1 Conceptos básicos e introducción

Before we get into creating JavaScript programs, this chapter will give you an overview of what’s meant by programming in the first place, what types of programming languages there are, and the historical background of the JavaScript language: How has this language evolved over the years? What is the relationship between JavaScript and ECMA-Script? In addition, we’ll introduce the various application areas of JavaScript and explain how these have also changed in recent years.

This book is designed to not only teach you the JavaScript language but also introduce you to basic programming concepts in case you aren’t yet familiar with any programing language. In this introductory chapter, we’ll therefore first explain a few basic terms and concepts that will be helpful throughout the book. If you already have some experience in programming, you can skip at least the first part of this chapter. On the other hand. we have deliberately kept this part short because we don’t want to bore you with theoretical treatises on programming but get you quickly started with JavaScript. Therefore, you might also consider this part a quick review.

One more quick note about the book before we get right into it: Occasionally, when discussing certain topics, we’ll touch on concepts that will be explained fully later. In general, this can’t always be avoided in a book on programming languages. In a way, as an author, you are faced with the chicken-and-egg problem: one cannot be explained without the other and vice versa. In such cases, for the sake of clarity, we have included references to the chapters or sections in which the respective concepts are discussed more fully.