why do we need javascript: while making inline javascript calls

Question

We have lot of legacy inline javascript code for img onclick , href clicks ets and those clicks starts with javascript:

javascript:showpopup();

why do we need javascript: before calling the javascript functions.

any explanation will be appreciated.

You probably shouldn't use it at all. Just return false in your anchor tags. See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2321469/when-do-i-need-to-specify-the-javascript-protocol — charliegriefer, Dec 04 '10 at 06:22

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 04 '10 at 05:35

4

The javascript: scheme indicates to the browser that it's JavaScript code and not a relative path from the current page's base URL.

answered Dec 04 '10 at 05:35

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 04 '10 at 05:44

For inline event handlers like onclick or onmouseover you don't need the javascript: part.

<a href="javascript:you_need_it_here();" onmouseover="but_not_here();">Link</a>

Without javascript: in the href, clicking that link would try to take you to somewhere like this:

http://www.example.com/something/you_need_it_here();

See @Ignacio's answer for the reason.

2 Answers2