JavaScript is a programming language that can be used to add interactive behavior to web pages. It has awareness of the DOM (Document Object Model) which represents the structure of HTML pages. JavaScript code can be used to dynamically update and modify web pages. While JavaScript and Java are unrelated, JavaScript is commonly used with jQuery, a library that simplifies JavaScript programming and DOM manipulation. The layers of the web include content, structure, style, and behavior, with JavaScript providing the behavioral layer.

1. JavaScript
Prof. Alvarado
MDST 3703/7703
27 September 2012

2. Business
• Directories page
– Make sure you have the MDST3703 directory, with
no spaces
– Naming is important! Allows us to link to each
others’ work
• Resource page
– Links to helpful pages so you can teach yourself

3. Home Directory Tip
• You can access your Home Directory via SFTP
– SFTP is more robust but not integrated with your
desktop (i.e. no mounted drive)
• Steps
– Install the FTP plugin in JEdit …

4. Go to Plugins > FTP > Connect to FTP Server …

5. … and enter the following info:

6. Review
• CSS is the language used to add style to
HTML pages
– HTML (used properly) defines structure
• Styles are associated with elements by means
of selectors
– Selectors point to element by means of location in
the DOM, classes, and IDs
• Specific styles are added by means of
key/value pairs

8. "I feel that most of the things that we are
learning how to do are by trial and error basis
.... You can’t just expect to code something right
away and get it right. It takes time and patience
-- A LOT of patience -- before actually almost
throwing your computer out the window
because you have no idea why your code
doesn’t work and then you come to find out you
are missing a semicolon somewhere in
hundreds of lines of C++ code!!!! >:("
Computers are stupid!
And: To grow, fail early and often

9. "Today’s studio has me thinking more about how
there are so many possible variances in logical
pathways that defining computer logic has so
many inherent variances across the different text
programing languages. Is there a system that can
read all of them? Regardless, it is important to
note that any logic possessed in any machine first
extended from a human mind."
"I wonder what tool or language will allow
us to connect our pages and create a
cohesive unit?"

10. "Does the fact that the two are often separated
(as we separated our persuasion.html file from
its link to the default.css file.) allow for a more
descriptive CSS?"
"It has me thinking that the entire system
of the computer is founded upon a
system of layers."

11. "I wonder if most thematic collections I see are coded by hand, or
if most scholars use webpage creating software?"
"What do you do if you want to use a layout element that does
not exist in the current CSS language? Will there ever be a way to
write style, content, and structure with a single language?"
"It is crazy to think that our exercise only involved working with
one page, whereas creators of Thematic Research Collections
have to mark-up thousands of pages of research. I wonder how
much time and resources such tasks take up."

12. "[W]e created a digital representation of
the text with HTML but used CSS to
make it resemble its original analog
form. Don’t you think we are limiting
ourselves by doing so?"

14. A programming
language built into
your browser
Allows you to create
applications in web
pages
Allows you to add
behavior to web pages
Has a built-in awareness of the DOM
DOM = Document Object Model
= the way HTML pages are viewed by the computer

15. JavaScript has
nothing to do
with Java …

16. The DOM represent HTML as a tree structure

17. We will be using jQuery, which makes
it easy to do powerful things with
JavaScript

18. Another layer to our stack …
CONTENT | utf8
STRUCTURE | html
STYLE | css
BEHAVIOR | javascript