Think JavaScript's only good for image swaps and tickertapes?Think again - the language comes with a powerful String() objectdesigned to help you quickly and efficiently perform string manipulationtasks in the client. This article explains how, with illustrations andcode samples.
Most Real Programmers treat JavaScript like the poor cousin from the country - useful in certain situations, but not very important. Real Programmers aren't interested in a language whose primary application seems to be swapping one image with another, or drawing mouse trails across a Web page. Real Programmers have better things to do.
Well, I've got news for all your Real Programmers out there - JavaScript may be a small, not-very-exciting programming language limited to the client side of a Web transaction, but that's not a reason to count it out. Sure, it may not have the features and functions of PHP or Perl, but it sill comes with some very powerful tools - tools that can come in handy when you're trying to make your application more efficient by transferring computational load from the server to the client.
In order to illustrate what I mean, I'm going to be taking an in-depth look at one of the more powerful modules in JavaScript: its string library. I'm going to introduce you to the wonders of string concatenation, string comparison, string search and replace operations, and string formatting...all without writing a single line of Perl code.
In addition to providing a gentle introduction to JavaScript programming in general, this article will give you a broad overview of JavaScript's string manipulation capabilities, serving as both a handy reference and a tool to help you write more efficient code. Regardless of whether you're an Apprentice or a Real Programmer, you should find something interesting in here.