Bulletproof Ajax Review

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Bulletproof Ajax ReviewBulletproof AJAX by Jeremy Keith was an excellent beginners book to AJAX. For those who have read Bulletproof Web Design by Dan Cederholm, this book literally took the same approach. The book starts with the very basics and walks you to the end where you create a fictional bookstore that utilizes AJAX. Each chapter addresses what it means to make an AJAX application bulletproof. The author is brutally honest while informing you the barriers that AJAX faces, and how to get around them. Sometimes the best solution is: don't use AJAX. Obviously, this isn't the case for everything - or there wouldn't be a book to read. I appreciated the approach of making sure that your AJAX applications utilize progressive enhancement and are unobtrusive. These are two key elements when dealing with JavaScript as a whole. The entire journey of this brief (but informative) 200 page book looked a little like this:
Chapter 1 answers the question "What is AJAX?" and gives a brief introduction and history lesson as to it's origins. This is very basic, but begins to get your feet wet understanding that AJAX is not a new technology - but one that has recently hit the spotlight.
Chapter 2 gives a thorough overview of the Document Object Model. He explains what the DOM is, how it relates to your structured HTML and Javascript, and the methods associated with traversing the DOM. This is very important as he moves forward to create unobtrusive AJAX.
Chapter 3 dives into the XMLHttpRequest object, its origins, and how to create a bulletproof instance of the object. This handles the differences between IE and other browsers and how they implement the request. He creates a wrapper for use (and use through the rest of the book) that allows us to send requests, receive responses, and then position it accordingly in the DOM.
Chapter 4 covers the Data Formats that are returned by our request. These include XML, JSON, and HTML. He covers each data format, and creates another wrapper for retrieving the different data formats.
Chapter 5 introduces HIJAX. This is where he irons out some of his previous scripts. Initially inline scripts were used as examples, but with HIJAX we see how we can create bulletproof implementations of AJAX. Topics covered here include progressive enhancement, unobtrusive Javascript, and rich clients.
Chapter 6 forces us to hit a wall (briefly). This chapter discussed the challenges that AJAX faces (and has faced in the past). Some of the challenges revolve around web services and connecting to remote API's, making your application backwards compatible, how to work around browser inconsistencies and consistencies (The back button and bookmarking), and how to wireframe an application that will change in each section.
Chapter 7 discusses accessibility in relation to AJAX. One of the most frustrating parts for any application moving forward is dealing properly with screen readers. Screen readers are incredible tools, but since they sit on top of an existing browser it can make some things rather difficult (especially checking for the existence of Javascript).
Chapter 8 starts to wrap things up. Taking everything we have learned to this point, he discusses planning, applying, and bulletproofing your application.
Chapter 9, the final chapter, looks to the future of AJAX. Not only did it discuss the future - it covered many of the current frameworks available. He does a great job of discussing the good and bad of using frameworks - and where frameworks are best suited.
Overall, this book was a great read. This book is geared for the beginner, and I believe it will help a user have a complete grasp of AJAX. AJAX is a tricky subject, and Jeremy does a great job of tackling each subject in great detail. This book would go well with a Javascript book to help you bulletproof your applications. This is a must read for those who are interested in understanding AJAX and its place in the world of web standards.Bulletproof Ajax Overview
Step-by-step guide reveals best practices for enhancing Web sites with Ajax

A step-by-step guide to enhancing Web sites with Ajax.
Uses progressive enhancement techniques to ensure graceful degradation (which makes sites usable in all browsers).
Shows readers how to write their own Ajax scripts instead of relying on third-party libraries.

Web site designers love the idea of Ajax--of creating Web pages in which information can be updated without refreshing the entire page. But for those who aren't hard-core programmers, enhancing pages using Ajax can be a challenge. Even more of a challenge is making sure those pages work for all users. In Bulletproof Ajax, author Jeremy Keith demonstrates how developers comfortable with CSS and (X)HTML can build Ajax functionality without frameworks, using the ideas of graceful degradation and progressive enhancement to ensure that the pages work for all users. Throughout this step-by-step guide, his emphasis is on best practices with an approach to building Ajax pages called Hijax, which improves flexibility and avoids worst-case scenarios.


