Scripting

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Includes JavaScript, ColdFusion, PHP, VBScript and more."> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.quackit.com/scripting/"> <title>Scripting</title> <script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/pix/favicon96.png"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/pix/apple-touch-icon.png"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin> <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Lato:ital,wght@0,400;0,700;1,400&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="/common/css/master.45.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <script async src="https://cdn.fuseplatform.net/publift/tags/2/3499/fuse.js"></script>  <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-Q3H025ZKLN"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-Q3H025ZKLN'); </script> </head> <body> <header class="site-header"> <div class="site-header-base"> <div class="site-logo"> <a title="Quackit Homepage" target="_top" href="/"><img src="/pix/quackit_logo_watermark.png" width="87" height="33" alt="Quackit Logo"></a> </div> <button id="site-nav-toggler" class="site-nav-toggler" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="site-nav"> <span class="sr-only">Toggle navigation</span> ☰ </button> </div> <nav id="site-nav" class="site-nav"> <div class="site-links"> <ul> <li><a href="/"><i class="fa fa-home"></i> <span class="sr-only">Home</span></a></li> <li><a href="/html/">HTML</a></li> <li><a href="/css/">CSS</a></li> <li><a href="/scripting/">Scripting</a></li> <li><a href="/database/">Database</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="site-search-top"> <form action="/search/" id="cse-search-box-bottom" class="site-search"> <div> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-6331358926293806:98x0fk-bbgi"> <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:10"> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1"> <input type="text" name="q" size="20" class="site-search-input"> <button type="submit" name="sa" class="site-search-button"><i class="fa fa-search"></i></button> </div> </form> </div> </nav> </header> <div class="main"> <article class="content"> <h1 class="page-title">Scripting</h1> <div class="ad ad-top">  <div data-fuse="23059883638"></div> </div> <p class="lead">Scripting allows you to add enhanced functionality and interactivity to your website.</p> <div class="cards"> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/javascript/tutorial/"> <img src="/pix/stock/javascript_tutorial_500x200_3.gif" alt="JavaScript tutorial"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>JavaScript Tutorial</h2> <p>JavaScript is the most widely used scripting language on the web. Learn the basics with this beginner's tutorial. </p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/python/tutorial/"> <img src="/pix/stock/python_logo_500x200.png" alt="Python logo"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>Python Tutorial</h2> <p>Python is one of the easiest programming languages for beginners to learn. It's also used by some of the largest companies on the planet. </p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/jquery/tutorial/"> <img src="/pix/stock/jquery_logo_bg_dark_500x200.gif" alt="jQuery tutorial"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>jQuery Tutorial</h2> <p>jQuery is a popular JavaScript library that makes it easy to add JavaScript functionality to your website. This tutorial covers the basics of jQuery.</p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card card-col-2"> <a class="wrapper" href="/json/tutorial/"> <img src="/pix/stock/json_tutorial_500x200.gif" alt="JSON tutorial"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>JSON Tutorial</h2> <p>JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format. JSON is used for exchanging data between applications and different environments.</p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/php/tutorial/"> <img src="/pix/stock/php_tutorial.gif" alt="PHP tutorial"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>PHP Tutorial</h2> <p>PHP is another server-side language that allows you to provide extra functionality on your website. This tutorial is aimed at beginners with no programming experience.</p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/coldfusion/tutorial/"> <img src="/pix/stock/coldfusion_tutorial_500x200_1.gif" alt="ColdFusion tutorial"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>ColdFusion Tutorial</h2> <p>ColdFusion is a server-side programming environment for building web applications. This tutorial covers the basics, as well as more advanced topics like sending mail, debugging, etc</p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/vbscript/tutorial/"> <img src="/pix/stock/vbscript_tutorial.gif" alt="VBScript tutorial"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>VBScript Tutorial</h2> <p>VBScript is also a server-side language, typically used for ASP.NET applications, but it can also be used on the client-side.</p> </div> </a> </article> </div> <h2>Examples</h2> <div class="cards"> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/javascript/examples/"> <img src="/pix/stock/javascript_logo_unofficial_500x200.png" alt="JavaScript examples"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>JavaScript Examples</h2> <p>Big list of basic JavaScript examples that you can copy and paste into your own website.</p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/jquery/examples/"> <img src="/pix/stock/jquery_logo_bg_white_500x200.gif" alt="jQuery examples"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>jQuery Examples</h2> <p>Big list of basic jQuery examples that you can copy and paste into your own website.</p> </div> </a> </article> </div> <div class="ad">  <div data-fuse="23059883644"></div> </div> <h2>How Scripting fits into Website Development</h2> <p>HTML provides the structure of a web page and CSS provides the styles. Scripting takes it further and can provide extra functionality and interactivity.</p> <p>You can use scripting to do things like open dialog boxes, access a database, create login pages, display personalized web pages, and much more.</p> <p>Some of the more popular scripting languages on the web include JavaScript, PHP, ColdFusion, and Python.