The Complete Idiot's Guide to JavaScript introduces you, gentle reader, to the hottest property in cyberspace today: JavaScript. With JavaScript, a normal, everyday, Internet-familiar person can create Web pages with the finesse of an experienced guru. No mantras, no strange languages, and no expensive compilers are necessary - just a little common sense and an open mind. This book explains what JavaScript is, how it works, what it's made of, and how you can use it. As a second edition, it also brings you up-to-date on the new features introduced in JavaScript 1.1. You'll discover the component parts that make up this language and come to understand all the esoteric pieces in a language that don't require a Ph.D. You'll even find several examples of JavaScript scripts in action that you can rip apart, change, and enhance. What about the title of this book: The Complete Idiot's Guide? Well, it assumes that you're no idiot on your own turf. You know your job, you know what you want, you know how to get things done. But there's one thing you don't know: how to use JavaScript. This book assumes that you've done a little Web surfing and have created some of your own Web pages. However, as you've surfed, you've come across things others have put together, and you want to learn how to do that, too. The underlying things (protocols, transmission layers, gateways, proxies) are of little concern to you; you just want to get the job done - quickly and easily - and at the same time, retain as much of your hair as possible. Here are some more assumptions, I've taken the liberty to make: You know what the World Wide Web is; You know what a browser is; You're familiar with HTML, the language of the Web; You've created some of your own Web pages; You like chocolate. If, however, you feel you want more background on any of these assumptions, check out The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Internet (Peter Kent), The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Internet with Windows 95 (Peter Kent), The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating an HTML Web Page (Paul McFedries), or The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World Wide Web (Peter Kent).