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== What is JavaScript? ==

JavaScript is a scripting language widely used for client-side web development.

== Where do I find general information about JavaScript? ==

=== Online resources: ===
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript JavaScript (Wikipedia)]
* [http://www.w3schools.com/JS/ JavaScript Tutorial] at W3Schools.com
* [http://articles.sitepoint.com/category/javascript Sitepoint JavaScript tutorials]

=== Books: ===
* [http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596101992 JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, Fifth Edition] by David Flanagan - Really the ultimate reference guide (nearly 1000 pages).
* [http://www.sitepoint.com/books/jsant1/ The JavaScript Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks] by James Edwards & Cameron Adams - Promotes accessible JavaScript solutions by following the principles of [[Development:Progressive enhancement| progressive enhancement]] and [[Development:Unobtrusive_Javascript| unobtrusive scripting]].

== How is JavaScript used by Moodle? ==

* See [http://docs.moodle.org/en/Category:Javascript Category:Javascript].

== Where do I find more information about JavaScript in Moodle? ==

* [[Development:JavaScript_guidelines|JavaScript Guidelines]] by Tim Hunt (work in progress)
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=106312 Use of JavaScript in Moodle] discussion in the General developer forum

== What JavaScript library does Moodle use? ==

=== Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI) === 
Moodle uses the Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI).

==== Online resources: ====
* [http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/ Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI)]
* [[Development:YUI]] in the Moodle documentation

==== Books: ====
* [http://www.packtpub.com/yahoo!-user-interface-library-yui/book Learning the Yahoo! User Interface Library] by Dan Wellman

==== How/Why was YUI chosen for Moodle? ====

The decision was made in [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=48478 this thread in the General Developer Forum].

== What other JavaScript libraries are around? ==

* A nice comparison chart: [http://wiki.freaks-unidos.net/javascript-libraries Evaluation of JavaScript Libraries]

=== jQuery ===

jQuery is another popular JavaScript library, used among others by Drupal, Joomla and WordPress.

==== Online resources: ====
* [http://jquery.com/ jQuery] 
* [http://visualjquery.com Visual jQuery]
* [http://jqueryfordesigners.com jQuery for Designers]

==== Books: ====
* [http://www.manning.com/bibeault/ jQuery in Action] by Bear Bibeault and Yehuda Katz
* [http://www.packtpub.com/jQuery/book Learning jQuery] by Karl Swedberg and Jonathan Chaffer
* [http://www.packtpub.com/jquery-reference-guide-Open-Source/book jQuery Reference Guide] by Jonathan Chaffer and Karl Swedberg

== What does AJAX mean? ==
AJAX means "Asynchronous JavaScript and XML". It is a group of interrelated web development techniques used to create interactive web applications or rich Internet applications.

See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajax_(programming) AJAX (Wikipedia)] for general information and [[AJAX]] for information on AJAX and Moodle.

== See also ==

* [[User:Frank_Ralf/JavaScript1]] compares different solutions (plain JavaScript, YUI, and jQuery) to a simple enhancement to a form.

[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Javascript]]
[[Category:AJAX]]