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Using JavaScript's built-in objects

How to use JavaScript's built-in objects Date, Math, String, Array, and Object

By Gordon Mccomb, JavaWorld.com, 05/01/96

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with (Math) {
        var pi = PI;
        var pieAreRound = round(pi);
        alert (pieAreRound)
}

For your reference, here are the properties and methods supported by JavaScript's Math object.

Math Properties

E Euler's constant
LN2 The natural logarithm of 2
LN10 The natural logarithm of 10
LOG2E The base 2 logarithm of e
LOG10E The base 10 logarithm of e
PI The numeric equivalent of PI: 3.14 etc.
SQRT1_2 The square root of one-half
SQRT2 The square root of 2

Math Methods

abs Returns the absolute value of a number
acos Returns the arc cosine of a number
asin Returns the arc sine of a number
atan Returns the arc tangent of a number
ceil Returns the least integer greater than or equal to a number
cos Returns the cosine of a number
exp Returns e (Euler's constant) to the power of a number
floor Returns the greatest integer less than or equal to its argument
log Returns the natural logarithm (base e) of a number
max Returns the greater of two values
min Returns the lesser of two values
pow Returns the value of a number times a specified power
random Returns a random number (X-platforms only)
round Returns a number rounded to the nearest whole value
sin Returns the sine of a number
sqrt Returns the square root of a number
tan Returns the tangent of a number

Asking JavaScript for a date

Also borrowed by Java is the Date object, which can be used in JavaScript to determine the current time and date. A popular JavaScript application of the Date object is displaying a digital clock in a text box. The script uses the Date object to update the clock once every second. You also use the Date object to perform date math. For example, your script might determine the number of days between now and a certain future date. You can use this to display a "countdown," such as the number of days left of your company's big sale.

JavaScript treats the Date object like a constructor class. To use Date you must create a new Date object; you can then apply the various Date methods to get and set dates. (The Date object has no properties.) If you're familiar with the Date class in Java, you'll find the properties of the JavaScript Date object largely the same. The most commonly used methods are the get methods, which obtain the time and date of the value in the Date object. These methods are:

  • getHours() - Returns the hour
  • getMinutes() - Returns the minutes
  • getSeconds() - Returns the seconds
  • getYear() - Returns the year ("96" is 1996)
  • getMonth() - Returns the month ("0" is January)
  • getDate() - Returns the day of the month
  • getDay() - Returns the day of the week ("0" is Sunday)

(JavaScript's Date object also provides for setting the time and date of the Date object, but these are seldom used.)

Constructing a new Date object can take several forms. To return an object containing the current date and time, you use the Date object without parameters. In the following, date_obj is a new object, containing the value of the current date and time, as set by the computer's system clock. 

var date_obj = new Date();

Alternatively, you can specify a given date and time as part of the date constructor. Either of these methods is allowed -- both set the new date object to January 1, 1997, at midnight local time.

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