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Learning JavaScript, 2nd Edition Review

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Learning JavaScript, 2nd Edition ReviewI recently became the maintainer for a site that uses a bit of JavaScript. Surprisingly, I have no previous experience writing or maintaining anything in JavaScript, so I needed to get up to speed, if only to know what is going on. To help me out, I picked up a copy of Shelley Powers' new book, Learning JavaScript.
I am familiar with Shelley Powers' work, having read Unix Power Tools, a book that holds a special place on my shelf for its usefulness and depth. She is obviously someone who knows what she is doing.
This book states in the preface that, "Readers of this book should be familiar with web page technology, including Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and HTML/XHTML. Previous programming experience isn't required, though some sections may require extra review if you have no previous exposure to programming."
That sums up the only negative thing I might be tempted to say about the book. Usually, O'Reilly's "Learning" series books are excellent resources for complete newcomers and are the sort of books that I might point a novice toward. While this book is designed for the JavaScript novice, it is not the best resource for a programming/web creation novice. If you can't follow or understand the following quoted sentences, this book isn't for you. If you can, this book does an excellent job of covering the basics of JavaScript in depth and may end up being the only text you need on the topic.
"JavaScript has just three primitive data types: string, numeric, and boolean. Each is differentiated from the others by the type of value it contains: string, numeric, and boolean, respectively."
My first exposure to programming was in 1981, using BASIC on a Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer. Over the years, I have studied (and often forgotten, but can certainly read a bit and understand the concepts of) LISP, C, Bash scripting, Perl, Python, and more. Lately I have spent more time using PHP and enjoying it, since that is the language of things like Wordpress, Drupal, vBulletin and other commonly used CMS and interactive web site software. The two sentences quoted above seem perfectly clear to me, but I can imagine what they must seem like to someone with no experience with programming languages. So, now you have been warned. Let's get to the good stuff for those who understand the jargon.
This book is clear, with enough detail to help you understand what is happening without bogging you down in the minutiae. The reader is expected to see how and why each facet of the language would be useful, so the examples given are simple and seem to be designed to help the reader get the feel for usage without pretending to be a cookbook of programming recipes, although some seem quite useful as they are, such as Chapter 6's code for browser detection, which allows you to modify content and/or how it is displayed based on the web browser being used to view your site.
The text covers everything you are likely to need while using JavaScript, and more importantly for me, most everything a person is likely to stumble across when reading existing code. You get a solid introduction to data types and variables, operators, statements, objects, and functions. This is built upon with chapters on debugging and cross-browser compatibility. This new second edition (just released earlier in 2009) has several updates and changes from the previous version including a wonderful comparison of the benefits of generating and processing XML data using Ajax versus using JSON.
If you are considering using JavaScript on a website that includes the dynamic creation of web pages, or if you have inherited one that you are now responsible for maintaining, this book would be a good resource to help you start to understand one of the more common languages used for doing so. This is especially true if you have any prior experience with any other programming language. If you want a cookbook, scripted-style, "do this, now do that" sort of beginner's guide to making a site that holds your hand through the whole process, this is not the book you want.Learning JavaScript, 2nd Edition Overview
If you're new to JavaScript, or an experienced web developer looking to improve your skills, Learning JavaScript provides you with complete, no-nonsense coverage of this quirky yet essential language for web development. You'll learn everything from primitive data types to complex features, including JavaScript elements involved with Ajax and dynamic page effects. By the end of the book, you'll be able to work with even the most sophisticated libraries and web applications. Complete with best practices and examples of JavaScript use, this new edition shows you how to integrate the language with the browser environment, and how to practice proper coding techniques for standards-compliant websites. This book will help you:



Learn the JavaScript application structure, including basic statements and control structures
Identify JavaScript objects -- String, Number, Boolean, Function, and more
Use browser debugging tools and troubleshooting techniques
Understand event handling, form events, and JavaScript applications with forms
Develop with the Browser Object Model, the Document Object Model, and custom objects you create
Learn about browser cookies and more modern client-side storage techniques
Get details for using XML or JSON with Ajax applications
Learning JavaScript follows proven learning principles to help you absorb the concepts at an easy pace, so you'll learn how to create powerful and responsive applications in any browser.