</p> <h3>Client-Side Scripts</h3> <p>Client-side scripts run in the browser. This means that the script is downloaded with the HTML file (or as a separate file) and runs in the user's browser. This enables the script to run without further requests to the server.</p> <p>Client-side scripts can do things like launch popup messages, set cookies and "remember" the visitor, check which browser is being used, and more. The most popular client-side scripting language (by far) is JavaScript. In fact, it is the default scripting language for HTML5. You can add scripts to an HTML page using the <a href="/html/tags/html_script_tag.cfm"><code class="tag">script</code></a> tag.</p> <h3>Server-Side Scripts</h3> <p>Server-side scripts run on the website's server. The script remains on the server and is not downloaded with the HTML.</p> <p>This means that a request to the server is required any time a server-side script needs to run.</p> <p>But because they run on the server, server-side scripts can do things that client-side scripts can't.</p> <p>For example, server-side scripts can access databases, provide access control, provide personalization, send mail, and much more. This enables you to build complex web applications such as shopping cart sites, social media platforms, web mail, forums, photo gallery sites, etc.</p> <p>To run a server-side script, you first need to ensure the environment is set up to support the scripts. Usually, this involves installing the scripting environment on the server. For example, to run ColdFusion scripts you first need to install the ColdFusion application server and connect it to your web server. Likewise, to run PHP scripts you need to install PHP and connect it to your web server. Doing this is usually quite straightforward.</p> <p>Most web hosting companies include server-side scripting in their plans. Most web hosts include PHP in their hosting plans. There are also plenty of ColdFusion hosting providers around, but not as many as PHP, so you will need to search specifically for ColdFusion hosting if you want to host a ColdFusion website.</p> <div class="ad">  <div data-fuse="23059511721"></div> </div> <h3>So which one to use?</h3> <p>Most of today's web applications combine client-side with server-side scripts. So it's not a matter of client-side vs server-side. </p> <p>It's usually a matter of choosing which client-side scripting language, and which server-side scripting language to use. In most work environments, this choice is often made for you. The team uses certain technologies for most of their projects, and any newcomers are expected to be conversant with those technologies (or willing to be trained). </p> <p>However, depending on the environment, and work requests, you may be forced to learn a new scripting language in order to satisfy a client's request.</p> <p>But if you're new to scripting and you don't know where to start, start with JavaScript. JavaScript is the most popular client-side language on the web. Once you learn JavaScript, try a server-side language such as PHP or ColdFusion. Your knowledge of JavaScript will make it easy to learn the new language. </p> </article> <div class="sidebar"> <nav> <ul> <li> <h3><a href="/javascript/" title="">JavaScript</a></h3> <ul> <li><a href="/javascript/tutorial/" title="Client side scripting language">JavaScript Tutorial</a></li> <li><a href="/javascript/javascript_reserved_words.cfm" title="">JavaScript Reserved Words</a></li> <li><a href="/javascript/javascript_event_handlers.cfm" title="Introduction to the 12 JavaScript event handlers">JavaScript Event Handlers</a></li> <li><a href="/javascript/javascript_date_and_time_functions.cfm" title="Full listing of all JavaScript methods for dealing with date and time.">JavaScript Date & Time</a></li> <li><a href="/javascript/examples/" title="">JavaScript Examples</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><h3><a href="/jquery/" title="">jQuery</a></h3> <ul> <li><a href="/jquery/tutorial/" title="">jQuery Tutorial</a></li> <li><a href="/jquery/examples/" title="">jQuery Examples</a></li> </ul> <li> <li><h3><a href="/json/" title="">JSON</a></h3> <ul> <li><a href="/json/tutorial/" title="Data format for exchanging data between applications and different environments.">JSON Tutorial</a></li> </ul> <li> <h3 class="heading-only">Server Side Scripting</h3> <ul> <li><a href="/python/tutorial/" title="">Python Tutorial</a></li> <li><a href="/coldfusion/tutorial/" title="">ColdFusion Tutorial</a></li> <li><a href="/php/tutorial/" title="">PHP Tutorial</a></li> <li><a href="/vbscript/tutorial/" title="">VBScript Tutorial</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </nav> <div class="ad ad-left">  <div data-fuse="23059883641"></div> </div> </div> <div class="ads"> <div class="ad ad-right">  <div data-fuse="23059511718"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="searchbox-bottom"> <form action="/search/" id="cse-search-box-bottom" class="site-search"> <div> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-6331358926293806:npmuvy-i8kk"> <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:10"> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1"> <input type="text" name="q" size="30" class="site-search-input"> <button type="submit" name="sa" class="site-search-button"><i class="fa fa-search"></i></button> </div> </form> <script src="//cse.google.com/cse/brand?form=cse-search-box-bottom&lang=en"></script> </div> <footer> <p class="about"><a href="/"><i class="fa fa-home"></i> Home</a> | <a href="/about.cfm" rel="nofollow">About</a> | <a href="/contact.cfm" rel="nofollow">Contact</a> | <a href="/terms_of_use.cfm" rel="nofollow">Terms of Use</a> | <a href="/privacy_policy.cfm" rel="nofollow">Privacy Policy</a></p> <p>© Copyright 2000 - 2024 Quackit.com  </p> </footer> <script src="/common/js/spectrum/spectrum.js"></script> <script src="/common/js/lightbox2-master/dist/js/lightbox.min.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <script> $(document).ready(function(){ $( "#site-nav-toggler" ).click(function() { $( "#site-nav" ).toggle( "slow" ); }); }); </script> <script> $(function(){var a=window.location.href;$(".sidebar nav a").each(function(){a==this.href&&$(this).closest("li").addClass("selected")})}); </script> </body> </html>

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Scripting