What Tools Do You Need?

As mentioned, one of the main reasons this book will use JavaScript is that you don’t need to buy or install any special software. But what do you need?

You can create the computer programs in this book using a simple textediting program. I’ve used Notepad throughout this book, but if you prefer, you can use some other program with comparable functionality. (Mac users should refer to “If You Have a Mac” later in this chapter for information regarding working with their computers.)

Once you enter the program into Notepad, you save it. Next, you open it in a Web browser such as Internet Explorer. That’s all there is to it!

Using JavaScript Editors

Although it’s perfectly reasonable to write JavaScript programs in a simple text editor such as Notepad (indeed, some professional programmers prefer to do this), specialized editors can make the process of entering and debugging code easier. You can find a number of editors specially designed for working with JavaScript on the Web. The best of these are probably Antechinus JavaScript Editor (http://www.c-point.com/pjedit.htm) and JPad Pro (http://www.modelworks.com/).