JavaScript Functions

IPA
1st
Semester, 2007-2008
Internet 1
Ch. 11
JavaScript: Functions
attasr@ipa.edu.sa

09/30/15 © Reem Al-Attas 2
Introduction
Software design
 Break software up into modules
 Easier to maintain and debug
 Divide and conquer

Program Modules in JavaScript
Modules in JavaScript
 Functions
 Methods
 Belong to an object
 JavaScript includes many useful pre-defined
methods
 Combine with programmer-defined methods to
make a program

Functions
 Started by function call
 Receive necessary information via
arguments (parameters)
 Boss-Worker relationship
 Calling function
 Called function
 Return value when finished
 Can have many tiers

boss
worker1 worker2 worker3
worker4 worker5
Fig. 10.1 Hierarchical boss-function/worker-function relationship.

Function calls
 Name
 Left parenthesis
 Arguments separated by commas
 Constants, variables or expressions
 Right parenthesis
 Examples:
total += parseFloat( inputValue );
total += parseFloat( s1 + s2 );

Programmer-Defined Functions
Defining functions
 All variables declared in function are called
local
 Do not exist outside current function
 Parameters
 Also local variables
 Promotes reusability
 Keep short
 Name clearly

Function Definitions
Format of a function definition
function function-name( parameter-list )
{
declarations and statements
}
 Function name any valid identifier
 Parameter list names of variables that will
receive arguments
Must have same number as function call
May be empty
 Declarations and statements
 Function body (“block” of code)

Returning control
 return statement
 Can return either nothing, or a value
return expression;
 No return statement same as return;
 Not returning a value when expected is an
error

Writing a function to square two
numbers
 for loop from 1 to 10
 Pass each number as argument to square
 return value of argument multiplied by itself
 Display result

1 <?xml version = "1.0"?>
2 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
3 "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
4
5 
6 
7
8 <html xmlns = "http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
9 <head>
10 <title>A Programmer-Defined square Function</title>
11
12 <script type = "text/javascript">
13 <!--
14 document.writeln(
15 "<h1>Square the numbers from 1 to 10</h1>" );
16
17 // square the numbers from 1 to 10
18 for ( var x = 1; x <= 10; ++x )
19 document.writeln( "The square of " + x + " is " +
20 square( x ) + "<br />" );
21
Calling function square and passing it the value of x.

22 // The following square function's body is executed
23 // only when the function is explicitly called.
24
25 // square function definition
26 function square( y )
27 {
28 return y * y;
29 }
30 // -->
31 </script>
32
33 </head><body></body>
34 </html>
Variable y gets the value of variable x.
The return statement passes the value of y * y back
to the calling function.

Finding the maximum of 3 numbers
 Prompt for 3 inputs
 Convert to numbers
 Pass to maximum
 Math.max

4
5 
6 
7
9 <head>
10 <title>Finding the Maximum of Three Values</title>
11
13 <!--
14 var input1 =
15 window.prompt( "Enter first number", "0" );
16 var input2 =
17 window.prompt( "Enter second number", "0" );
18 var input3 =
19 window.prompt( "Enter third number", "0" );
20
21 var value1 = parseFloat( input1 );
Prompt for the user to input three integers.

24
25 var maxValue = maximum( value1, value2, value3 );
26
27 document.writeln( "First number: " + value1 +
28 "<br />Second number: " + value2 +
29 "<br />Third number: " + value3 +
30 "<br />Maximum is: " + maxValue );
31
32 // maximum method definition (called from line 25)
33 function maximum( x, y, z )
34 {
35 return Math.max( x, Math.max( y, z ) );
36 }
37 // -->
38 </script>
39
40 </head>
41 <body>
42 <p>Click Refresh (or Reload) to run the script again</p>
43 </body>
44 </html>
Call function maximum and pass it the value of
variables value1, value2 and value3.
Variables x, y and z get the value of variables
value1, value2 and value3, respectively.
Method max returns the larger of the two
integers passed to it.

Random-Number Generation
Random-number generation introduces
element of chance
 Math.random
var randomValue = Math.random();
 Floating point value between 0 and 1, but
not including 1.
 Adjust range by scaling and shifting
 Math.floor
 Always round down
Math.floor(1 + Math.random() * 6)

4
5 
6 
7
9 <head>
10 <title>Shifted and Scaled Random Integers</title>
11
13 <!--
14 var value;
15
17 "<table border = "1" width = "50%">" );
19 "<caption>Random Numbers</caption><tr>" );
20

21 for ( var i = 1; i <= 20; i++ ) {
22 value = Math.floor( 1 + Math.random() * 6 );
23 document.writeln( "<td>" + value + "</td>" );
24
25 // write end and start <tr> tags when
26 // i is a multiple of 5 and not 20
27 if ( i % 5 == 0 && i != 20 )
28 document.writeln( "</tr><tr>" );
29 }
30
31 document.writeln( "</tr></table>" );
32 // -->
33 </script>
34
35 </head>
36 <body>
38 </body>
39 </html>
The for loop creates 20
table cells (4 rows x 5
columns).
Each cell is populated
with a random number
generated by method
random.
Method floor rounds the number
generated by method random down.

