Javascript 101

Perhaps you are just looking for information on where to get pre-built Javascripts to use on your site. Alternatively, you may want to learn how to write your own javascripts. In either case the two things that you most definitely need are a web editor and one (or more) browsers.

You need the web editor to edit your web pages to add the Javascript to the HTML (HyperText Markup Language) already on your page. To be able to do this you need to know the difference between pasting text into a web page and pasting code. To add Javascripts to your page you need to be able to paste code . If you use a web editor where you code the HTML tags yourself then you already know how to add code to your page. If instead you use a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) web editor then you will need to locate the option in the program that allows you to paste code instead of text.

The web browser is needed to test your page after you have added the Javascript to check that the page still looks the way that it is supposed to and that the Javascript performs its intended function.

If you want to be sure that the Javascript works in multiple browsers then you will need to test it in each browser separately as each browser has its own quirks when it comes to some aspects of Javascript.

Using Pre-Built Scripts

You don't have to be a programming wizard to be able to use Javascript. The reason for this is that there are a lot of programmers out there (myself included) who have already written Javascripts that perform a lot of the functions that you may want to incorporate into your web pages. Many of these scripts are made freely available for you to copy from script libraries for use on your own site. Usually all that you need to do is to follow a series of instructions provided with the script to customize it and then paste it into your web page.

What restrictions are placed on your use of these scripts? Usually not much. In most cases the only restriction is that you only alter those parts of the script that you are told to change in customizing the script for your site. Most scripts contain a copyright notice identifying the original author and the web site from which the script was obtained. These notices must be kept intact when you use scripts obtained in this way.

What's in it for the programmer? Well if someone sees their script on your site and thinks to themselves "What a cool script, I wonder if I can get a copy?" they will most likely view the source code of the script and see the copyright notice. The programmer therefore gets the credit they deserve for writing the script and perhaps more visitors to their own site to see what else they have written.

The biggest problem though with pre-built scripts is that they do what their author wanted them to do which is not necessarily what you want. To resolve this problem you need to either drastically modify the script or write your own. To do either of these will require that you learn to program with Javascript.

Learning Javascript

The two main sources of information if you want to teach yourself to program with Javascript are web pages and books. Both will provide you with a wide range of resources from beginners tutorials through to advanced reference pages. What you need to do is to locate the books or web sites aimed at your level. Start out using books or sites that are aimed at more advanced programmers and a lot of what they are saying will be incomprehensible to you and you will not achieve your goal of learning to program with Javascript.

You need to be particularly careful to select a book or web site tutorial that doesn't assume prior programming knowledge that you haven't got.

If you prefer not being left to figure it out for yourself then the web has advantages over books in that many web sites provide a means for you to contact the author and/or other readers who can provide you with some assistance when you get stuck on some particular point.

Where even that isn't enough and you want face to face teaching then check with your local college or computer store to see if any courses are available in your local area.