Get Programming with JavaScript

Book excerpt: Summary Get Programming with JavaScript is a hands-on introduction to programming for readers who have never programmed. You'll be writing your own web apps, games, and programs in no time! Foreword by Remy Sharp. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Book Are you ready to start writing your own web apps, games, and programs? You’re in the right place! Get Programming with JavaScript is a hands-on introduction to programming for readers who have never written a line of code. Since you’re just getting started, this friendly book offers you lots of examples backed by careful explanations. As you go along, you’ll find exercises to check your understanding and plenty of opportunities to practice your new skills. You don’t need any­thing special to follow the examples—just the text editor and web browser already installed on your computer. We even give you links to working online code so you can see how everything should look live on your screen. What’s Inside All the basics—objects, functions, responding to users, and more Think like a coder and design your own programs Create a text-based adventure game Enhance web pages with JavaScript Run your programs in a web browser Four bonus chapters available online About the Reader No experience required! All you need is a web browser and an internet connection. About the Author John Larsen is a mathematics and computing teacher with an interest in educational research. He has an MA in mathematics and an MSc in information technology. He started programming in 1982, writing simple programs for teaching mathematics in 1993, building websites in 2001, and developing data-driven web-based applications for education in 2006. Table of Contents PART 1 CORE CONCEPTS ON THE CONSOLE Programming, JavaScript, and JS Bin Variables: storing data in your program Objects: grouping your data Functions: code on demand Arguments: passing data to functions Return values: getting data from functions Object arguments: functions working with objects Arrays: putting data into lists Constructors: building objects with functions Bracket notation: flexible property names PART 2 ORGANIZING YOUR PROGRAMS Scope: hiding information Conditions: choosing code to run Modules: breaking a program into pieces Models: working with data Views: displaying data Controllers: linking models and views PART 3 JAVASCRIPT IN THE BROWSER HTML: building web pages Controls: getting user input Templates: filling placeholders with data XHR: loading data Conclusion: get programming with JavaScript BONUS ONLINE CHAPTERS Node: running JavaScript outside the browser Express: building an API Polling: repeating requests with XHR Socket.IO: real-time messaging