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Simply JavaScript Review

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Simply JavaScript ReviewSimply Javascript by Kevin Yank and Cameron Adams lives up to the subtitle of Everything you need to learn Javascript from scratch. Javascript is a tricky subject to tackle. The Internet is full of Javascript snippets and code samples everywhere you look. Often times these code samples are less than satisfactory when you are addressing accessibility within your website. Many of the code samples contain outdated and proprietary code samples, making it a task to work out kinks and debug. The good news with this book is that they stick to a standard. All code used in this book uses object literal notation. Sticking to a coding style and format helps make this book an incredible read. Throughout this book you will learn the underpinnings of Javascript and how you can achieve different tasks.
Learning Javascript from scratch can be a daunting task. After all, there are several libraries and free scripts that you can essentially download and plugin to your website. But what happens when things go wrong? What happens when you need to modify the script to fit your needs? Having a solid foundation and understanding of Javascript will help you as you begin to develop for your own needs. This book gently walks you through the steps you need to take to achieve that solid foundation.Chapter 1 starts off with a brief primer of unobtrusive Javascript and it's role in the three layers of the web. HTML is your content. CSS is your presentation. Javascript is your behavior. These three aspects need to be separate from one another and also co-exist at the same time. Gone are the days of inline event handlers and functions. Using the power of the DOM you can rest assured your HTML will be pure and your applications will work flawlessly without Javascript enabled.
Chapter 2 spends some time setting up the foundation for beginners. This chapter walks you through statements, comments, variables and different variable types, conditions and loops, functions, and objects. Whew, that was a mouthful. This is where the standard of coding is introduced that will be used throughout the rest of the book. Things such as code indenting and formatting are touched on as well. This allows you to write clean code that is readable by you and other developers who may be working with your code. As stated earlier, all code uses object literal notation, and therefore this is explained in this chapter. A few examples are given and we are off to building some handy tools.