4
5 
6 
7
9 <head>
10 <title>Roll a Six-Sided Die 6000 Times</title>
11
13 <!--
14 var frequency1 = 0, frequency2 = 0,
15 frequency3 = 0, frequency4 = 0,
16 frequency5 = 0, frequency6 = 0, face;
17
18 // summarize results
19 for ( var roll = 1; roll <= 6000; ++roll ) {
20 face = Math.floor( 1 + Math.random() * 6 );
21
This expression uses method random to
generate a random number between 1 and 6.

RollDie.html
(2 of 3)
22 switch ( face ) {
23 case 1:
24 ++frequency1;
25 break;
26 case 2:
27 ++frequency2;
28 break;
29 case 3:
30 ++frequency3;
31 break;
32 case 4:
33 ++frequency4;
34 break;
35 case 5:
36 ++frequency5;
37 break;
38 case 6:
39 ++frequency6;
40 break;
41 }
42 }
43
When the controlling expression, face,
matches a case label, the respective
frequency variable is incremented.

RollDie.html
(3 of 3)
44 document.writeln( "<table border = "1"" +
45 "width = "50%">" );
46 document.writeln( "<thead><th>Face</th>" +
47 "<th>Frequency<th></thead>" );
48 document.writeln( "<tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>" +
49 frequency1 + "</td></tr>" );
50 document.writeln( "<tr><td>2</td><td>" + frequency2 +
51 "</td></tr>" );
53 "</td></tr>" );
55 "</td></tr>" );
57 "</td></tr>" );
59 "</td></tr></tbody></table>" );
60 // -->
61 </script>
62
63 </head>
64 <body>
66 </body>
67 </html>
The results of rolling the die
600 times are displayed in a
table.

Example: Game of Chance
Craps
 Click Roll Dice
 Text fields show rolls, sum and point
 Status bar displays results

 Uses XHTML forms
 Gather multiple inputs at once
 Empty action attribute
 name attribute allows scripts to interact with form
 Event handling and event-driven programming
 Assign a function to an event
 Onclick
 Constants
 Variable that cannot be modified
 Part of many languages, not supported in JavaScript
 Name “constant” variables with all capital letters
 Make values easier to remember/change

Changing properties
 Access with dot (.) notation
 value property of text fields
 status property of window

2 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
3 "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
4
5 
6 
7
9 <head>
10 <title>Program that Simulates the Game of Craps</title>
11
13 <!--
14 // variables used to test the state of the game
15 var WON = 0, LOST = 1, CONTINUE_ROLLING = 2;
16
17 // other variables used in program
18 var firstRoll = true, // true if first roll
19 sumOfDice = 0, // sum of the dice
20 myPoint = 0, // point if no win/loss on first roll
21 gameStatus = CONTINUE_ROLLING; // game not over yet
22

23 // process one roll of the dice
24 function play()
25 {
26 if ( firstRoll ) { // first roll of the dice
27 sumOfDice = rollDice();
28
29 switch ( sumOfDice ) {
30 case 7: case 11: // win on first roll
31 gameStatus = WON;
32 // clear point field
33 document.craps.point.value = "";
34 break;
35 case 2: case 3: case 12: // lose on first roll
36 gameStatus = LOST;
37 // clear point field
38 document.craps.point.value = "";
39 break;
40 default: // remember point
41 gameStatus = CONTINUE_ROLLING;
42 myPoint = sumOfDice;
43 document.craps.point.value = myPoint;
44 firstRoll = false;
45 }
46 }
If the value of firstRoll is true, then function
rollDice is called.
If function rollDice returns a value of 7
or 11, the player wins and the break
statement causes program control
proceeds to the first line after the switch
structure.
If function rollDice returns a 2, 3 or 12, the
player loses and the break statement causes
control to proceed to first line after the switch
structure.

47 else {
48 sumOfDice = rollDice();
49
50 if ( sumOfDice == myPoint ) // win by making point
51 gameStatus = WON;
52 else
53 if ( sumOfDice == 7 ) // lose by rolling 7
54 gameStatus = LOST;
55 }
56
57 if ( gameStatus == CONTINUE_ROLLING )
58 window.status = "Roll again";
59 else {
60 if ( gameStatus == WON )
61 window.status = "Player wins. " +
62 "Click Roll Dice to play again.";
63 else
64 window.status = "Player loses. " +
65 "Click Roll Dice to play again.";
66
67 firstRoll = true;
68 }
69 }
70
If the value returned by function rollDice
equals the value of variable myPoint, the player
wins because the point has been reached.
If the values returned by function rollDice
equals 7, the player loses.
window method status displays a
message in the status bar of the browser.
If the value of firstRoll is false,
function rollDice is called to see if the
point has been reached.

