Sams Teach Yourself JavaScript in 24 Hours

By Michael Moncur

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgments
  • We Want to Hear from You!
  • Reader Services
  • Introduction
  • Part I: Getting Started
  • Hour 1. Understanding JavaScript
  • Hour 2. Creating a Simple Script
  • Hour 3. How JavaScript Programs Work
  • Part II: Learning JavaScript Basics
  • Hour 4. Using Functions and Variables
  • Hour 5. Using Strings and Arrays
  • Hour 6. Testing and Comparing Values
  • Hour 7. Repeating Yourself: Using Loops
  • Hour 8. Using Math and Date Functions
  • Part III: The Document Object Model (DOM)
  • Hour 9. Working with the Document Object Model
    • Understanding the Document Object Model
    • Using window Objects
    • Working with Web Documents
    • Accessing Browser History
    • Working with the location Object
    • Reading Information about the Browser
    • Workshop: Creating Back and Forward Buttons
    • Summary
    • Q&A
    • Quiz
    • Exercises
  • Hour 10. Responding to Events
  • Hour 11. Using Windows and Frames
  • Hour 12. Getting Data with Forms
  • Hour 13. Using Graphics and Animation
  • Part IV: Moving on to Advanced JavaScript Features
  • Hour 14. Creating Cross-Browser Scripts
  • Hour 15. Creating Custom Objects
  • Hour 16. Working with Sounds and Plug-Ins
  • Hour 17. Debugging JavaScript Applications
  • Part V: Working with Dynamic HTML (DHTML)
  • Hour 18. Working with Style Sheets
  • Hour 19. Using Dynamic HTML (DHTML)
  • Hour 20. Using Advanced DOM Features
  • Part VI: Putting It All Together
  • Hour 21. Improving a Web Page with JavaScript
  • Hour 22. Creating a JavaScript Game
  • Hour 23. Creating DHTML Applications
  • Hour 24. JavaScript Tips and Tricks
  • Part VII: Appendices
  • Appendix A. Other JavaScript Resources
  • Appendix B. Tools for JavaScript Developers
  • Appendix C. Glossary
  • Appendix D. JavaScript Quick Reference
  • Appendix E. DOM Quick Reference

Accessing Browser History

The history object is another child (property) of the window object. This object holds information about the URLs that have been visited before and after the current one, and it includes methods to go to previous or next locations.

The history object has one property you can access:

• history.length keeps track of the length of the history list—in other words, the number of different locations that the user has visited.

  Note

  The history object has current, previous, and next properties that store URLs of documents in the history list. However, for security reasons, these objects are not normally accessible in today's browsers.

The history object has three methods you can use to move through the history list:

• history.go() opens a URL from the history list. To use this method, specify a positive or negative number in parentheses. For example, history.go(-2) is equivalent to pressing the Back button twice.
• history.back()loads the previous URL in the history list—equivalent to pressing the Back button.
• history.forward()loads the next URL in the history list, if available. This is equivalent to pressing the Forward button.

You'll use these methods in the Workshop at the end of this hour.

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