GLEN COVE COMPUTING NEWS

Volume 2, Issue 7

Welcome to the Summer issue of Glen Cove Computing News. This issue's feature article JavaScript: It's not your Father's Java will introduce you to the wonderful world of JavaScript. In this issue of Glen Cove Computing News you'll also find:

JavaScript Resources
GCC Tech Tips
Internet Site of the Month
The Borderline Cartoon of the Month
Internet Technology of the Month

JavaScript: It's not your Father's Java

I have a confession to make. Even though I design web sites as part of my business I am not a programmer. I taught myself HTML back in the early days when the web was first being created, but I have never taken a formal programming class outside of BASIC. I never wanted to be a programmer because I didn't fit the programmer stereotype. My glasses are not held together by tape, I have a life outside of computers, and I don't live on a diet of Jolt cola and Doritos! In the early days of the web you didn't need to be a programmer to create web sites. Sure you had to know HTML, but HTML was/is just a glorified markup language. If you wanted to get fancy you would write a CGI/PERL script to provide counters, feedback forms, etc... Again nothing that would require any kind of serious programming experience. Then along came Java.

I was so anxious to add the latest technology to my web site that I immediately downloaded the alpha version of Java when it was released by Sun. To my dismay I found that Java was based on C++. In other words it really helped if you had some programming experience before you started creating all those cool Java applets. I bought the books and read the tutorials, but I discovered pretty quickly that I was never going to be a great Java programmer. Luckily Netscape came to the rescue with the release of JavaScript. With JavaScript you can include simple scripts in your web pages to enhance the dynamics and interactive features of the page. JavaScripts have a lot of the same capabilities of the aforementioned CGI/PERL scripts, with many added benefits including the ability to reference and respond to the elements in their hosting Web page without server interaction. Also, unlike CGI/Perl scripts, JavaScript runs entirely within the client's browser which lessens the load on your web server.

JavaScript isn't meant to be a scaled-down replacement for Java. Although JavaScript contains many similar constructs, it is much simpler to use than Java. No compiling, no applets, just a simple sequence of commands. Also JavaScript does not require any special programming tools to create scripts. All it takes to write and test your JavaScripts is a text editor, some HTML knowledge, and a compatible browser. There are currently two standards of JavaScript in use on the web. JavaScript 1.0 is supported by Netscape Navigator (at least 2.0) and Internet Explorer (at least 3.0). JavaScript 1.1 requires at least Netscape Navigator 3.0 or Internet Explorer 4.0.

So now that you've got some background on JavaScript, it's time to get started on including a JavaScript in your pages. Here's a simple script that I use on my Adventures in Oz site. It determines what browser is being used to access the site and then steers the browser to the appropriate page for that browser. My primary home page on this site has a JavaScript 1.1 script called Flipper embedded in it. Since 1.1 scripts only work with Netscape Navigator 3.0 or 4.0, I configured this script to steer other browsers to an alternate home page without the Flipper script on it. Here's the source code for this script. Please feel free to modify it and use it on your site.

If the browser viewing the Adventures in Oz site is JavaScript 1.1 compatible it loads the primary home page with the embedded Flipper JavaScript. Flipper is aptly named as it flips through a series of photos from our Australian vacation. Cameron Gregory originally wrote the Flipper script and I modified it for use on my page. Cameron has a number of other JavaScripts available on his Cameron's JavaScript Stuff page. There are two parts to this script. The first part of the script flipper.txt should be embedded inside the HEAD section of your page. The second part seen below calls the first part of the script.

The last JavaScript that I use on my site can be found in the toolbar for my Glen Cove Computing site. This is a very cool (and free) JavaScript called Dynamic Mouseover Images that was written by Project Cool, Inc and then modified by yours truly. To see it in action check out the frames version of my Glen Cove Computing site. To use this JavaScript on your site you'll need these rather lengthy instructions and the source code. Now if you want to learn more about JavaScript here's some other JavaScript resources.

JavaScript Resources

Ask the JavaScript Pro
Cameron's JavaScript Stuff: Cool page with a number of useful JavaScripts including Flipper which I've used on the Adventures in Oz site.
Gamelan JavaScript: The Ultimate Java Resource also has some cool JavaScripts available for download.
HotSyte: The JavaScript Connection: Promotes JavaScript knowledge through the open exchange of ideas, research, scripts, and links beneficial to the advancement of JavaScript understanding and experimentation.
JavaScript for the Total Non-Programmer: This tutorial will take you step by step through the fundamentals of Javascript.
Java Goodies: Striving to be The Largest Java Script Repository on the World Wide Web.
JavaScript Guide: The official Netscape guide on JavaScript.
JavaScript World: A massive collection of JavaScript examples & tutorials, and everything you need to incorporate JavaScript into your site.
WebSite Abstraction: Your ultimate web page building source including some great JavaScript tutorials.

