Java Script is loosely based on Java which is an object-oriented programming language that became popular for use on the Web by way of embedded applets. It has a similar syntax & programming methodology to Java however it should not be considered the light" version of the language. Java Script is its own language that found its home in web browsers around the world & enabled enhanced user interaction on websites as well as web applications. In this book Java Script is covered from its beginning in the earliest Netscape browsers to the present-day versions that can support the DOM & Ajax. You will learn how to extend the language to suit specific needs & how to create client-server communications without intermediaries such as Java or hidden frames. You will also learn how to apply Java Script solutions to business problems faced by web developers everywhere. This book provides a developer-level introduction along with more advanced & useful features of Java Script. The book begins by exploring how Java Script originated & evolved into what it is today. There is a discussion of the components that make up a Java Script implementation that follows that has a specific focus on standards such as ECMAScript & the Document Object Model (DOM). The differences in Java Script implementations used in different popular web browsers are also discussed. After building a strong base the book goes on to cover basic concepts of Java Script including its version of object-oriented programming inheritance & its use in HTML. The book then explores new APIs such as HTML5 the Selectors API & the File API. The last part of the book is focused on advanced topics including performance/memory optimization best practices & a look at Where Java Script is going in the future. The book is broken up into 25 chapters. Chapter 1 explains the origins of Java Script including where it came from how it evolved & what it is today. Chapter 2 examines how Java Script is used in conjunction with HTML to create dynamic webpages. Chapter 3 introduces basic language concepts including syntax & flow control statements. Chapter 4 explores how variables are handled in Java Script given their loosely typed nature. Chapter 5 covers all of the details regarding Java Scripts built-in reference types such as object & array. Chapter 6 explains how to use object-oriented programing in Java Script. Chapter 7 explores one of the most powerful aspects of Java Script: function expressions. Chapter 8 introduces the Browser Object Model (BOM) which is responsible for objects allowing interaction with the browser itself. Chapter 9 explains various approaches to detecting the client machine & its capabilities. Chapter 10 introduces the Document Object Model (DOM) objects available in Java Script as defined in DOM Level 1. Chapter 11 explains how other APIs as well as other browsers extend the DOM with more functionality. Chapter 12 builds on the previous two chapters by explaining how DOM Levels 2 & 3 augmented the DOM with additional properties methods & objects. Chapter 13 explains the nature of events in Java Script where they originated legacy support & how the DOM redefined how events should work. Devices such as the Wii & iPhone are covered. Chapter 14 looks at using Java Script to enhance form interactions & work around browser limitations. Chapter 15 discusses the tag & how to use it to create on-the-fly graphics. Chapter 16 introduces Java Script API changes as defined in HTML5. Chapter 17 discusses how browsers handle errors in Java Script code & presents several ways to handle errors. Chapter 18 presents the features of Java Script used to read & manipulate e Xtensible Markup Language (XML) data. Chapter 19 discusses the ECMAScript for XML (E4X) extension to Java Script which is designed to simplify working with XML. Chapter 20 introduces the JSON data format as an alternative to XML. Chapter 21 looks at common Ajax"