How TO - JavaScript HTML Animations

Learn how to create animations using JavaScript.

A Basic Web Page

To demonstrate how to create HTML animations with JavaScript, we can use a simple web page.

Example

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<h1>My First JavaScript Animation</h1>

<div id ="myContainer">
<div id ="myAnimation">My animation will go here</div>
</div>

</body>
<html>

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Styling the Elements

To make an animation possible, the animated element must be animated relative to a "parent container".

The container element should be created with style = "position: relative".

The animation element should be created with style = "position: absolute".

Example

#myContainer {
  width: 400px;
  height: 400px;
  position: relative;
  background: yellow;
}

#myAnimation {
  width: 50px;
  height: 50px;
  position: absolute;
background: red;
}

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The Animation Code

JavaScript animations are done by programming gradual changes in an element's style.

The changes are called by a timer. When the timer interval is small, the animation looks continuous.

The basic code is:

Example

var id = setInterval(frame, 5);

function frame() {
  if (/* test for finished */) {
    clearInterval(id);
  } else {
    /* code to change the element style */
  }
}

Create the Animation Using JavaScript

Example

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