Since JavaScript code is part of the web page a text editor such as "Notepad" or "Wordpad" will suffice. To view the effect of JavaScript and this tutorial a browser is needed such as Netscape version 4.0 or later. Microsoft has developed its own version of JavaScript called JScript which for the most part is compatible with Netscape's JavaScript. Thus Microsoft's Internet Explorer, version 4.0 or later, can also be used as a browser for JavaScript.
The material of this tutorial is presented in the following manner. Before each program there is usually introductory material. The program is then given with line numbers. The line numbers are not part of the actual program but have been added to allow for the explanations to refer to specific lines in the program. Below each program is a link which when clicked allows the user to run the program. Below the viewer link in the tutorial are the explanations of some of the code in the program. When viewing the run of the program there is a link which when clicked returns the viewer to the tutorial. That last link is not part of the program. The reader will note that the programs are given in a sequence such that each program presents only one or two new ideas. The reader can use this tutorial to see some of the power of JavaScript without actually learning the code itself. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the basics of HTML.
The emphasis of this tutorial is to show the possibility of constructing different tests on the web page using JavaScript that the user can take and have marked immediately. In some cases the user can generate the different problems. The initial tests presented deal with arithmetic but the proceedures can easely be utilized for other types of tests. Parts 1-7 start with the basic commands of JavaScript culminating in part 7 with a multi problem interactive quiz in arithmetic that the user can take, have it marked by the web page itself, and have the correct answers given if a wrong answer was entered. Part 8 illustrates three different interactive quizzes:multiple choice, fillin, and matching. Parts 9 and 10 introduce the use of a timing function in changing the web page. Part 9 shows how JavaScript code can be written to allow the user to change the background color of the web page, and how the background color of the web page can be changed automatically going through a range of colors. In part 10 the construction of a banner or marque is introduced. Here again we use a timing function. We take this one step further in part 11 where we show how we can present a series of pages or images by clicking a button and how this process can be automated using the timer function.
The initial programs of this tutorial are short and can easely be grasped and tolerated even by a person of little or no programming experience. As the tutorial proceeds, the programs become longer. But this should not deter the reader since any program adds only a few new lines to the proceeding one, thus allowing the user to retain a sense of comfort about the programs.