JavaScript - Placement in HTML File
JavaScript - Placement in HTML File
In the following section, we will see how we can place JavaScript in an HTML file in different
ways.
If you want to have a script run on some event, such as when a user clicks somewhere, then you
will place that script in the head as follows −
Live Demo
<html>
<head>
<script type = "text/javascript">
<!--
function sayHello() {
alert("Hello World")
}
//-->
</script>
</head>
<body>
<input type = "button" onclick = "sayHello()" value = "Say Hello" />
</body>
</html>
If you need a script to run as the page loads so that the script generates content in the page, then
the script goes in the <body> portion of the document. In this case, you would not have any
function defined using JavaScript. Take a look at the following code.
Live Demo
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<script type = "text/javascript">
<!--
document.write("Hello World")
//-->
</script>
You can put your JavaScript code in <head> and <body> section altogether as follows −
Live Demo
<html>
<head>
<script type = "text/javascript">
<!--
function sayHello() {
alert("Hello World")
}
//-->
</script>
</head>
<body>
<script type = "text/javascript">
<!--
document.write("Hello World")
//-->
</script>
As you begin to work more extensively with JavaScript, you will be likely to find that there are
cases where you are reusing identical JavaScript code on multiple pages of a site.
You are not restricted to be maintaining identical code in multiple HTML files. The script tag
provides a mechanism to allow you to store JavaScript in an external file and then include it into
your HTML files.
Here is an example to show how you can include an external JavaScript file in your HTML code
using script tag and its src attribute.
<html>
<head>
<script type = "text/javascript" src = "filename.js" ></script>
</head>
<body>
.......
</body>
</html>
To use JavaScript from an external file source, you need to write all your JavaScript source code
in a simple text file with the extension ".js" and then include that file as shown above.
For example, you can keep the following content in filename.js file and then you can use
sayHello function in your HTML file after including the filename.js file.
function sayHello() {
alert("Hello World")
}