Chapter 3 gives you the necessary road map. This chapter is devoted to traversing the Document Object Model. A few helper classes are shown here that will allow us to retrieve elements by class name, add class names to an element, remove class names from an element, and check for the existence of class names within in an element. These will be used extensively throughout the book and are placed in their Core object. In addition to being able to traverse by class names, there is also the list of standard elements such as getElementById and getElementsByTagName. With these powerful tools at our finger tips we can now begin altering our pages as deemed necessary. The example given here is one of striping table rows. For those who don't do this on the server side, this simple task allows you to stripe your rows via the DOM.
Sure it's cool to add stripes to a table, but how can we do more? Chapter 4 is all about Events and the power they add to interacting with the DOM. The brief history lesson in this chapter helps us understand the different interpretations of different browsers and how we can use object detection to abstract these tasks into the Core object. Event Listeners and Event Handlers are both discussed in great detail. We move on to two working examples: Rich tooltips and Accordion. Rich tooltips are used to extract information from our title attribute and then apply them to a more stylish hover tooltip effect. Accordion allows us to save space on our pages by gradually showing the content as it is requested by either a click or keyboard event.
Chapter 5 gets us moving even more. This chapter is devoted to Animation and is probably one of the more complex chapters of the book. We are introduced to two methods, setTimeout and setInterval. Working mainly with setTimeout we are able to achieve our animation effects. This chapter looks at the principles of animation and an example of path-based motion with a soccer ball. We then use our new-found knowledge to extend our tooltip to show after a specified time, and our accordion is given a nice slide effect. We simply extend the code from our previous chapter to make these things happen. This is a good example of the benefits of working with objects and decoupling inside of your Javascript.
Chapter 6 gives use a few more tools to work with Forms. Forms are never easy to manipulate. Whether it be the style or the behavior. The beginning of the chapter starts with smaller scripts and examples of manipulating forms. This is done by specifying dependent fields and only showing them when necessary, and creating cascading menus from a select and it's optgroup. We then move on to some more advanced features for validation and creating a custom slider. These have been presented before in other areas, so nothing is really new in this area. However, this is all a part of understanding the bigger picture and the possibilities. It is about getting the creative juices flowing.
Chapter 7 discusses the inevitable testing for errors and debugging your application. We walk through the different types of erros: syntax, runtime, and logic. With each of these code samples are given with errors. We then use the tools of the browsers to make sense of their often cryptic error messages. In order to debug Javascript there is an invaluable tool in Firebug, a plugin for the popular Firefox web browser.
More interaction is still left as chapter 8 moves us to AJAX. Some very strong disclaimers are made as to when and where to use the right tool for the right job. Caution is also given in regards to assistive devices such as screen readers. With the warnings out of the way, we move to a some practical examples. The first is a small weather widget and the second is an extension to form validation.
The book finishes off by looking too the future of Javascript. Discussions of Rich Internet Applications and their place inside of the web help to stimulate your mind as you think about the possibilities. Not only about building applications on the web, but also using Javascript for such things as Dashboard Widgets and even browser development. In the hands of responsible developers, the future looks exciting for Javascript.
The Appendix is a very important part to this book, and I like its placement. The appendix goes through the Core methods used throughout the entire book. But why wait until the end of the book? Had this chapter shown up earlier it would have caused more confusion than necessary, and more explanation that necessary. As a reader you have the option to read this appendix first, but I felt it was well placed and covered thoroughly at the end of the book. By this point in the book you will have gained enough knowledge to dive in, whereas the beginning might have left you asking all the wrong questions.
If you have been developing Javascript for any amount of time, then you are most likely aware of the array of libraries available to us. These include Prototype, Scriptaculous, jQuery, Dojo, MooTools, and YUI to name a few. Each chapter of this book ends with a discussion of the libraries and how they can be used to help achieve the different tasks. Some libraries can achieve some tasks, while others still take a little work. The authors give a fair coverage to the libraries but do not dwell on them as the end-all-be-all of Javascript. If anything, the author's stress that you understand your Javascript at the core and know why you are doing what you are doing. This book sticks to unobtrusive principles and doesn't take shortcuts. The authors strive to make sure the code is of high quality and compatible cross-browser, but they never take the easy way out. Things such as innerHTML are put away in favor of building the DOM on the fly. This adds to the overall excellent quality of this book. The excellent code coupled with beautiful illustrations make this book easy to take small chunks at a time.Simply JavaScript Overview
Everything you need to learn JavaScript from Scratch!

Packed with numerous examples, Simply JavaScript is a step-by-step introduction to programming in JavaScript the right way. Learn how easy it is to use JavaScript to solve real-world problems, build smarter forms, track user events (such as mouse clicks and key strokes), and design eye-catching animations. Then move into more powerful techniques using the DOM and Ajax.
Learn JavaScript's built-in functions, methods, and properties. Easily integrate JavaScript in your web site. Use JavaScript to validate form entries and interact with your users. Understand how to respond to user events. Create animations that bring your web site to life. Start programming using the DOM and Ajax.
Unlike other JavaScript books, modern best practices such as progressive enhancement, accessibility and unobtrusive scripting are used from the very beginning. All the code in the book is also cross-browser compatible and downloadable for free, so you can get started instantly!


