Preface
This book covers the JavaScript language and the JavaScript APIs implemented by web browsers. I wrote it for readers with at least some prior programming experience who want to learn JavaScript and also for programmers who already use JavaScript but want to take their understanding to a new level and really master the language and the web platform. My goal with this book is to document the JavaScript language and platform comprehensively and definitively. As a result, this is a large and detailed book. My hope, however, is that it will reward careful study, and that the time you spend reading it will be easily recouped in the form of higher programming productivity.
This book is divided into four parts. [Link to Come] covers the JavaScript language itself. [Link to Come] covers client-side JavaScript: the JavaScript APIs defined by HTML5 and related standards and implemented by web browsers. [Link to Come] is the reference section for the core language, and [Link to Come] is the reference for client-side JavaScript. [Link to Come] includes an outline of the chapters in Parts [Link to Come] and [Link to Come] (see [Link to Come]).
This sixth edition of the book covers both ECMAScript 5 (the latest version of the core language) and HTML5 (the latest version of the web platform). You’ll find ECMAScript 5 material throughout [Link to Come]. The new material on HTML5 is mostly in the chapters at the end of [Link to Come], but there is also some in other chapters as well. Completely new chapters in this edition include [Link to Come]; [Link to Come] ; [Link to Come]; and [Link to Come].
Readers of previous editions may notice that I have completely rewritten many of the chapters in this book for the sixth edition. The core of [Link to Come]—the chapters covering objects, arrays, functions, and classes—is all new and brings the book in line with current programming styles and best practices. Similarly, key chapters of [Link to Come], such as those covering documents and events, have been completely rewritten to bring them up-to-date.
Conventions Used in This Book
I use the following typographical conventions in this book:
- Italic
-
Is used for emphasis and to indicate the first use of a term. Italic is also used for email addresses, URLs and file names.
Constant width-
Is used in all JavaScript code and CSS and HTML listings, and generally for anything that you would type literally when programming.
Constant width italic-
Is used for the names of function parameters, and generally as a placeholder to indicate an item that should be replaced with an actual value in your program.
Example Code
The examples in this book are available online. You can find them linked from the book’s catalog page at the publisher’s website:
This book is here to help you get your job done. In general, you may use the code in this book in your programs and documentation. You do not need to contact O’Reilly for permission unless you’re reproducing a significant portion of the code. For example, writing a program that uses several chunks of code from this book does not require permission. Selling or distributing a CD-ROM of examples from O’Reilly books does require permission. Answering a question by citing this book and quoting example code does not require permission. Incorporating a significant amount of example code from this book into your product’s documentation does require permission.
If you use the code from this book, I appreciate, but do not require, attribution. An attribution usually includes the title, author, publisher, and ISBN. For example: “JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, Seventh Edition, by David Flanagan (O’Reilly). Copyright 2020 David Flanagan, 978-1-491-95202-3.”
For more details on the O’Reilly code reuse policy, see http://oreilly.com/pub/a/oreilly/ask_tim/2001/codepolicy.html. If you feel your use of the examples falls outside of the permission given above, feel free to contact O’Reilly at [email protected].
Errata and How to Contact Us
The publisher maintains a public list of errors found in this book. You can view the list, and submit the errors you find, by visiting the book’s web page:
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Acknowledgments
Many people have helped me with the creation of this book. I’d like to thank my editor, Mike Loukides, for trying to keep me on schedule and for his insightful comments. Thanks also to my technical reviewers: Zachary Kessin, who reviewed many of the chapters in Part I, and Raffaele Cecco, who reviewed [Link to Come] and the <canvas> material in [Link to Come]. The production team at O’Reilly has done their usual fine job: Dan Fauxsmith managed the production process, Teresa Elsey was the production editor, Rob Romano drew the figures, and Ellen Troutman Zaig created the index.
In this era of effortless electronic communication, it is impossible to keep track of all those who influence and inform us. I’d like to thank everyone who has answered my questions on the es5, w3c, and whatwg mailing lists, and everyone who has shared their insightful ideas about JavaScript programming online. I’m sorry I can’t list you all by name, but it is a pleasure to work within such a vibrant community of JavaScript programmers.
Editors, reviewers, and contributors to previous editions of this book have included: Andrew Schulman, Angelo Sirigos, Aristotle Pagaltzis, Brendan Eich, Christian Heilmann, Dan Shafer, Dave C. Mitchell, Deb Cameron, Douglas Crockford, Dr. Tankred Hirschmann, Dylan Schiemann, Frank Willison, Geoff Stearns, Herman Venter, Jay Hodges, Jeff Yates, Joseph Kesselman, Ken Cooper, Larry Sullivan, Lynn Rollins, Neil Berkman, Nick Thompson, Norris Boyd, Paula Ferguson, Peter-Paul Koch, Philippe Le Hegaret, Richard Yaker, Sanders Kleinfeld, Scott Furman, Scott Issacs, Shon Katzenberger, Terry Allen, Todd Ditchendorf, Vidur Apparao, and Waldemar Horwat.
This edition of the book is substantially rewritten and kept me away from my family for many late nights. My love to them and my thanks for putting up with my absences.