Formerly known as LiveScript
and renamed to JavaScript in 1995,
JavaScript is an interpreted
programming language that allows a web designer the ability to
easily insert code into their web page. JavaScript is commonly
placed into a HTML, ASP,
or a similar type of file and run directly from the web
page to perform tasks such as printing the time and date,
creating a calendar, or other tasks that are not possible through
plain HTML. Below is a basic example of a JavaScript that prints
"Hello World!".
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
<! -- Hide from old browsers
document.write('Hello World!');
// Stop hide -->
</SCRIPT>
Below is an example of a JavaScript implemented into this page
that will print the current time and date. Like all JavaScript files
the user must have a browser capable of viewing JavaScript as well
as have it enabled. If JavaScript is not enabled you will see a
message instead of the date. Finally, a user could also view the source code
of this page to get the source code for this script.
Although JavaScript files are often embedded into the HTML file,
users can also save their JavaScript code in an external file. This
file often ends with a .js file extension.
To see if JavaScript / Java is installed
and what version is detected
click here.
Additional information about enabling and disabling
JavaScript in your browser can be found on
document CH000891.
Additional examples of useful JavaScripts can be found by
clicking
here.
