Although once supported by Netscape Enterprise Server and Active Server Pages (ASP) on the server, JavaScript is primarily a client-side scripting language for use in Web browsers. Its main focus today is to help developers interact with Web pages and the Web browser window itself.
JavaScript is very loosely based on Java, an object-oriented programming language popularized for use on the Web by way of embedded applets. Although JavaScript has a similar syntax and programming methodology, it is not a “light” version of Java. Instead, JavaScript is its own language, finding its home in Web browsers around the world and enabling enhanced user interaction on Web sites and Web applications alike.
In this book, JavaScript is covered from its very beginning in the earliest Netscape browsers to the present-day incarnations flush with support for XML and Web Services. You learn how to extend the language to suit specific needs and how to create seamless client-server communication without intermediaries such as Java or hidden frames. In short, you learn how to apply JavaScript solutions to business problems faced by Web developers everywhere.
