[WEB4LIB] Learning Javascript

[Pat Tully]

At 09:32 AM 9/3/98 -0700, jpapier wrote:
>Greetings All:
>
>I'm trying to decide whether Javascript is worth the effort to learn.
>Are folks finding that the features it adds to their Web pages are
>truly useful, attractive, innovative, etc.?  I work in a public library, BTW,
>and besides some Perl / CGI functionality, our site is pretty much
>standard HTML so far.

Hi,

I can't say I know much JavaScript, but we have found it useful in
designing our WebOPAC (III).  We used the back.history command to add a
Previous Screen button that gets the patron back to the last page they were
looking at (usually a bib record page), instead of taking them all the way
back to the menu screen.

We also used JavaScript to open a new, smaller window to display help
screens.  The patron clicks on a Help button, which opens the smaller
window.  The patron can then read the help screens while viewing the catalog.

If you want to take a look, our URL is:  http://138.234.4.40/

Click on any of the search links to see the Help button.  To see the
Previous screen button, click on the Where Do I Find ... ? link on the
first screen.

I hope this helps!




Patricia A. Tully, Cataloging Librarian
Box 420, Musselman Library
Gettysburg College
300 N. Washington St.
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania   17375
(717)337-7002