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Beginning PHP and MySQL: From Novice to Professional (Expert's Voice in Web Development) Review

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Beginning PHP and MySQL: From Novice to Professional (Expert's Voice in Web Development) ReviewThis book is written for someone who is familiar with other programming languages and databases and now wants to use PHP and MySQL. It is not written for somebody completely new to programming. For example, if you came from Perl or ASP, and you wanted to know how arrays, loops, and objects in PHP, this book will cover that.
The topic coverage is broad but not deep. The book has a feel of "semi-reference" in that each topic stands on its own. This is not a cookbook or "learn by example" book. There is enough information to get you started, but if you have a complex/niche problem, this book will not help you. For more information, you will have to consult books that specialize on the topic you are interested.
I have one major gripe with this book. There is not any significant coverage of XML manipulation or XSL/XSLT aspects of PHP. When you look at the table of contents or index, there is no mention of XSL/XSLT and only a brief mention of XML (and RSS) in the Web Services chapter. For a book that covers a lot of subjects, this is a weak area.Beginning PHP and MySQL: From Novice to Professional (Expert's Voice in Web Development) Overview
Beginning PHP and MySQL: From Novice to Professional, Fourth Edition is a major update of W. Jason Gilmore's authoritative book on PHP and MySQL. The fourth edition includes complete coverage of PHP 5.3 features, including namespacing, an update ofAMP stack installation and configuration, updates to Zend Framework, coverage of MySQL Workbench, and much more.

You'll not only receive extensive introductions to the core features of PHP, MySQL, and related tools, but you'll also learn how to effectively integratethem in order to build robust data-driven applications. Gilmore has seven years of experience working with these technologies, and he has packed this book with practical examples and insight into the real-world challenges faced by developers. Accordingly, you will repeatedly return to this book as both a valuable instructional tool and reference guide.

What you'll learn
How to install and configure Apache, PHP 5.3, and MySQL
PHP and object-oriented programming basics
New PHP 5.3 features and how to use them
How to move beyond basic PHP, including using the Zend Framework
How to use MySQL to securely store your website's data
How to use MySQL Workbench to manage your database

Who this book is for
Developers who want to harness PHP and MySQL to create powerful web applications

Table of Contents
Introducing PHP
Configuring Your Environment
PHP Basics
Functions
Arrays
Object-Oriented PHP
Advanced OOP Features
Error and Exception Handling
Strings and Regular Expressions
Working with the File and Operating System
PEAR
Date and Time
Forms
Authenticating Your Users
Handling File Uploads
Networking
PHP and LDAP
Session Handlers
Templating with Smarty
Web Services
Secure PHP Programming
IntegratingjQuery and PHP
Building Web Sites for the World
MVC and the Zend Framework
Introducing MySQL
Installing and Configuring MySQL
The Many MySQL Clients
MySQL Storage Engines and Datatypes
Securing MySQL
Using PHP with MySQL
Introducing PDO
Stored Routines
MySQL Triggers
MySQL Views
Practical Database Queries
Indexes and Searching
Transactions
Importing and Exporting Data


