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Recycled and Recyclable Paper The Team: Publications: Victoria Gilbert, Antonio Padial, Sandee Karr Engineering: Ken Smith, Jawahar Malhotra, Philip Chang, Santosh Hasani, Satish Viswanatham, Timothy Chan Quality Assurance: Christine Ingalls, Irene Mendoza Marketing: Basil Hashem ©Netscape Communications Corporation 1997 All Rights Reserved Printed in USA 97 96 95 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Netscape Communications Corporation 501 East Middlefield Road, Mountain View, CA 94043 Contents Getting Started ................................................................................................ xi What You Should Already Know ................................................................... xi Where to Find JavaScript Information .......................................................... xii What’s New in this Release .......................................................................... xiii Upgrading from an Earlier Release ................................................................xv Backward Compatibility with Earlier Releases .............................................xvi Document Conventions ................................................................................ xix About Sample Code ...................................................................................... xix Part 1 Basics of JavaScript Application Development Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................3 This chapter introduces server-side JavaScript and explains how it fits into the entire JavaScript language. It details what hardware and soft- ware you must have to use server-side JavaScript and how you must configure your web server to use server-side JavaScript. The JavaScript Language ...................................................................................4 Client-Side JavaScript ....................................................................................5 Server-Side JavaScript ...................................................................................7 Writing Server-Side JavaScript Applications i Architecture of JavaScript Applications ........................................................... 9 System Requirements ..................................................................................... 13 Configuration Information ............................................................................. 14 Enabling Server-Side JavaScript ................................................................. 14 Protecting the Application Manager ......................................................... 15 Setting Up for LiveConnect ....................................................................... 15 Locating the Compiler ............................................................................... 16 Chapter 2 Introduction to the Sample Applications ....................... 17 This chapter describes the sample server-side JavaScript applications that ship with Netscape web servers. It introduces using server-side Jav- aScript by working with two of the simpler sample applications. Hello World .................................................................................................... 19 What Hello World Does ............................................................................ 20 Looking at the Source Script ..................................................................... 21 Modifying Hello World .............................................................................. 24 Hangman ......................................................................................................... 25 Looking at the Source Files ....................................................................... 26 Debugging Hangman ................................................................................ 29 Chapter 3 Mechanics of Developing JavaScript Applications ..... 31 This chapter describes the process of developing your application, such as how to use the JavaScript application compiler and how to use the Application Manager of Netscape servers to install or debug your ap- plication. For information on using only client-side JavaScript, see the JavaScript Guide. Basic Steps in Building an Application ......................................................... 31 JavaScript Application Manager Overview .................................................... 33 Creating Application Source Files .................................................................. 35 Compiling an Application .............................................................................. 36 Installing a New Application ......................................................................... 39 Application URLs ....................................................................................... 42 ii Writing Server-Side JavaScript Applications Controlling Access to an Application ............................................................ 43 Modifying Installation Fields .......................................................................... 43 Removing an Application ............................................................................... 44 Starting, Stopping, and Restarting an Application ........................................ 44 Running an Application ................................................................................. 45 Debugging an Application ............................................................................. 45 Using the Application Manager ................................................................. 46 Using Debug URLs ..................................................................................... 47 Using the debug Function ......................................................................... 48 Deploying an Application .............................................................................. 48 Application Manager Details .......................................................................... 49 Configuring Default Settings .....................................................................