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Message from Dean - May 8th 2007
I am currently testing out a new version of the APF Bridge Component - If you notice any errors within this demo store please drop me a line.
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Flanagan has provided me with all I need to know about JS. I have not read the book cover to cover, but refer to it often. The information I have needed has been easy to find and the examples have saved me hours of tinkering. He hasn't failed me yet on JavaScript issues.
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JavaScript: The Definitive Guide by David Flanagan is probably the best reference possible for this extremely useful, but complex language. I came to this book with absolutely no knowledge of Javascript, and so this book was my first real taste of the language. The first part of the book deals specifically with syntax and foundations of Javascript, so anyone with programming experience can read the first part of this book and be comfortable with programming in Javascript. This section is integral for understanding the nuanced complexities of a language without having to struggle with hard to find errors. Simple distinctions of types and values were very helpful to me.
The second part of the book is a by-examples tour through the intermingled worlds of Javascript and web browsers. Here you'll learn DOM scripting, AJAX, DHTML events, and more to make appealing interactive webpages. Personally, I found this section a little harder to use, and I would have preferred a, perhaps simpler, or at least more atomic explanation of AJAX as I am still confused by the whole concept. In either case, this section covers everything you need to know about Web 2.0.
The last two sections of the book are straight reference about everything in the core of Javascript and in client-side Javascript. This is a very well organized section of the book and it helps when you need to know exactly how a certain method or class works and this section alone is worth the cost of the book.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a taste of Javascript or for anyone who is looking towards Javascript as a way to access web programming. The book is not for everyone, but I would argue that Javascript is a very important language to learn in this web-centric age.
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Both an excellent tutorial and an excellent reference. I've read this bulky volume almost from cover to cover - even the reference chapters - and enjoyed every word.
It covers both the JavaScript language and DOM scripting via JavaScript. It clarifies the differences between the various DOM APIs implemented by the major browsers.
The author is somewhat judgmental (and with good reason, in this reviewer's opinion) to Internet Explorer's non-standards-compliant implementation, but nontheless, he does an excellent and thorough job describing this very popular API, as well as the W3C standard (implemented by FireFox and Opera, for instance).
The book also covers interoperability between JavaScript and Java, and between JavaScript and Flash (i've only skimmed through these chapters, though, so i won't vouch to their quality...).
I recommend complementing this book with Crawford's slim and exquisite "JavaScript: The Good Parts" (read Flanagan first).
Prerequisites for reading Flanagan: an aquaintance (really, a mere aquaintance is good enough) with HTML, CSS, Structured Programming and the Object Oriented paradigm. A knowledge of Java is assumed in a couple specialized chapters.
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I bought this book a while ago. It's comprehensive. It goes into a lot of details. I think it's good as a reference book, not for page to page reading.
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This is I believe the best book about basic Javascript on the market right now.
Pros: Technically complete, solid writing style, understandable examples, no better intro books on the market.
Cons: Authors repeatedly show that they prefer class-based object systems, which Javascript is not. Authors do not effectively teach advanced Javascript prototype-based object usage and in fact seem to view it as a nuisance to be avoided. Authors don't regularly use closures except in section on closures.
I would recommend following this book up with "Javascript: The Good Parts" and making sure you fully grok how to use closures to avoid namespace pollution.
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