Thread: JavaScript Documentation & References

Hello there, folks - I'm compiling a little list of where to find references and documentation for the ECMAScript language, implentations (such as JavaScript, JScript, ActionScript, InScript etc.), browser host objects and other useful JavaScript resources.

If you have any feedback, suggestions of improvements for this thread, please post them in the community feedback thread.



(If you are a mere mortal and no JavaScript god, you might be more interested in looking at the bottom part of this post and at the MSDN or DevEdge documentation.)

JavaScriptKit.com JavaScript Reference: Comprehensive listing of JavaScript objects, properties, and methods. Also includes explanations and examples.

The ECMAScript Standard:
ECMAScript:
(Authored for implementors, not users. Very hard to read unless you know and understand the technical language it uses.)

• ECMA-262 - ECMAScript Language Specification
• ECMA-262 2nd Edition - ECMAScript Language Specification (Revision is editorial in nature)
• ECMA-262 3rd Edition - ECMAScript Language Specification (Updated with for example regex)
• ECMA-262 Edition 4 - ECMAScript Version 2 Draft (Estimated finished 2004 Q1)
• Netscape’s ECMAScript Edition 4 proposal
• ECMA-290 ECMAScript Components Specification (Anyone heard of this one before?)
• News 2003-03-28! ECMAScript for XML (E4X)

Implementations:
JavaScript:
(Netscape implemetation, see DevEdge JavaScript Central)

• DevEdge JS1.5 Core Ref
• DevEdge JS1.5 Core Guide
• Mozilla/SeaMonkey Class Hierarchy: /js
• JavaScript 2.0 Specification (Curiosa and nothing else - the implementation isn't in any user agent for the moment.)

JScript: (Only use MSDN for IE proprietary stuff.)
(Microsoft implementation, see MSDN/Scripting/JScript)

• JScript User's guide
• JScript Language Reference

JavaScript:
(Opera implementation)

• ECMAScript support in Opera 7

kjs:
(Safari & Konqueror implementation)

• namespace KJS

Host objects:
Standard host objects, DOM0 & Netscape 4 proprietary host objects:

• DevEdge JS1.3 Client Ref
• DevEdge JS1.3 Client Guide

Mozilla Gecko host objects:

• Gecko DOM Reference
• Client Object Cross-References
• Mozilla DOM Samples:List of samples
• Mozilla/SeaMonkey Class Hierarchy: /dom
• Mozilla/SeaMonkey Class Hierarchy: /htmlparser

JScript host objects:

• HTML and DHTML Reference
• HTML and DHTML Overview and Tutorials
• About the W3C Document Object Model (W3C DOM in Internet Explorer)
• MSXML4.0 SDK (XML in IE)
• Interfaces and Scripting Objects
• Measuring Element Dimension and Location
• Internet Client SDK
• Windows Scripting Zone References

Opera host objects:

• Web Specifications Supported in Opera 7
• Web Specifications Supported in Opera - JavaScript

kjs & khtml host objects:

• kjs Class Index
• khtml Class Index

Implementations and host objects:
ActionScript:
(MacroMedia flash implementation and host objects)

• Flash MX ActionScript Dictionary
• Flash MX ActionScript Reference Guide
• Using ActionScript Overview
• ScreamWeaverMX ActionScript Reference

InScript:
(iCab implementation and host objects)

• InScript Object Reference

I couldn't find any OmniWeb JavaScript Documentation and References anywhere - PPK's page will have to suffice when it comes to that browser.

The Document Object Model - DOM:

• W3C DOM Technical Reports (List of the current specs when it comes to the DOM, and their present status)
• Introduction to the Document Object Model
• Peter Paul Koch's Quirksmode (Best resource for DOM and CSS cross-browser support)
• Scripting for the version 6 browsers
• Rough Guide to the DOM

I'm working on collecting DOM links now. PM me with suggestions if you have any.

Other resources:
Event Handling:

• [DOM2Events] (W3C)
• Event Handlers Reference (Netscape DevEdge)
• Handling Events Guide(Netscape DevEdge)
• Understanding the Event Model (MSDN - DHTML)

JavaScript general references:

• ECMA JavaScript References
• JavaScript Tutorials (John Russel)
• DevGuru JavaScript Reference
• Learn Advanced JavaScript Programming
• dev-x JavaScript Operators
• dev-x JavaScript Objects
• JavaScript and Browser Objects Quick Reference
• HTML,CSS,Javascript docs
• JavaScript 101 Part 1
• JavaScript 101 Part 2
• JavaScript 101 Part 3
• Teach Yourself JavaScript in a Week (Arman Danesh)
• JavaScript Manual of Style (Marc Johnson)
• Using JScript Special Edition (Mark Reynolds with Jerry Honeycutt)
• Web Scripting Secret Weapons (Scott Walter)
  

Documentation on Specific Features:

• jellspace - all javascript event handlers (old-but-good)
• JavaScript Reference and Example Site
• jsIndex (Best object oriented JavaScript linklist there is)
  

Document Bindings/Behavior (Two separate Mozilla and Microsoft technologies that might be united in some form in CSS Level 3)

