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Topic #137

JS 1999 (ES3)

ES3 was the long-lived standard behind a decade of web development. It is where modern JavaScript's core solidified.

ECMAScript 3 (1999)

The first revision to JavaScript.

ECMAScript 1999 is also known as ES3.

ES3 Features

Col 1 Col 2
Feature Description
Regular expressions Sequence of characters that forms a search pattern
Error handling (try...catch) Statement to define code blocks to be tested in case of an error
The switch keyword Selects code blocks to be executed based on a conditions
The do...while loop A variant of the while loop

Browser Support

JavaScript 1999 is supported in all browsers:


Regular Expressions

A sequence of characters that forms a search pattern.

Example

let text = "Visit W3Schools";

let n = text.search(/w3schools/i);

The try...catch Keywords

Statement to define code blocks to be tested in case of an error.

Examples

let x = 5;

try {

  x = y + 1;

} catch(err) {

  let text = err.name;

}

The switch Keyword

Based on a condition, switch selects one or more code blocks to be executed.

Example

switch (new Date().getDay()) {

  case 0:

    day = "Sunday";

    break;

  case 1:

      day = "Monday";

     break;

  case 2:

       day = "Tuesday";

      break;

  case 3:

    day = "Wednesday";

      break;

  case 4:

      day = "Thursday";

     break;

  case 5:

      day = "Friday";

      break;

  case 6:

    day = "Saturday";

}

The do...while Loop

The do while runs at least once, even if the condition is false from the start.

This is because the code block is executed before the condition is tested:

Example

do {

    text += "The number is " + i;

    i++;

 }

while (i < 10);

Note: Do not forget to increase the variable used in the condition, otherwise the loop will never end!

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