JavaScript

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JavaScript is a programming language that can be interpreted and acted upon by web browsers such as Netscape Navigator (version 2.0 and later) and Internet Explorer (version 3.0 and later). While the syntax of the core JavaScript language fairly closely resembles those of its cousins, C, C++, and Java, it is considerably more lightweight than any of these, though at the same time in some respects considerably more flexible and versatile. For purposes of the VassarStats website, the chief advantages of JavaScript are the following:

Although its most common application is for producing "bells and whistles" on web sites—annoying animated graphics and the like—it also includes a library of mathematical functions that can be adapted for purposes of statistical computation. It will work on any platform (Macintosh, Windows, Sun, Linux, etc.) that supports a JavaScript-enabled browser. Because the JavaScript programming is received, interpreted, and run on your own computer, the actual calculations, although in some cases quite complex and elaborate, take place very quickly. Because it is more flexible and forgiving than its more muscular cousin Java (Java and JavaScript are not identical), it is less likely to crash your computer. JavaScript can be used to define the HTML structure of a web document in accordance with the user's input. In a number of VassarStats pages, for example, you are prompted to enter one or more values before the document fully loads; and the structure of the document is then determined by the values you enter.

If you are interested in learning more about JavaScript, check out one or another of the following links:

For the beginner or near-beginner, this excellent on-line tutorial will provide a user-friendly introduction not only to JavaScript, but to some of the basic logic of programming in general.   Voodoo's Introduction to JavaScript For those who already know something about programming:   Netscape DevEdge Online   Netscape Javascript Guide

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