The Brain Behind the Web
Most people who are interested in web development start with HTML and CSS. However, there’s a third element that really makes a site or app come alive: javascript. JS is the brain that’s behind a lot of what makes the web work, so it’s important to understand how it works.
JavaScript is a programming language that adds interactivity to web pages. It’s used in many aspects of a website, from creating drop-down menus to form validation. It can also improve the user experience by adding animations or updating content in real time. It can even communicate with back-end servers to retrieve and process data.
In its most basic form, javascript is text that gets interpreted by the browser. It’s not unlike how a computer can read your handwriting, or how a human can read a book. The difference is that a computer can then take that text and run it through a program that interprets it, making it possible to execute it.
javascript is a general-purpose programming language that can be applied to many different kinds of projects, including websites and mobile apps. Its versatility and ease of use make it popular among developers, especially those who have previously used other programming languages like C++ or Java. It’s also widely supported in major browsers, which is helpful for ensuring compatibility and security across platforms.
The most common use of javascript is in web development, and it’s the backbone for a lot of what makes websites dynamic. You can see this in action whenever you visit a website. If you right-click on the page and select “Inspect”, you’ll see a lot of javascript code in the popup window.
As a rule, javascript operates on the element family tree or DOM, which is an abstract representation of all the elements on a page. That means that javascript can travel through the DOM to access, modify, and create objects. It can even access elements that haven’t been interpreted yet, which is why it’s important to always place javascript at the very end of the page.
In addition to its ability to interact with the DOM, javascript includes many useful functions for working with numbers and strings. It can do things like convert numbers to string format, or add them together in a string. It can also cast values to and from different types, such as boolean or integer. For example, it can cast integers to floating point and vice versa.
When you first start writing javascript, it’s a good idea to write a lot of comments, which will help other developers who come into your project understand what’s going on. This can be a great way to keep track of what’s happening in your code, and it’s a valuable tool when debugging.