It is the one of most popular scripting language used in millions of the webpages these days. Its main purpose is to allow web developers to add functionality and interactivity to webpages.
JavaScript was created by Brendan Eich at Netscape in May 1995. It was originally called Mocha. Netscape then changed its name from Mocha to Live Script and then again changed to JavaScript language in December 1995.
JavaScript is an interpreted, Object–Oriented, high-level scripting language. By the term interpreted we mean that its commands are executed by the web browser in the order in which browser read them. By the term Object-Oriented we mean that it works by manipulating object on the webpage such as windows, documents, images etc. By the term Scripting language we mean that programs that run inside another program remain in an original form and are interpreted command by command each time they run.
By using JavaScript, web developers can perform the following tasks:
- Swap images when the user rolls over an image or clicks the button.
- Creating pop-up windows
- Writing dynamic contents.
- Open browser window.
- Perform form data validation.
- Creating drop down menus.
- Creating games.
- Performing mathematical calculations.
- Check browser version, screen resolution.
- Alert messages.
- Creating animations.
The History of JavaScript
JavaScript is everywhere, and for the seventh year in a row, it has been ranked the most commonly used programming language, with 67.8% of developers employing it in 2019. Its ascent to the world’s most popular programming language is synonymous with the rise of the internet itself.
To learn JavaScript, you must know the basics of HTML and CSS, both of which are extremely easy to learn. For a working knowledge of JavaScript and most web-based projects, this knowledge will be sufficient.
Is JavaScript good for beginners?
JavaScript is intuitive for a beginner just learning to code and a great vehicle to teach students the principles of Computer Science. Once you really understand at a deep level how JavaScript works, you become quite capable of picking up other languages.
JavaScript Frameworks and How they work:
JavaScript being one of the most popular languages of time past and now, it’s a favorite for web development both on the front and back-end.
Choosing the right tech stack can be the difference between whether your business makes it or breaks it. Stay tuned to learn more about JavaScript frameworks and which one is right for your business.
What are the different JavaScript Framework?
Frameworks provide developers with the basic foundation necessary for building JavaScript applications. This saves developers the effort of starting from scratch by utilizing a functional base to get things rolling.
In JavaScript’s case, this base includes a collection of code libraries. The libraries compile code that elicits specific functionality for the specific type of app you may be working on. In essence, the framework will define the structure of the entire application.
What Does a JavaScript Framework Do?
Each JavaScript framework serves a different purpose. JavaScript is a steadfast choice for web development and many of its frameworks revolve around this undertaking.
Building web apps and websites from start to finish can take quite a bit of work. Web frameworks – or really, JavaScript frameworks – take advantage of the fact that every website and web app have common features.
In this way, you can think of the term framework quite literally. Houses also rely on frameworks as a skeleton for the overall support and shape of an outer framing. Software frameworks do the same.
JavaScript frameworks render pre-written JavaScript code that produces routine programming features, ultimately easing development.
The 5 Most Popular JavaScript Frameworks
There are a couple dozen JavaScript frameworks out in the ether for you to use. But for the brevity of this piece, it’s probably best to mention the most popular ones.
Node.js
Node.js is not exactly a JavaScript framework; it’s a runtime environment. While JavaScript can be written directly into the web browser, this is not always desirable.
This is why Node.js lends the capacity for command-line tools and server-side scripting.
Though JavaScript usually operates on the client-side or the front-end, server-side scripting begets faster load times as browser technology is not needed. This can decrease user frustration and increase SEO.
Vue.js
Vue.js calls itself the “progressive” JavaScript framework. The name stems from its philosophy of incremental adoption. In Vue.js, the core library is focused on the view layer only so any additional functionality must be adopted in increments.
The framework uses a model-view-viewmodel (MVVM) architectural pattern. This pattern separates the graphical user interface (UI) – or the view – from the business logic of the application – or the model. The viewmodel layer is a converter medium that synchronizes data.
AngularJS & Angular
Angular is maintained by Google and addresses common complications in building single-page applications (SPAs). This framework works by leveraging HTML vocabulary on dynamic web pages. In the past, HTML could only be used for static content.
SPAs work by dynamically loading content from the webserver rather than the web browser. As a result, SPAs function in a similar fashion to mobile applications and do not need to be reloaded.
Ember.js
Ember.js is a JavaScript framework employing a component-service pattern. Opposed to the traditional model-view-controller (MVC) architecture, components in Ember.js are central to the framework. Almost everything in Ember.js can be categorized as a service or component.
Components are transient and manipulate the markup text and styles of an application UI. Services are objects that live for the duration of an application. They can be made available for different parts of your applications and are best used for persistent states.
React
React is a JavaScript framework developed by Facebook that simplifies the process of building interactive UIs. It is the base of React Native, an adjacent framework for building mobile applications.
Both frameworks have a one-way data flow, which is considered more intuitive than bi-directional data binding. Hot reload is another popular feature of the React frameworks allowing developers to immediately see changes as they are applied.
What’s the Difference Between a JavaScript Framework and a JavaScript Library?
With JavaScript libraries, developers call specific functions from the parent code. But developers can not call JavaScript frameworks. Instead, frameworks call and use a piece of code in a predetermined way. Frameworks define the application design.
