1 Unobtrusive JavaScript
CS380
The six global DOM objects
2
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The window object
3
the entire browser window; the top-level object
in DOM hierarchy
technically, all global code and variables
become part of the window object properties:
document, history, location, name
methods:
alert, confirm, prompt (popup boxes)
setInterval, setTimeout clearInterval,
clearTimeout (timers)
open, close (popping up new browser windows)
blur, focus, moveBy, moveTo, print, resizeBy,
CS380 resizeTo, scrollBy, scrollTo
The document object
4
the current web page and the elements inside
it
properties:
anchors, body, cookie, domain, forms,
images, links, referrer, title, URL
methods:
getElementById
getElementsByName
getElementsByTagName
close, open, write, writeln
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The location object
5
the URL of the current web page
properties:
host, hostname, href, pathname, port,
protocol, search
methods:
assign, reload, replace
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The navigator object
6
information about the web browser application
properties:
appName, appVersion, browserLanguage,
cookieEnabled, platform, userAgent
Some web programmers examine the
navigator object to see what browser is being
used, and write browser-specific scripts and
if hacks:
(navigator.appName === "Microsoft Internet Explorer") {
...
JS
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The screen object
7
information about the client's display screen
properties:
availHeight, availWidth, colorDepth,
height, pixelDepth, width
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The history object
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the list of sites the browser has visited in this
window
properties:
length
methods:
back, forward, go
sometimes the browser won't let scripts view
history properties, for security
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Unobtrusive JavaScript
9
JavaScript event code seen previously was
obtrusive, in the HTML; this is bad style
now we'll see how to write unobtrusive
JavaScript code
HTML with minimal JavaScript inside
uses the DOM to attach and execute all
JavaScript functions
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Unobtrusive JavaScript
10
allows separation of web site into 3 major
categories:
content (HTML) - what is it?
presentation (CSS) - how does it look?
behavior (JavaScript) - how does it respond to
user interaction?
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Obtrusive event handlers (bad)
11
<button id="ok" onclick="okayClick();">OK</button>
HTML
// called when OK button is clicked
function okayClick() {
alert("booyah");
} JS
this is bad style (HTML is cluttered with JS
code)
goal: remove all JavaScript code from the
HTML body
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Attaching an event handler in
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JavaScript code
// where element is a DOM element object
element.event = function;
JS
$("ok").onclick = okayClick;
JS
it is legal to attach event handlers to elements'
DOM objects in your JavaScript code
notice that you do not put parentheses after the
function's name
this is better style than attaching them in the
HTML
Where should we put the above code?
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When does my code run?
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<head>
<script src="myfile.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body> ... </body> HTML
// global code
var x = 3;
function f(n) { return n + 1; }
function g(n) { return n - 1; }
x = f(x); JS
your file's JS code runs the moment the
browser loads the script tag
any variables are declared immediately
any functions are declared but not called, unless
CS380 your global code explicitly calls them
When does my code run?
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<head>
<script src="myfile.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body> ... </body> HTML
// global code
var x = 3;
function f(n) { return n + 1; }
function g(n) { return n - 1; }
x = f(x); JS
at this point in time, the browser has not yet
read your page's body
none of the DOM objects for tags on the page
have been created
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A failed attempt at being
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unobtrusive
<head>
<script src="myfile.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
<div><button id="ok">OK</button></div> HTML
// global code
$("ok").onclick = okayClick; // error: $("ok") is null
JS
problem: global JS code runs the moment the
script is loaded
script in head is processed before page's body
has loaded
no elements are available yet or can be accessed
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yet via the DOM
The window.onload event
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// this will run once the page has finished loading
function functionName() {
element.event = functionName;
element.event = functionName;
...
}
window.onload = functionName; // global code
JS
we want to attach our event handlers right
after the page is done loading
there is a global event called window.onload
event that occurs at that moment
in window.onload handler we attach all the
other handlers to run when events occur
An unobtrusive event handler
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<!-- look Ma, no JavaScript! -->
<button id="ok">OK</button>
HTML
// called when page loads; sets up event handlers
function pageLoad() {
$("ok").onclick = okayClick;
}
function okayClick() {
alert("booyah");
}
window.onload = pageLoad; // global code
JS
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Common unobtrusive JS errors
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event names are all lowercase, not capitalized
like most variables
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Anonymous functions
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function(parameters) {
statements;
}
JS
JavaScript allows you to declare anonymous
functions
quickly creates a function without giving it a
name
can be stored as a variable, attached as an
event handler, etc.
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Anonymous function example
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window.onload = function() {
var okButton = document.getElementById("ok");
okButton.onclick = okayClick;
};
function okayClick() {
alert("booyah");
}
JS
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The keyword this
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this.fieldName // access field
this.fieldName = value; // modify field
this.methodName(parameters); // call method
JS
all JavaScript code actually runs inside of an
object
by default, code runs inside the global window
object
all global variables and functions you declare
become part of window
the this keyword refers to the current object
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The keyword this
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function pageLoad() {
$("ok").onclick = okayClick; // bound to okButton
here
}
function okayClick() { // okayClick knows what DOM object
this.innerHTML = "booyah"; // it was called on
}
window.onload = pageLoad;
JS
event handlers attached unobtrusively are
bound to the element
inside the handler, that element becomes this
(rather than the window)
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Fixing redundant code with
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this
<fieldset>
<label><input type="radio" name="ducks"
value="Huey" /> Huey</label>
<label><input type="radio" name="ducks"
value="Dewey" /> Dewey</label>
<label><input type="radio" name="ducks"
value="Louie" /> Louie</label>
</fieldset> HTML
Example: Tip Calculator
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<h1>Tip Calculator</h1>
<div>
$<input id="subtotal" type="text" size= "5" /> subtotal
<br />
<button id="tenpercent">10%</button>
<button id="fifteenpercent"> 15%</button>
<button id="eighteenpercent"> 18%</button>
<span id="total"></span>
</div> HTML
window.onload = function() {
$("tenpercent").onclick = computeTip;
}
function computeTip{
var subtotal = parseFloat($("subtotal").value);
var tipAmount = subtotal*0.1;//Add this code
$("total").innerHTML = "Tip: $" + tipAmount;
} JS
