JavaScript is a versatile language. It can be used to create menus, validate forms, provide interactive calendars, post the current day's headlines, produce background effects on a Web page, track a visitor's history on your site, and play games, among many other things. That's probably why it's one of the most popular languages on the World Wide Web.

Netscape created JavaScript in 1995. Originally called "LiveScript," it was designed to make Web pages more interactive. In the beginning the language was plagued with security problems which, for the most part, have been overcome. When you look at some of the JavaScripts out there, they can seem pretty intimidating. And that's true with most things that are new. Remember the first time you viewed the source code of an HTML document or took a look at a style sheet?