Microsoft Silverlight Books

Useful beginner book

If you want to learn modern JavaScript development (i.e. JQuery) from scratch then this book is for you. It's written in a very friendly manner and takes you gently from JavaScript "HelloWord" to creating full dynamic web pages using AJAX. Some readers has complained that the author uses plugins to accomplish mundane tasks rather than shoving "the bare metal" - personally I consider this a plus, since I would rather download and use well tested plugin than roll my own.

The book does however have a target audience issue. The author seams split between trying to teach JavaScript to people who have never programmed before, while simultaneous trying to explain advanced web development to more experienced readers. So in the end I must conclude that this is a very good book for beginners, while more experienced web developers might want to read books like jQuery in Action or JavaScript: The Good Parts.

Lars Tackmann
04 September, 2010

Also introduces the jQuery JavaScript framework

This book not only introduces JavaScript (its prime focus), but it also introduces the popular open-source JavaScript framework, jQuery, which supports many free open-source plug-ins found on scripting archives. With jQuery plug-ins, you can code at higher levels through the use of reusable code. The jQuery framework also takes care of many incompatibilities across browsers (like for JavaScript event handling) so the user can focus on his own JavaScript applications.

superticker
24 August, 2010

Perfect for Web Designers

I have just completed JavaScript: The Missing Manual. I am surprised at some of the negative reviews about this book. In my opinion, this is absolutely the best book for web designers who want to learn the basics JavaScript and also want to immediately take advantage of the most popular JavaScript library available.

I actually got interested in this book because of some of the negative reviews. I wanted to learn JavaScript quickly because I wanted to use jQuery on my web sites.

Before I bought this book, I read the introductory pages. In the About This Book section, the author says that the book will teach you the basics of JavaScript and programming, which it does. It will not teach you everything you need to know to build sophisticated, interactive Web pages. Instead the book shows you how to use jQuery and save a lot of time. So, after you learn JavaScript basics, you can start using the very cool jQuery plugins and add interactive functionality such as hiding or showing , creating cool lightbox galleries, inserting interactive google maps on the contact pages, and a lot of other things.

"Think of it this way: You could build a house by cutting down and milling your own lumber, constructing your own windows, doors, and doorframes, manufacturing your own tile, and so on. That 'do-it-yourself' approach is common to a lot of JavaScript books. But who has that kind of time? This book's approach is more like building a house by taking advantage of already built pieces and putting them together using basic skills. The end result will be a beautiful and functional house built in a fraction of the time it would take you to learn every step of the process."

So the question is: How much time do you have to learn JavaScript? If you're a web designer who wants to learn the basics of JavaScript quickly and start using very impressive js scripts, then this book is definitely for you. If you have a couple of years and want to become a JavaScript programmer, then this book is a great starting point. It's a mistake to dismiss this book because the author spends time on jQuery. If you want to be a full-fledge JS programmer, then jQuery can be an enormous help. You can download the uncompressed development version of jQuery and have great examples of sophisticated code to study, code that works and is cross-browser compatible.

You also have to be ready to learn JavaScript. If you don't have strong CSS skills, then you should first learn CSS before tackling JavaScript since CSS selectors are used to select parts of a web page to apply JavaScript (CSS: The Missing Manual is a good way to master CSS.)

One final comment. The author takes great care in clearly explaining Javascript code. The examples all work perfectly. This is a well-written technical book.

The Dude
24 August, 2010

Great for the beginner programer

I've been dabbling web design as a hobby for the last 5-7 years. I consider myself pretty versed in HTML and CSS, but I wanted to learn more. I knew to get really fancy with my sites, I'd need to learn JavaScript or Flash. I opted for the former and picket up this book: JavaScript for the World Wide Web, Fifth Edition. Big mistake! It was not written for the beginning programmer and it was more of a "cook book" or Javascript recipes, type this code--get this result, with little explanation of the how's and why's. Frustrated, I quickly put that book back on my shelf. Fast forward about 2 weeks and I'm sitting in the doctor's office waiting room. I brought up the Kindle app on my iPhone and browse through my saved books to pass the time. Lo and behold, I found a sample section I had download several months ago for this book, Javascript, The Missing Manual. The difference between this book and the former was night and day. I immediately bought the whole book and via the Kindle app for PC/Mac, I can call the book up at whatever computer I'm at.

The Missing Manual starts from the ground up, introducing basic Javascript concepts like functions, arguments, and variables. It provides lots of simple codes samples (tutorial files available free online!) so you can practice what you're learning. I'm about 33% through the book and I feel like I've got a more solid foundation for learning javascript. The book has just introduced JQuery, something I've been needing to learn for work for some time. Speaking as someone with no programming language experience (outside of HTML and CSS), I highly recommend this book for those in similar circumstances that want to learn javascript. You won't be disappointed. My only problem is that I want to buy a Kindle now so I can take this book with me everywhere to finish reading it. The code samples are a little hard to read on the iPhone's small screen.

D. Martin
11 May, 2010

Mislabled title, but very good jQuery book

The title of the book is misleading. The title should be jQuery: The Missing Manual. This books serves of introducing many programming concepts (loops, if/else, variables) using Javascript and then launches into jQuery in chapter 5. You can't really get mad if you bought this book thinking otherwise because of the capability of research the internet provides us. Personally, I look at reviews and gather information on the books contents before I ever buy a technology book. I did that after blindly buying a book that was severely outdated. We all have at least one experience of buying a book that is not what we think it is, if this is what happened to you for this book, take it as a learning experience.

Now, as far as the book goes, I think its really good and informative on the jQuery library. After reading this book and going through the tutorials I feel I have the knowledge to successfully implement jQuery in the workplace. If I am in an interview and I am asked if I am knowledgeable on jQuery I can confidently say yes. The pacing was great, I never felt over whelmed and the tutorials are a great reinforcement of the ideas and concepts presented in the chapters.

I would recommend this book to developers looking to learn the jQuery library and web designers who do not want to fuss with coding complex scripts in the standard Javascript library. Many scripts are made much easier using jQuery so its a great tool for designers looking for enough programming knowledge to get stuff done but don't stay awake at night wondering about the many nuances of Javascript.

Eric Mobley
12 February, 2010