Craps.html
(4 of 5)
71 // roll the dice
72 function rollDice()
73 {
74 var die1, die2, workSum;
75
76 die1 = Math.floor( 1 + Math.random() * 6 );
77 die2 = Math.floor( 1 + Math.random() * 6 );
78 workSum = die1 + die2;
79
80 document.craps.firstDie.value = die1;
81 document.craps.secondDie.value = die2;
82 document.craps.sum.value = workSum;
83
84 return workSum;
85 }
86 // -->
87 </script>
88
89 </head>
Function rollDice is called to simulate
the rolling of two dice on the craps table.
Methods random and floor are used to
generate the values for the two dice.
Referencing the names of form elements
in the XHTML document, the values of
the dice are placed in their respective
form fields.

Craps.html
(5 of 5)
90 <body>
91 <form name = "craps" action = "">
92 <table border = "1">
93 <caption>Craps</caption>
94 <tr><td>Die 1</td>
95 <td><input name = "firstDie" type = "text" />
96 </td></tr>
97 <tr><td>Die 2</td>
98 <td><input name = "secondDie" type = "text" />
99 </td></tr>
100 <tr><td>Sum</td>
101 <td><input name = "sum" type = "text" />
102 </td></tr>
103 <tr><td>Point</td>
104 <td><input name = "point" type = "text" />
105 </td></tr>
106 <tr><td><input type = "button" value = "Roll Dice"
107 onclick = "play()" /></td></tr>
108 </table>
109 </form>
110 </body>
111 </html>

A text XHTML GUI component
A button XHTML GUI component
Browser’s status bar

Another Example: Random Image
Generator
Randomly selecting an image
 Images have integer names (i.e., 1.gif,
2.gif, …, 7.gif)
 Generate random number in proper range
 Update src property

RandomPicture.html
(1 of 1)
2 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
3 "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
4
5 
6 
7
9 <head>
10 <title>Random Image Generator</title>
11
13 
18 </script>
19
20 </head>
21
22 <body>
24 </body>
25 </html>
Inserting a random number into the image’s src
property with document.write and Math.random

Another Example: Random Image
Generator

Scope Rules
Scope
 Portion of program where identifier can be
referenced
 Types of Scope:
 Global
 Local: inside function
• Identifiers exist only between opening and closing
braces
• Local variables hide global variables

Scope Rules
Scope demonstration
 Global variable x initialized to 1
 start has local variable x initialized to 5
 functionA has local variable x initialized to
25
 functionB has no local variable x
 Observe output of each function

4
5 
6 
7
9 <head>
10 <title>A Scoping Example</title>
11
13 <!--
14 var x = 1; // global variable
15
16 function start()
17 {
18 var x = 5; // variable local to function start
19
20 document.writeln( "local x in start is " + x );
21
22 functionA(); // functionA has local x
23 functionB(); // functionB uses global variable x
24 functionA(); // functionA reinitializes local x
25 functionB(); // global variable x retains its value
To begin the program, variable x is initialized to 1.
Function start changes the value of x to 5.

Scoping.html
(2 of 3)
26
28 "<p>local x in start is " + x + "</p>" );
29 }
30
31 function functionA()
32 {
33 var x = 25; // initialized each time
34 // functionA is called
35
36 document.writeln( "<p>local x in functionA is " +
37 x + " after entering functionA" );
38 ++x;
39 document.writeln( "<br />local x in functionA is " +
40 x + " before exiting functionA" + "</p>" );
41 }
42
Function functionA changes the value of x to 25.
The value of x is incremented.

Scoping.html
(3 of 3)
43 function functionB()
44 {
45 document.writeln( "<p>global variable x is " + x +
46 " on entering functionB" );
47 x *= 10;
48 document.writeln( "<br />global variable x is " +
49 x + " on exiting functionB" + "</p>" );
50 }
51 // -->
52 </script>
53
54 </head>
55 <body onload = "start()"></body>
56 </html>
Function functionB multiplies the value of x by 10.

