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Javascript FAQ: Difference between revisions

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== What is JavaScript? ==
== What is JavaScript? ==


JavaScript is a scripting language widely used for client-side web development. It is also known by a number of other names including ECMAScript, and JScript (these are all the same thing but exist due to issues over the licensing of these names).
JavaScript is a scripting language widely used for client-side web development. It is also known as ECMAScript and has been progressively improved over the years.


If you have a spare 27 minutes and would like a quick background on JavaScript and it's origins, see this video from Douglas Crockford '[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz7KL7ZirZc JSeverywhere: Douglas Crockford - JavaScript, The World's Most Misunderstood Language]'.
Since Moodle 3.8 we recommend the use of Native JavaScript rather than through a library such as jQuery or YUI, and require that all new JavaScript be written in the style of ES 2015 modules. These should be placed in the amd/src directory of a component and are transpiled at development time to be compatable with a wide range of browsers.


== Where do I find general information about JavaScript? ==
== Where do I find general information about JavaScript? ==
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=== Online resources: ===
=== Online resources: ===
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript JavaScript (Wikipedia)]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript JavaScript (Wikipedia)]
* [http://articles.sitepoint.com/category/javascript Sitepoint JavaScript tutorials]
* [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide Mozilla JavaScript guide]


=== Books: ===
=== Books: ===
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== How is JavaScript used by Moodle? ==
== How is JavaScript used by Moodle? ==


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


== Where do I find more information about JavaScript in Moodle? ==
== Where do I find more information about JavaScript in Moodle? ==
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== What JavaScript library does Moodle use? ==
== What JavaScript library does Moodle use? ==
=== JQuery ===
=== JQuery ===
As of Moodle 2.9, [[jQuery]] is the preferred javascript library. Most of the code is still using YUI though as we are only beginning to transition to [[jQuery]].
{{Deprecated|version=3.8}}
As of Moodle 3.8, the user of [[jQuery]] is generally discouraged and the use of Native or Vanilla Javascript is recommended.


==== Online resources: ====
=== Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI) ===
* [[jQuery]] in Moodle
{{Deprecated|version=2.9}}
* [http://jquery.com/ jQuery]
As of Moodle 2.9, the user of YUI is generally discouraged.
* [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
 
=== Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI) ===  
Until Moodle 2.9, the Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI) was the preferred javascript library. From Moodle 2.9 onwards, jQuery is the preferred javascript library.  


==== Online resources: ====
==== Online resources: ====
* [http://yuilibrary.com Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI)]
* [http://yuilibrary.com Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI)]
* [[YUI]] in the Moodle documentation
* [[YUI]] in the Moodle documentation
* [https://alloyui.com/rosetta-stone/ Migrating YUI code to jQuery]


==== Books: ====
==== Books: ====
* [http://addyosmani.com/writing-modular-js/ Writing Modular Javascript]
* [http://jqueryenlightenment.com/jquery_enlightenment.pdf JQuery Enlightenment]
* [http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920013303.do YUI 3 Cookbook] by Evan Goer
* [http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920013303.do YUI 3 Cookbook] by Evan Goer
* [http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920025245.do Maintainable JavaScript] by Nicholas C. Zakas
* [http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920025245.do Maintainable JavaScript] by Nicholas C. Zakas
 
 
==== Why are we moving away from YUI ? ====
==== Why are we moving away from YUI ? ====
The decision to begin the transition from YUI to JQuery was made here:
The decision to begin the transition from YUI to JQuery was made here:
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This is in response to Yahoos announcement that they will be ceasing all further development on YUI (although it is still maintained).  
This is in response to Yahoos announcement that they will be ceasing all further development on YUI (although it is still maintained).  
http://yahooeng.tumblr.com/post/96098168666/important-announcement-regarding-yui
http://yahooeng.tumblr.com/post/96098168666/important-announcement-regarding-yui
jQuery is another popular JavaScript library, used among others by Drupal, Joomla and WordPress. It is probably the most widely known JavaScript library at present.
As of Moodle 2.9 it is the recommended Javascript library to use with Moodle. See [[jQuery]] page for more information.
== 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.
Although XML is included in the acronym, AJAX is not a single technology but a group of technologies. In reality with modern JS, this tends to be JSON which is much more lightweight and easy to produce in PHP than XML.
See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajax_(programming) AJAX (Wikipedia)] for general information and [[AJAX]] for information on AJAX and Moodle.
See also [[Firebug#Debugging AJAX_with_Firebug|Firebug > Debugging AJAX with Firebug]].


== See also ==
== See also ==


* [[jQuery]]
* [[jQuery]]
* [[Javascript and YUI 3 FAQ]]


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

Revision as of 03:10, 14 April 2021

What is JavaScript?

JavaScript is a scripting language widely used for client-side web development. It is also known as ECMAScript and has been progressively improved over the years.

Since Moodle 3.8 we recommend the use of Native JavaScript rather than through a library such as jQuery or YUI, and require that all new JavaScript be written in the style of ES 2015 modules. These should be placed in the amd/src directory of a component and are transpiled at development time to be compatable with a wide range of browsers.

Where do I find general information about JavaScript?

Online resources:

Books:

How is JavaScript used by Moodle?

Where do I find more information about JavaScript in Moodle?

What JavaScript library does Moodle use?

JQuery

This feature has been marked as deprecated since Moodle 3.8

As of Moodle 3.8, the user of jQuery is generally discouraged and the use of Native or Vanilla Javascript is recommended.

Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI)

This feature has been marked as deprecated since Moodle 2.9

As of Moodle 2.9, the user of YUI is generally discouraged.

Online resources:

Books:

Why are we moving away from YUI ?

The decision to begin the transition from YUI to JQuery was made here:

https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-47036

This is in response to Yahoos announcement that they will be ceasing all further development on YUI (although it is still maintained). http://yahooeng.tumblr.com/post/96098168666/important-announcement-regarding-yui

See also

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