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GCC Tech Tips

If you've put lots of destinations into your SendTo folder, you may want to organize them into cascading menus. Open the SendTo folder, which you'll find in the Windows folder. Select New/Folder, then place your shortcuts in the new folders.
Your Win95 CD contains a utility called LOGVIEW.EXE in \OTHER\MISC\LOGVIEW, which lets you view and edit your SCANDISK, CALLLOG, MODEMDET and NDISLOG files. These files can be helpful when you're troubleshooting some parts of your system. You can move LOGVIEW onto your hard disk, or just leave it on the CD.
There's an easy way and a hard way to change file associations. Here's the easy way. Click on a document to select it, then hold the Shift key while right-clicking on it and select Open With from the context menu. In the Open With dialog, make sure there's a check mark in the "Always use this program to open this type of file" box, then double-click on an application in the Choose window. Warning: Once you've done this, the box will be checked by default next time the dialog comes up.
Win95 windows "zoom" open and closed. You can speed things up by turning this off. Launch the Registry Editor and drill down into HKEY_CURRENT_USER \Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics. Right- click on the white space in the right pane and select New/String Value. Type in MinAnimate as the new value and press the Enter key. Now double-click on the new MinAnimate and add 0 as the value. Click on OK and restart your computer. Whenever you want to restore window zooming, replace the 0 value with the number 1.
Note: You can also change this setting using the Tweak UI Control Panel applet. The setting is called Effects: Windows Animation and can be found under the General tab. You can download a copy of Tweak UI from Microsoft's Power Toys page.
Here's how to make Win95 remember your Desktop settings, even if someone comes along and changes everything. First, set up everything the way you want it. Next, select Run from the Start menu, type in REGEDIT and press the Enter key. In the Registry Editor, find HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. Right-click in the right pane and select New/DWORD. Rename the value NoSaveSettings and press the Enter key. Right-click on the new NoSaveSettings item and select Modify. Enter the number 1 in the Value data box. Click on OK and Exit. Now, whenever you restart Windows, your settings will return to their current state.
Note: You can also change this setting using the Tweak UI Control Panel applet. The setting is called Settings: Save Windows Settings and can be found under the Explorer tab. You can download a copy of Tweak UI from Microsoft's Power Toys page.

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Internet Site of the Month

The Internet Site of the month for June 1997 is Chami's Tip of the Day site. This site has 318 Internet, Programming, and Windows tips complete with a search engine. When this page was created in October 1996, Chami promised three new tips on a daily basis. He kept his promise for 106 days before he finally ran out of tips, energy, or both. There are some great JavaScript tips at this site, including a script that allows you to deliver browser specific web pages which I've used on my Adventures in OZ site. Hopefully some day Chami will decide to start posting tips to this site again. In the meantime these tips should keep you all busy.

You can also find a couple of shareware programs at Chami's Place: LiveCounter and WhoIsNot. LiveCounter is a Java counter applet which can display an up-to-the-minute hits count using an animated odometer-like display. Unlike CGI counters, LiveCounter allows you to see if someone else is visiting or has visited the page you're on. LiveCounter comes with a backup CGI counter, so that even those visitors using non-Java enabled browsers will be counted as well. Non-profit organizations and personal home pages can use LiveCounter Classic for free.

WhoIsNot allows you to create a list of multiple domain names and then check to see if they're still available through InterNIC. It then separates the list of domain names into three groups: reserved, on-hold, and available. WhoIsNot 1.0C for Windows 95 and NT is available for $10 and can be downloaded at whoisnot.zip.

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The Borderline Cartoon of the Month

Thanks to Gabe Martin for placing his comic strip in the public domain. See more of Gabe's work at

The Borderline Cartoon Homepage

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Internet Technology of the Month

The Internet Technology of the month for June 1997 is AOL Instant Messenger™ service from America Online. This free program, which is currently in limited beta, enables Internet users and AOL's 8 million members to communicate "instantly" via private, personalized text messages. AOL Instant Messenger™ combines AOL's popular Buddy List™ and Instant Message™ features. The Instant Message™ feature lets users send and respond to messages immediately while the Buddy List™ feature lets users know instantly when friends are online. This program was previously only available to AOL members, but it is now available to everyone on the Internet.

The limited beta release of AOL Instant Messenger™ is available for the Windows95/NT and Java environments. Windows 3.1 and Macintosh versions are supposed to follow. I've never recommended anything that AOL has offered before, but this is a great idea. It takes a lot less resources than MS NetMeeting and you can set it up to autostart with your Internet connection. Hopefully they will keep the service free after the beta trial is over with.

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