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Beginning JavaScript Review

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Beginning JavaScript ReviewLet me start by noting that, at its heart, this is a solidly written book for beginners. A neophyte with a modicum of aptitude could pick up this book and learn to program Javascript. It'd be a five-star-er--I'm sure it was a five-star book when the first edition came out.
Let me say that I'm an old hand at JS, and an even older hand at writing books and programming. JS is one of those languages (like most of them) where I sat down and started programming out of necessity. And when I do that, I like to go back to square one when I have a chance and see if I've overlooked any basics. This is the book I chose to use for that, based largely on the reviews of the top JS books on Amazon.
And, the thing is, I really like this book. I can see that the original author, Wilton, put a lot of care into it. He wrote his code clearly, and described it in easy-to-follow chunks. He takes small steps and gives just enough repetition. It's not a lightning introduction: It walks you through it.
Now, what happens with coding books is that the book gets written, and if it sells well, the publisher wants it updated for the next version. So the author (or someone new) comes in and goes to see what's valid and what's not, adds a few notes, a few caveats, and maybe a couple of chapters at the end. The publisher wrings a few more sales out of this and it's probably sufficient. At least for a second edition, if things haven't changed too much.
This, however, is the fourth edition of a book that was originally written in 2000! For WEB technology! Wilton focuses smartly on the nuts-and-bolts of JS, so that stuff holds up, but if your mission is to get stuff done on a modern website with JS, this book is going to feel really stale.
Some examples:
The book starts off by having you write stuff to the status bar. What's that? You don't know what a status bar is? That's because they haven't been used in browsers much for years.
Browsers: There's a lot of emphasis on IE6 compatibility issues even though IE6 is down to about 2% of the market. Chrome (with about 20%+ market share) is included as an after-thought, and sometimes not at all. Forget about Safari or mobile devices.
There's a discussion on frames that's completely innocent of the debate over whether they should be used at all.
There's a chapter on DHTML. It's fine, but "DHTML" isn't the preferred nomenclature, to quote Walter Sobchak. Generally, the constituent parts of HTML, Javascript and CSS are used because, well, they're different things (and require different approaches).
All of chapter 13 is devoted to ActiveX, reflecting a year 2000 sensibility, when you could just program for IE.
The Ajax chapter was added in the third edition by McPeak, who presumably also updated this edition, and it starts with a link to Google Suggest which is no longer valid (because Google Suggest was incorporated into regular Google the year before the fourth edition was released.)
McPeak also presumably added the chapter on Javascript libraries which jumps between Jquery, Prototype and MooTools. It's not bad, but it's not much, either.
I don't really fault McPeak here. It's a tough thing to do, to go through and revise this stuff and keep it technically accurate. Keeping it fresh is nigh impossible. I think the smart thing to do, really, would be to teach Javascript hand-in-hand with a particular framework. That approach would present its own problems, of course, but it would eliminate pages and pages of browser-specific stuff.
In any event, it wouldn't be this book. For Javascript fundamentals, this is still solid. Just don't look to getting more than your beak wet when it comes to use in real life.
I still give it three stars, which is high praise for an eleven year old tech book.
The Kindle version gets only two stars, however: Wrox didn't format any of the code, so it's all left-indented. That was hard for ME to read, and it'd be torture for a JS initiate.Beginning JavaScript OverviewThe perennial bestseller returns with new details for using the latest tools and techniques available with JavaScript
JavaScript is the definitive language for making the Web a dynamic, rich, interactive medium. This guide to JavaScript builds on the success of previous editions and introduces you to many new advances in JavaScript development. The reorganization of the chapters helps streamline your learning process while new examples provide you with updated JavaScript programming techniques.
You'll get all-new coverage of Ajax for remote scripting, JavaScript frameworks, JavaScript and XML, and the latest features in modern Web browsers. Plus, all the featured code has been updated to ensure compliance with the most recent popular Web browsers.
Introduces you to the latest capabilities of JavaScript, the definitive language for developing dynamic, rich, interactive Web sites
Features new coverage of data types and variables, JavaScript and XML, Ajax for remote scripting, and popular JavaScript frameworks
Offers updated code that ensures compliance with the most popular Web browsers
Includes improved examples on the most up-to-date JavaScript programming techniques

Continuing in the superlative tradition of the first three editions, Beginning JavaScript, Fourth Edition, gets you up to speed on all the new advances in JavaScript development.
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

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Beginning JavaScript with DOM Scripting and Ajax: From Novice to Professional (Beginning: From Novice to Professional) Review

