The second section consists of six chapters, all of which contain a complete JavaScript Web page. Each chapter introduces a problem, demonstrates how you might solve it without JavaScript, and then shows how you can craft a much better solution with JavaScript. These chapters all conclude with some thoughts on how you can enhance the solution and how you can adapt the techniques to creating your own Web pages with JavaScript. In every chapter, the JavaScript code is discussed in depth, function by function. No mysteries; there's no one behind the curtain. If you don't understand something about the code, write me at marcj@nando.net. I'll be glad to answer your questions!
Finally, the third section contains six appendices, chock full of useful reference material: the character set, reserved words, a review of HTML, the JavaScript operators, JavaScript's built-in objects and functions, and online resources. Again, if there's something I missed, write me. I want to help.
This book was written on a nameless 486-based desktop system lovingly assembled by Computer Options of Raleigh, North Carolina, and on a Pentium-based Samsung notebook, using Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0 under Windows 3.1 (the desktop) and Windows 95 (the notebook). The Web pages created were tested on both platforms, as well as on a Sun Microsystems Sparc-10 running Solaris 2.4 and on the desktop system under Linux 1.2.1. Luke Cassady-Dorion, my excellent technical editor, also ran them on his Macintosh. The Web pages were written with WebMania! 1.5. Screen shots were taken with Collage Complete 1.0, and enhanced with Paint Shop Pro 3.12. My Web space provider is Hurricane Electric (he.net; my home page is http://www.he.net/~marcj/index.html), and the Web pages were loaded onto their server for live testing. All of this was accomplished through my Internet service provider, nando.net.
I had a lot of fun writing this book, and I hope it proves to be a useful addition to your library.