javascript writing tools?

[Michel]

I'm looking for a javascript writing tool that helps you with
displaying all the different things that could follow after the dot.
Like if you would type "document." then there would popup a list with
"all, getElementById, open, write, ...." to choose from.

It would even be better if it also has a line/line debugger which also
adds even more present objects to choose from.

This would really help me writing some javascript. Thanks!

[Richard Cornford]

Re: javascript writing tools?

Michel wrote:[color=blue]
> I'm looking for a javascript writing tool that helps you
> with displaying all the different things that could follow
> after the dot.[/color]

Any character sequence that conforms to the ECMAScirpt production rules
for - Identifier - can follow the dot in a dot notation property
accessor. However, javascript also supports bracket notation property
accessors and they allow any character sequence to be used in the
equivalent context. Thus you are initially asking for an infinite list
of character sequences (not a realistic desire).
[color=blue]
> Like if you would type "document." then there would popup a
> list with "all, getElementById, open, write, ...." to choose
> from.[/color]

One environment might support - document.all - while another supports -
document.getEle mentById - and another supports both, or neither. Such
tools may be written for particular (individual) browsers, but there can
be no general (suited to Internet scripting) application providing this
information. You need to be familiar with the properties of the various
DOM objects for yourself, because you need to know which (few) can be
expected to be common to all environments, which are standardised (and
so fairly common) and which are limited (or vary in their
implementation) .
[color=blue]
> It would even be better if it also has a line/line debugger
> which also adds even more present objects to choose from.[/color]

Each individual web browser (and browser version) presents a different
environment to be scripted. No external software can be expected to
suitably model many, varied, environments. Debuggers are available for
individual (some) browsers, and that is a good as it gets.
[color=blue]
> This would really help me writing some javascript. Thanks![/color]

If it could usefully be done then it probably would have been done, but
the inconstancy in scriptable environments, combined with javascript's
loose typing and non-class based nature, make this an unrealistic
desire. Cross browser scripting is actually one of the hardest
programming activities to do well (one of the factors that makes it
interesting and challenging), regardless of its apparent superficial
simplicity.

Richard.