Rex A. Barzee - Programming Fundamentals in JavaScript

• Chapter 1.
• Chapter 2.
• Chapter 3.
• iv
  Chapter 4.
• Chapter 5.
• Chapter 6.
  1. v
• Chapter 7.
• Chapter 8.
  1. vi
• Chapter 9.
• Chapter 10.
• vii
  Chapter 11.
• Chapter 12.
• Appendix A.
• Appendix B.

Learning to program a computer is a frustrating task for manystudents. In my teaching experience, I have found that much of thisfrustration comes because students are not shown enough programmingexamples. All of us learn by watching others, so why shouldlearning to program a computer be any different? I wrote this bookwith minimal text but filled with computer programming examples and manyhands on exercises to help beginning students learn computer programmingmore efficiently and thoroughly and with less frustration.

You can use this book as a tutorial or a reference. When usingit as a tutorial, you will find it helpful to step through the examplecode line by line as if you were a computer. Doing this issometimes called a desk check because you arechecking the code on paper or at your desk instead ofrunning it on a computer. To aid you in desk checking the example code,I have provided desk check locations throughout the book. Each deskcheck location includes a list of all the variables found in thecorresponding example code and values for the input variables. Toperform a desk check, step through the code as if you were the computerand change the value of each variable just as the computer would.

Within the text of this book the following fonts and font styles areused.

• Bolded text is used to highlight an important term.
• Italicized text emphasizes certain words that might bemissed by casual reading.
• Underlined text indicates a hyperlink to a website.
• Fixed width font is used to show computer code.
• Menu font shows the words that appearin a computer menu or on a computer button.

Chapters 512 include JavaScript code templates that use thesefonts and symbols.

• Fixed width font is used for JavaScript keywordsthat you must type exactly as they are shown in the template.
• Italicized text is used for words that you should replacewhen you write code.
• Any part of a template that is written in gray text is optional.

For example within the following template,var is a JavaScript keyword,name, name2 , and name3 should be replaced by namesthat you choose, and name2 and name3 are optional.

Several locations in this book use brackets and parentheses tospecify an interval or range of numbers, like this [0, 25). Abracket means that end of the interval is inclusive, or in other wordsincludes the listed number. A parenthesis means that end of the intervalis exclusive, or in other words excludes the listed number. For example,in this interval: [0, 25), 0 is included, but 25 is excluded.

To aid in your learning, this book contains different types oflearning tools such as

• example code and tables to desk check that code
• review questions
• programming assignments

Locations within this book where you should write or do an exerciseare marked in the margin with a pencil icon like this

I am grateful to Michael McLaughlin for our many discussions onpedagogy and student learning. I thank my wife for her support andproofreading of this book. I am also grateful to my students whohave used this book and given me valuable suggestions, such as AdamMartin, one of my teaching assistants, who gave me valuable suggestionsabout the chapter on functions.

Please rate this book or write a review atwww.amazon.com/dp/B00TEO4IVU.Your comments and suggestions help the author and publisher producebetter books.