• PBWizard Binding/Behavior version 1.0 Documentation (Meta-resource on this)
• HTC Reference (MS technology)
• HTML Components (W3C Note by MS)
• Action Sheets (W3C Note by Ns)
• BECSS: Behavioral Extensions to CSS (W3C WD, 1999)
• XBL - XML Bindings Language (Moz technology)
• XBL - Extensible Binding Language 1.0 (mozilla.org spec)
• Using DHTML Behaviors (MSDN)
• Behaviors Reference (MSDN)

Object Oriented and Higher Order Programming in JavaScript

• Class Inheritance
• The Many Inheritances in JavaScript
• Object-Oriented Programming with JavaScript, Part I: Inheritance
• JavaScript Inheritance Tutorial
• Object Hierarchy and Inheritance in JavaScript
• Extending JavaScript with Function Pointers
• Event Handlers and Callback Functions - article
• Higher Order Programming - article (Sjoerd really grasps the finer details of JavaScript)
• Douglas Crockford (As does Douglas...)
• Currying JavaScript Functions (Svend Tofte isn't bad at it either)
• JavaScript Object-Oriented Programming Part 1
• JavaScript Object-Oriented Programming Part 2

Various, often specific task related:

• JavaScript Kit (formerly Website Abstraction)
• JavaScript FAQ Knowledge Base
• GateScript

Other technologies related to JavaScript and web design:
W3C Specifications:

• [CSS1] Cascading Style Sheets, level 1
• [CSS2] Cascading Style Sheets level 2
• XML Core WG (XML, XInclude, XML Base, XML Fragment Interchange, XML Information Set, Namespaces in XML, Associating Style Sheets with XML)
• XSL WG (XSLT, XPath)
• XML Linking WG (XLink, XPointer, XML Base)
• XML Query WG (XQuery, XPath)
• XML Schema WG
• HTML Home (XHTML2, XHTML, XForms, XFrames, XML Events, HLink, HTML)
• SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
• Math Home (MathML)
• PNG (Portable Network Graphics)
• [HTTP/1.1] HyperText Transfer Protocol 1.1
• What is a good standard? An essay on W3C's design principles

W3C Technologies Resources:

• ZVON.org A site with lots of XML and Mozilla related tutorials and references

JavaScript Graphics Libraries:

• 
  High Performance Vectorgraphics Library (Walter Zorn)
• JavaScript Diagram Builder (Lutz Tautenhahn)
• PNGLets

Now, tell me: Did I miss anything?



Also, not that good for JavaScript, but having a few gems on other languages and maybe a resource to keep an eye on, is The Quick Reference Site.



(PM me with suggested additions, if you have any)

[cut off part from another thread]


Global variables eat memory - local variables exist only as long as the function survives, unless they are in some way referenced from somewhere else. (Mostly the objects that has been created using the function, gíven the function is a constructor.)

If-else consume memory. Use conditional operation (sometimes called ternary operation because it is the only operation that takes three operands in JavaScript) (condition?expression:expression) or short circuit validation when you have only expressions to handle. If you have to handle statements, a switch...case...default is usally faster - even for a simple if(){}else if(){}, though it takes more space to write.

Every extra action you have to take - including climbing the scope chain and calling a function - consume processing power. You gain load speed and readability from splitting up in smaller functions, especially if they are called from many places.

Do..while is faster than while is faster than for is faster than for..in. Sometimes a function calling itself is faster than an iterator, sometimes not. Seems to depend on function complexity - the more complex the more gain. If you can keep a loop shorter than a function, use that instead.

setInterval is better than setTimeout. Neither is good.

Don't ever use eval, Function constructor or RegExp constructor if you can avoid them. They are big hogs all of them.


Use break and continue in loops if they perform an action you might be interested in. It's often better to loop through everything and jump what you don't want to handle than to set a more complex expression in the condition of the loop.

Use labled blocks and breaks for complex execution handling. It may be spaghetti, but it's fast.


Minimise actions inside loops. For instance, never use collection.length inside the condition if it's static during the loop - store it in a variable instead.

Thanks for Your outstanding answer, liorean!

Most subjects I am aware of / understand, however I will dive in the iternary operations structures to know more of it.

One question for now, what's Your advice on the amount of used global variables, maximum 50, 100,...... Because it's so easy to have all my div.id's directly to play with.

Jerome

Use as few as possibly. Create one or just a few holding object containing the variables you want as properties instead.

Also, if you declare a variable inside a function instead of globally, it will exists only so long as the function, so that's a good way of avoiding global variables.

Never use MSDN for information about anything non-MS-proprietary. If you look up a standard property MSDN will tell you how IE implements it, which may or may not be how it's supposed to be implemented, but MSDN never distinguishes. Therefore its information with regard to anything non-MS is unreliable.

<nb>I'm not MS bashing here .. simply passing on advice because I value integrity of information ... and I've been embarrassed too many times </nb>

For MS-proprietary information it's second to none, but it's search facility is not so great; Google Site Search is much more reliable: "site:msdn.microsoft.com your search words"

Just made a cleenup of blind links and made some additions. (Thanks, everyone reporting those blind links and suggesting additions.)

I'm also looking for some way to bring the structure of this list to a level that makes it easier for newbies to find what they are searching for in it (Currently it's more targetted at people already familiar with the languages and it's construction and abilities). If you have any suggestions, PM me.

(I like to keep this thread absolutely on-topic and relevant)