Adopting code from frameworks is more holistic than using libraries. A framework doesn’t just offer a singular solution but a complete template for development. The advantage is more organization and greater efficiency.
| JAVASCRIPT | JQUERY |
| JavaScript uses JIT[Just in Time Compiler] which is a combination of interpreter and Compile and is written in C. It’s a combination of ECMA script and DOM (Document Object Model). | While JQuery Uses the resources that are provided by JavaScript to make things easier. It is a lightweight JavaScript library. It has only the DOM. |
| JavaScript uses long lines of code as an individual has to write the code own-self. | With JQuery, one has to write fewer lines of code than JavaScript. We just need to import the library and use the only specific functions or methods of the library in our code. |
| In JavaScript, we have to write extra code or move around to have cross-browser compatibility. | JQuery has an inbuilt feature of cross-browser compatibility. We don’t need to worry about writing extra lines of code or moving around in order to make our code compatible with any browser. |
| JavaScript can be a burden over a developer as it may take a number of lines of lengthy code to attain functionality. | Unlike JavaScript, JQuery is more user-friendly only a few lines of code have to write in order to have its functionality. |
| JavaScript is verbose because one has to write their own scripting code which is time-consuming. | JQuery is concise and one need not write much as scripting already exists. |
| Pure JavaScript can be faster for DOM selection/manipulation than jQuery as JavaScript is directly processed by the browser and it curtails the overhead which JQuery actually has. | JQuery is also fast with modern browsers and modern computers. JQuery has to be converted into JavaScript to make it run in a browser. |
| We can make animations in JavaScript with many lines of code. Animations are mainly done by manipulating the style of an Html page. | In JQuery, we can add animation effects easily with fewer lines of code. |
| JavaScript is a language, obviously, it would be heavier than JQuery. | While JQuery is a library, derived from JavaScript hence, it is lightweight. |
| JavaScript is an independent language and can exist on its own. | JQuery is a JavaScript library. It would not have been invented had JavaScript was not there. jQuery is still dependent on JavaScript as it has to be converted to JavaScript for the browser in-built JavaScript engine to interpret and run it. |
How to add JavaScript to your webpage?
Five Ways to Add JavaScript to Your Webpage:
Now we know what JavaScript is and why you might want to add it to your website to generate new opportunities for your company. But how do you actually do that? Here are five different strategies that you can use to make it happen.
Google Tag Manager
Google Tag Manager is a free tool from Google that enables developers to manage and deploy marketing tags with ease. You might already be using it on your website to make it easier for you to manage your tags and track their performance.
The tool also makes adding JavaScript to your website a breeze. In fact, you can do so in just five simple steps once you’ve chosen the JavaScript file that you want to use.
- Navigate to Google Tag Manager and click Tags -> New
- Click on Tag Configuration and then select Custom HTML
- Insert the JavaScript code that you want and save the changes
- Choose Page View as the triggering option
- Go to the top right corner of the page and click Publish to save the changes
Word Press
There are two easy ways to add JavaScript files to a webpage built via Word Press. Here’s a step-by-step guide for both of the methods.
- Download and install Word Press’ Header-Footer plugin
- Go to Settings -> Header-Footer
- Paste the JavaScript code that you want in the Bottom Footer textbox
Or you can plug the code in manually by following these instructions:
- Log in to your Word Press Admin Panel
- Go to Appearance -> Editor (make sure you’re selecting theme editor here)
- Select either Footer.php or Index.php
- Find </body> the HTML tag
- Copy and paste the tracking code before the </body> tag
- Click Update File to save the changes
Square space
The easiest way to add JavaScript to a Square space site is by utilizing Code Blocks. These enable you to add custom code to a specific page, blog post, sidebar, footer, or to any other content area you want.
You can add a code block to your site by completing the following steps:
- Edit a page or post and find an insert point. Then click Code from the menu.
- Add your code in the text field that pops up
- Click Apply to save your changes
That said, keep in mind that adding JavaScript via code blocks is a premium Square space feature. So you will need to verify that you have the correct type of account before proceeding.
HTML Header/Footer
You can also manually add JavaScript code to an HTML header or footer. This process is pretty straightforward if you already have the JavaScript code you want to use handy.
Here are step-by-step instructions for the process:
- Figure out where in your HTML file you want to add the code. Generally, either the header or footer of the document is going to be your best bet.
- Place a <script>tag inside of the chosen field
- Place the JavaScript code inside of the <script>tag
- Save the changes you’ve made and upload the edited HTML file to your site
WIX
If you’ve built your website through WIX, then these are the steps that you’ll follow to add JavaScript to it:
- Start by logging into your WIX account and clicking on Tracking & Analytics
- Click on New Tool and select either Custom or a standard tool such as Google Analytics or Facebook Pixel
- Paste the JavaScript code into the box that says “Paste code snippet here”
- Name your code so that you can keep track of it
- Click Add Code to Page -> Load code on each new page
- Decide whether you want the code to be displayed in the Head, Body, or Body-end section of the page
- Click Apply to make the changes live
Hubs pot
Adding a JavaScript file to your Hubs pot account is also relatively straightforward. If you’d like to do so, then you should follow these steps:
- Log into your Hubs pot account and navigate to Marketing -> Files -> Templates -> Design Tools
- Locate the left sidebar menu and click Actions -> New File. If you don’t see this, you may need to expand the Folder Icon to find the menu options.
- In the dialog box, click on the label marked JavaScript
- Then enter a name for your JavaScript file when prompted to do so
- Paste the JavaScript code into the editor
- Go to the upper-right corner of the page and click Publish Changes.