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Beginning JavaScript with DOM Scripting and Ajax: From Novice to Professional (Beginning: From Novice to Professional) ReviewThis JavaScript tutorial is a bit different than most I've had the opportunity to review over the years... Beginning JavaScript with DOM Scripting and Ajax: From Novice to Professional by Christian Heilmann. It will probably play well to the serious developers who want to come at JavaScript from an object-oriented background...
Contents: Getting Started with JavaScript; Data and Decisions; From DHTML to DOM Scripting; HTML and JavaScript; Presentation and Behavior (CSS and Event Handling); Common Uses of JavaScript: Images and Windows; JavaScript and User Interaction: Navigation and Forms; Back-End Interaction with Ajax; Data Validation Techniques; Modern JavaScript Case Study: A Dynamic Gallery; Using Third-Party JavaScript; Debugging JavaScript; Index
Most JavaScript books that try and teach the language usually do the "Hello World" approach, have you put a date on the web page, etc. All OK stuff, but pretty common fare. Heilmann seems to treat JavaScript as a legitimate coding language, with plenty of power and features to allow you to code solutions based on current accepted techniques. For instance, he dives into DOM manipulation pretty early, so you end up seeing quite a bit of material using document.getElementsBy statements. In most JavaScript books, that's either relegated to the later chapters, or skipped altogether. Breaking up the learning by presentation and behavior also helps those who are more in tune with MVC-style design. JavaScript *can* be built in such a way that it's maintainable and segmented, and Heilmann does a very nice job in teaching that style. I also really liked the chapter on debugging, as that's one of those things that I find extremely frustrating about JavaScript. He presents some great options that top my normal "scan the code and see if anything looks wrong" method of finding JavaScript errors...
My only "quibble" with the book is that I don't think I'd recommend it for the pure novice. Perhaps a novice JavaScript developer with solid development skills in other areas... I think a pure novice to coding in general AND JavaScript in particular would quickly get lost here...
Definitely a good read if you have the basics down, and it will likely improve your JavaScript skills and coding techniques...Beginning JavaScript with DOM Scripting and Ajax: From Novice to Professional (Beginning: From Novice to Professional) OverviewJavaScript has been around for many years, so what makes this book different? Well, a lot of the competitors out there are large tomes; this book assumes a different approach, showing that you can give the reader all they need to know to hit the ground running, without making them trawl through hundreds of pages of syntax.The book also gives the most up-to-date picture of the topic-JavaScript support in the most modern web browsers, and adding unobtrusive JavaScript enhancements to web sites. This book promotes the most modern programming techniques and practices.Finally, the book provides an introduction to Ajax-style programming, which is an essential topic for modern web developers to understand. JavaScript is core to Ajax, so an understanding of it is essential when learning how to program Ajax functionality. This book therefore provides a great stepping stone for readers wishing to take this path.

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DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model Review

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DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model ReviewWhy I bought this book: Building dynamic websites looks like fun. The first edition got great reviews. I decided to buy the second edition because it contains some info about HTML5.
My review: I thoroughly enjoyed the book and finished it in a few days. It is a friendly introduction to the DOM, CSS, and Javascript. It was helpful that I already went through the quick W3C online tutorials on HTML, DOM, CSS, and Javascript. That's all you really need as prerequisites. The book explains many issues clearly and in a step-by-step fashion. There are several typos but they were pretty obvious and did not hinder my learning. The code examples are fun.DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model Overview
With this second edition of the popular DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model comes a modern revision to update best practices and guidelines. It includes full coverage of HTML5 in a new, dedicated chapter, and details on JavaScript libraries and how they can help your scripting. The book provides everything you'll need to start using JavaScript and the Document Object Model to enhance your web pages with client-side dynamic effects and user-controlled animation. It shows how JavaScript, HTML5, and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) work together to create usable, standards-compliant web designs. We'll also cover cross-browser compatibility with DOM scripts and how to make sure they degrade gracefully when JavaScript isn't available. DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model focuses on JavaScript for adding dynamic effects and manipulating page structure on the fly using the Document Object Model. You'll start with a crash course in JavaScript and the DOM, then move on to several real-world examples that you'll build from scratch, including dynamic image galleries and dynamic menus. You'll also learn how to manipulate web page styles using the CSS DOM, and create markup on the fly. If you want to create websites that are beautiful, dynamic, accessible, and standards-compliant, this is the book for you!

What you'll learn
Apply dynamic behavior to your pages without inserting JavaScript in your markup
Write scripts that degrade gracefully when JavaScript isn't available
Use web standards to ensure cross-browser compatibility
Harness the power of the DOM to create user-controlled animation
Also includes an introduction to Ajax

Who this book is for
This book is for web developers wanting to expand their knowledge of the DOM to add interactivity and functionality to their web pages.