Scope Rules

Recursion
Recursive functions
 Call themselves
 Part of return statement
 Must have base case
 Simplest case of problem
 Returns value rather than calling itself
 Each recursive call simplifies input
 When simplified to base case, functions return

Recursion
Factorials
 Product of calculation n · (n - 1) · (n - 2) · … · 1
 Iterative approach:
var factorial = 1;
for (var counter = number; counter >= 1; --counter)
factorial *= counter;
 Note each factor is one less than previous
factor
 Stops at 1: base case
 Perfect candidate for recursive solution

Recursion
5!
5 * 4!
4 * 3!
3 * 2!
2 * 1!
1
5!
5 * 4!
4 * 3!
3 * 2!
2 * 1!
1
(a) Procession of recursive calls. (b) Values returned from each recursive call.
5! = 5 * 24 = 120 is returned
4! = 4 * 6 = 24 is returned
2! = 2 * 1 = 2 is returned
3! = 3 * 2 = 6 is returned
1 returned
Fig. 10.10 Recursive evaluation of 5!.
Final value = 120

4
5 
6 
7
9 <head>
10 <title>Recursive Factorial Function</title>
11
12 <script language = "javascript">
13 document.writeln( "<h1>Factorials of 1 to 10</h1>" );
15 "<table border = '1' width = '100%'>" );
16
17 for ( var i = 0; i <= 10; i++ )
18 document.writeln( "<tr><td>" + i + "!</td><td>" +
19 factorial( i ) + "</td></tr>" );
20
21 document.writeln( "</table>" );
22
Calling function factorial and passing
it the value of i.

23 // Recursive definition of function factorial
24 function factorial( number )
25 {
26 if ( number <= 1 ) // base case
27 return 1;
28 else
29 return number * factorial( number - 1 );
30 }
31 </script>
32 </head><body></body>
33 </html>
Variable number gets the value of variable i.
Call to function factorial and passing it 1
less than the current value of number .

Recursion

Example of Using Recursion: The
Fibonacci Series
 GUI input setup:
 All user inputs (if there are any) are defined by HTML
INPUT tag
<INPUT NAME = “inputName” TYPE = “text”>
 Enter as many inputs as you want, giving each an
applicable name
 The form button component allows the user to send his
inputted information to the server
<INPUT TYPE = “button” VALUE = “buttonLabel”
ONCLICK = “javaScriptFunctionCall”>
 Function called in ONCLICK element is executed when
event is executed
 Function called in GUI will execute using FORM elements
as its parameters

Fibonacci Series (II)
 Fibonacci series:
 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89…
 Begins with 0 and 1
 Each number is sum of pervious two numbers
 May be defined recursively as:
 fibonacci( 0 ) = 0
 fibonacci( 1 ) = 1
 fibonacci( n ) = fibonacci( n - 1 ) + fibonacci( n - 2)
 Avoid programs with Fibonacci-style calls
 Results in exponential “explosion” of calls

1 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
2 <HTML>
3 
4
5 <HEAD>
6 <TITLE>Recursive Fibonacci Function</TITLE>
7
8 <SCRIPT LANGUAGE = "JavaScript">
9 // Event handler for button HTML component in myForm
10 function getFibonacciValue()
11 {
12 var value = parseInt( document.myForm.number.value );
13 window.status =
14 "Calculating Fibonacci number for " + value;
15 document.myForm.result.value = fibonacci( value );
16 window.status = "Done calculating Fibonacci number";
17 }
18
19 // Recursive definition of function fibonacci
20 function fibonacci( n )
21 {
22 if ( n == 0 || n == 1 ) // base case
23 return n;
24 else
25 return fibonacci( n - 1 ) + fibonacci( n - 2 );
26 }
27 </SCRIPT>
28
29 </HEAD>
30

34 <TR><TD>Enter an integer</TD>
35 <TD><INPUT NAME = "number" TYPE = "text"></TD>
36 <TD><INPUT TYPE = "button" VALUE = "Calculate"
37 ONCLICK = "getFibonacciValue()"</TR>
38 <TR><TD>Fibonacci value</TD>
39 <TD><INPUT NAME = "result" TYPE = "text"></TD></TR>
40 </TABLE>
41</FORM></BODY>
42</HTML>
31<BODY>
32<FORM NAME = "myForm">
33 <TABLE BORDER = "1">

Script Outputs:

Fibonacci Series
Set of Recursive Calls to Function fibonacci
return 1 return 0
f( 1 )return f( 0 )+ return 1
f( 2 )return f( 1 )+
f( 3 )

Recursion vs. Iteration
 Iteration
 Explicitly uses repetition structures to achieve
result
 Terminates when loop-continuation condition fails
 Often faster than recursion
 Recursion
 Repeats through function calls
 Terminates when base case reached
 Slower due to function call overhead
 Each call generates new copy of local variables
 Easy to read and debug when modeling problem
with naturally recursive solution

Assignment 8
 1) Exercise # 10.22:
 A & B
 C (Bonus)
Due Date for A # 8:
 Next Monday before
your lecture.

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