Providing Navigation Trail Menus
11. Creating Expandable Menus
12. Creating Collapsible XML Menus
Chapter 11 Managing Style Sheets
1. Introduction
2. Assigning Style Sheet Rules to an Element Globally
3. Assigning Style Sheet Rules to a Subgroup of Elements
4. Assigning Style Sheet Rules to an Individual Element
5. Importing External Style Sheets
6. Importing Browser- or Operating System-Specific Style Sheets
7. Changing Imported Style Sheets After Loading
8. Enabling/Disabling Style Sheets
9. Toggling Between Style Sheets for an Element
10. Overriding a Style Sheet Rule
11. Turning Arbitrary Content into a Styled Element
12. Creating Center-Aligned Body Elements
13. Reading Effective Style Sheet Property Values
14. Forcing Version 6 Browsers into Standards-Compatibility Mode
Chapter 12 Visual Effects for Stationary Content
1. Introduction
2. Precaching Images
3. Swapping Images (Rollovers)
4. Changing Text Style Properties
5. Offering Body Text Size Choices to Users
6. Creating Custom Link Styles
7. Changing Page Background Colors and Images
8. Hiding and Showing Elements
9. Adjusting Element Transparency
10. Creating Transition Visual Effects
Chapter 13 Positioning HTML Elements
1. Introduction
2. Making an Element Positionable in the Document Space
3. Connecting a Positioned Element to a Body Element
4. Controlling Positioning Via a DHTML JavaScript Library
5. Deciding Between div and span Containers
6. Adjusting Positioned Element Stacking Order (z-order)
7. Centering an Element on Top of Another Element
8. Centering an Element in a Window or Frame
9. Determining the Location of a Nonpositioned Element
10. Animating Straight-Line Element Paths
11. Animating Circular Element Paths
12. Creating a Draggable Element
13. Scrolling div Content
14. Creating a Custom Scrollbar
Chapter 14 Creating Dynamic Content
1. Introduction
2. Writing Dynamic Content During Page Loading
3. Creating New Page Content Dynamically
4. Including External HTML Content
5. Embedding XML Data
6. Embedding Data as JavaScript Objects
7. Transforming XML Data into HTML Tables
8. Transforming JavaScript Objects into HTML Tables
9. Converting an XML Node Tree to JavaScript Objects
10. Creating a New Element
11. Creating Text Content for a New Element
12. Creating Mixed Element and Text Nodes
13. Inserting and Populating an iframe Element
14. Getting a Reference to an HTML Element Object
15. Replacing Portions of Body Content
16. Removing Body Content
17. Sorting Dynamic Tables
18. Walking the Document Node Tree
19. Capturing Document Content
Chapter 15 Dynamic Content Applications
1. Introduction
2. Displaying a Random Aphorism
3. Converting a User Selection into an Arbitrary Element
4. Automating the Search-and-Replace of Body Content
5. Creating a Slide Show
6. Auto-Scrolling the Page
7. Greeting Users with Their Time of Day
8. Displaying the Number of Days Before Christmas
9. Displaying a Countdown Timer
10. Creating a Calendar Date Picker
11. Displaying an Animated Progress Bar

Appendix A Keyboard Event Character Values
Appendix B Keyboard Key Code Values
Appendix C ECMAScript Reserved Keywords
Colophon

Title:

JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook

By:

Danny Goodman

Publisher:

O'Reilly Media

Formats:

Print
Ebook
Safari Books Online

Print:

April 2003

Ebook:

February 2009

Pages:

544

Print ISBN:

978-0-596-00467-5

| ISBN 10:

0-596-00467-2

Ebook ISBN:

978-0-596-10377-4

| ISBN 10:

0-596-10377-8

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 the JavaScript and DHTML Cookbook is a howler monkey. Howler monkeys are so named because of the very loud sounds they make, which can be heard up to two miles away. They are considered the loudest landliving animals. They have two hollow hyoid bones that allow them to make the powerful sounds they are known for.

Male howler monkeys are black, and females range from a brown to a light tan color. They have a large neckand a large lower jaw (containing the large hyoid bones), short legs, and a long, prehensile tail. All baby howler monkeys are born with brown fur, but the fur on the males eventually changes to black. These monkeys can grow up to 2 feet in length, and can weight up to 16 pounds. The males are usually significantly larger than the females.

Howlers travel and live in packs of one to three males and two to seven females. There is one dominant male in each group. They spend the majority of their time in trees. Their howling vocalizations are used to marktheir territories as well as to communicate with other packs of monkeys. Their diet consists mostly of leaves, but they also eat fruit and bugs. They are becoming an endangered species due to the shrinking size of the forests in which they live and find food. Mary Brady was the production editor and the copyeditor for the JavaScript and DHTML Cookbook. Brian Sawyer and Sarah Sherman provided quality control. John Bickelhaupt wrote the index.

Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from Cuvier's Animals. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This bookwas converted by Joe Wizda to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the bookwere produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. This colophon was written by Mary Brady.

Description

Table of Contents

Product Details

About the Author

Colophon

Recommended for You

Chapter 1 Strings

Introduction

Concatenating (Joining) Strings

Accessing Substrings

Changing String Case

Testing Equality of Two Strings

Testing String Containment Without Regular Expressions

Testing String Containment with Regular Expressions

Searching and Replacing Substrings

Using Special and Escaped Characters

Reading and Writing Strings for Cookies

Converting Between Unicode Values and String Characters

Encoding and Decoding URL Strings

Encoding and Decoding Base64 Strings

Chapter 2 Numbers and Dates

Introduction

Converting Between Numbers and Strings

Testing a Number's Validity

Testing Numeric Equality

Rounding Floating-Point Numbers

Formatting Numbers for Text Display

Converting Between Decimal and Hexadecimal Numbers

Generating Pseudorandom Numbers

Calculating Trigonometric Functions

Creating a Date Object

Calculating a Previous or Future Date

Calculating the Number of Days Between Two Dates

Validating a Date

Chapter 3 Arrays and Objects

Introduction

Creating a Simple Array

Creating a Multidimensional Array

Converting Between Arrays and Strings

Doing Something with the Items in an Array

Sorting a Simple Array

Combining Arrays

Dividing Arrays

Creating a Custom Object

Simulating a Hash Table for Fast Array Lookup

Doing Something with a Property of an Object

Sorting an Array of Objects

Customizing an Object's Prototype

Converting Arrays and Custom Objects to Strings

Chapter 4 Variables, Functions, and Flow Control

Introduction

Creating a JavaScript Variable

Creating a Named Function

Nesting Named Functions

Creating an Anonymous Function

Delaying a Function Call

Branching Execution Based on Conditions

Handling Script Errors Gracefully

Improving Script Performance

Chapter 5 Browser Feature Detection

Introduction

Detecting the Browser Brand

Detecting an Early Browser Version

Detecting the Internet Explorer Version

Detecting the Netscape Navigator Version

Detecting the Client Operating System

Detecting Object Support

Detecting Object Property and Method Support

Detecting the Browser Written Language

Detecting Cookie Availability

Defining Browser- or Feature-Specific Links

Testing on Multiple Browser Versions

Chapter 6 Managing Browser Windows

Introduction

Setting the Main Window's Size

Positioning the Main Window

Maximizing the Main Window

Creating a New Window

Bringing a Window to the Front

Communicating with a New Window

Communicating Back to the Main Window

Using Internet Explorer Modal/Modeless Windows

Simulating a Cross-Browser Modal Dialog Window

Simulating a Window with Layers

Chapter 7 Managing Multiple Frames

Introduction