JavaScript is the programming language of the Web. The overwhelming majority of
modern websites use JavaScript, and all modern web browsers—on desktops, game
consoles, tablets, and smart phones—include JavaScript interpreters, making Java-
Script the most ubiquitous programming language in history. JavaScript is part of the
triad of technologies that all Web developers must learn: HTML to specify the content
of web pages, CSS to specify the presentation of web pages, and JavaScript to specify
the behavior of web pages. This book will help you master the language.
If you are already familiar with other programming languages, it may help you to know
that JavaScript is a high-level, dynamic, untyped interpreted programming language
that is well-suited to object-oriented and functional programming styles. JavaScript
derives its syntax from Java, its first-class functions from Scheme, and its prototype-
based inheritance from Self. But you do not need to know any of those languages, or
be familiar with those terms, to use this book and learn JavaScript.
The name “JavaScript” is actually somewhat misleading. Except for a superficial syn-
tactic resemblance, JavaScript is completely different from the Java programming lan-
guage. And JavaScript has long since outgrown its scripting-language roots to become
a robust and efficient general-purpose language. The latest version of the language (see
the sidebar) defines new features for serious large-scale software development.
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