JavaScript for Developers – Courseware

Module 1: Basic Scripting

JavaScript has been described as a simple scripting language and also as a complex object oriented language. In this module we will explore basic scripting. Many of the topics in the module will be expanded upon in later sections of this course. In this module we will look at the basics to write and call a JavaScript function, find HTML elements in a web page, change properties of HTML elements, write loops, test strings and values (IF statements), and a few more.

Lessons

• JavaScript Basics
• JavaScript or ECMAScript?
• Which Version of JavaScript am I Using?
• Shims, Shivs, and Polyfills
• Writing and Testing JavaScript
• Editors and the F12 Tools
• Key Parts of a Script

Lab 1: 

• Q&A quiz
• Exercise 1 – Experimenting with the F12 Developer Tools
• Exercise 2 – Update the time on the page by using JavaScript
• Exercise 3 – Add JavaScript to respond to an event

After completing this module you will be able to:

• Add basic scripts to a web page
• Use the F12 tools to explore pages

Module 2: The Document Object Model

Neither browsers nor JavaScript work directly with the HTML file that was received from the web server. The browser parses this file and converts it into a tree structure called the Document Object Model, or DOM for short. In this module we explore working with Elements and DOM objects.

Lessons

• The DOM
• Accessing Objects from the DOM
• Responding to Events
• Adding Elements to the DOM

Lab 2:

• Q&A quiz
• Add an Animation to the Home Page.
• Move the JavaScript to a File
• Add JavaScript to Supply Mouse Over Tips to the Menu Tabs

After completing this module you will be able to:

• Describe the DOM and Elements.
• Write JavaScript code to search and update the DOM.
• Write code to respond to DOM object events.
• Add and remove Elements to and from the DOM.

Module 3:  Introduction to jQuery

A lot of the coding work you will do with JavaScript will be to first find an HTML element, and then manipulate that element. Often, all we are doing is some searching, or querying, of the HTML and then performing a quick update. In this module we will exploring using the jQuery library to search for, and modify, elements in the DOM.

Lessons

• jQuery
• Downloading the jQuery Library
• jQuery Versions
• Linking to the Library
• Selecting Elements using jQuery
• Working with the Data Returned by jQuery
• Setting CSS Properties
• Running a Function Against the jQuery Return Set

Lab 3:

• Q&A quiz
• Add the jQuery Library to the Project
• Create New Elements using jQuery

After completing this module you will be able to:

• Describe the role of libraries like jQuery in JavaScript and web development.
• Add the jQuery library to a project.
• Find and retrieve, update and create new elements in the DOM.

Module 4: Ajax and Web Services

This module explores web services and the use of Ajax to call those services.

Lessons

• Web Services
• HTTP Verbs
• Data Formats – XML and JSON
• Ajax
• RESTful Web Services
• OData
• OData Queries
• OData Updates

Lab 4:

• Q&A quiz
• Exploring a REST Web Service
• Load Data from a Web Service

After completing this module you will be able to:

• Describe web services and how to interact with them from JavaScript and jQuery.
• Work with XML and JSON data.
• Create queries and update data using REST and OData.

Module 5:  Diving in Deeper

In this module we will explore the topics you will need to know as you move from a “JavaScript scripter” to a “JavaScript developer”.

Some of the topics include:

•  More about Data Types and data conversion
• Variables: more on Scopes, Hoisting, Creating and Deleting
• Functions: Anonymous functions, Closures, Self-invoking functions, the “this” keyword and the Module Pattern
• More on error handling
• Recursion

Lessons

• Is JavaScript Compiled?
• Data Types and Objects
• Extending Data Types
• Variables, Scopes and Hoisting
• Functions
• The “this” Keyword
• Errors
• Recursion

Lab 5:

• Q&A quiz

After completing this module you will be able to:

• Describe how JavaScript variables are used, stored, and manipulated.
• Understand how JavaScript variables and functions are scoped, and occasionally “hoisted”.
• Create functions, anonymous functions and Closures.
• Describe and use the “this” keyword in functions.
• Create try-catch blocks and handle errors.

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Before attending this course, students should have previous programming experience using C, C# or Java. 

This course is intended for both the novice and experienced programmer.