THE <SCRIPT> ELEMENT

The primary method of inserting JavaScript into an HTML page is via the <script> element. This element was created by Netscape and first implemented in Netscape Navigator 2. It was later added to the formal HTML specification. There are six attributes for the <script> element:

• async — Optional. Indicates that the script should begin downloading immediately but should not prevent other actions on the page such as downloading resources or waiting for other scripts to load. Valid only for external script files.
• charset — Optional. The character set of the code specified using the src attribute. This attribute is rarely used, because most browsers don’t honor its value.
• defer — Optional. Indicates that the execution of the script can safely be deferred until after the document’s content has been completely parsed and displayed. Valid only for external scripts. Internet Explorer 7 and earlier also allow for inline scripts.