Table of Contents
A Brief History of JavaScript
JavaScript Syntax
The Document Object Model
A JavaScript Image Gallery
Best Practices
The Image Gallery Revisited
Creating Markup on the Fly
Enhancing Content
CSS-DOM
An Animated Slideshow
HTML5
Putting It All Together
DOM Scripting Libraries


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JavaScript: The Definitive Guide Review

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JavaScript: The Definitive Guide ReviewThe previous edition of this book, 4th edition, remained at arm's length at all times at work and rescued me repeatedly from various day-to-day JavaScript challenges. It has become tattered from rigorous use. I always loved how the book was organized, with the first half as a walk through the entire gamut of JavaScript's workings -- tutorials, walk-thrus, code samples, cross-browser issues, and practical solutions -- and the second half of the book as a complete JavaScript language and DOM reference. That already very useful format has actually been improved upon. David has combined the DOM API reference and client-side JavaScript reference into a single alphabetized section. Now that I think about it, I did find myself flipping back and forth a lot in the previous edition, so this is a welcome improvement. Each object, property, and method contains a helpful "availability" of that item. This may be the standards spec it came from [DOM Level 2 HTML, ECMAScript v1], the JavaScript version in which it emerged [JavaScript 1.0], or a list of browser versions, if it is a proprietary feature. This is critical info to have at-a-glance - could perhaps save you 2 days of work implementing a non-standard, IE-specific JavaScript feature, when you could have been coding the standards-compliant equivalent. David has removed a lot of the deprecated, not-widely-adopted DOM interfaces that no longer apply to modern browsers. David has also moved focus away from some of the more oddball DOM interfaces that have been replaced by more sensible JavaScript objects that implement those interfaces, for example, window.getComputedStyle() rather than AbstractView.getComputedStyle(). In other words, David has removed all of the "stuff that still exists, but you no longer need to worry about". This makes for a more focused, less cluttered, "on topic", useful tome. I don't need to know about the 10 different methods that browser manufacturers fought over 7 years ago. Tell me what I need to know NOW to write practical, functioning, modern, cross-browser JavaScript. That's exactly what Mr. Flanagan has accomplished.
What else is new in the 5th edition?
1. Nested functions and closures.
2. A dedicated "Classes, Constructors, and Prototypes" chapter, with much more coverage on object-oriented programming in JavaScript.
3. A new chapter on Modules and Namespaces.
4. New chapter on scripting Java with JavaScript.
5. Coverage of the legacy (Level 0) DOM has been combined with the W3C standard DOM. More consolidation. Less flipping back and forth.
6. Cookies and Client-Side Persistence. Updated coverage on cookies, and brand new coverage of other client-side persistence techniques, like IE userData persistence, and Flash Shared Object Persistence.
7. AJAX - Coverage of scripted HTTP calls using the now famous XMLHttpRequest object.
8. XML - Demonstrates how to create, load, transform, query, serialize, and extract info from XML docs.
9. Client-Side Graphics - JavaScript's graphics capabilities. The cutting edge tag, SVG, VML, and communicating with the Flash plug-in.
10. Scripting Java Apps and Flash Movies - Another brand new chapter.
So, is the 5th edition worth the purchase? Absolutely. This book is a must-have for any web development library. I turn to it repeatedly. Here's an example.
Last week, I overheard a developer on my team proclaim to someone, "We can't do that. JavaScript can't control stuff in another frame." They went and informed my boss how monumental their task was becoming as they proposed a hacky, inelegant server-side workaround.
I managed to grab the one developer and said, "JavaScript certainly can talk across frames."
"Really?!", he asked, astonished. I opened "The Definitive Guide" to the part on cross-frame scripting and bookmarked it for them.
"Oh, wow! GREAT!", he exclaimed, "That completely solves our problem. Totally cool!" and zipped away book in hand. Hours later, they had it worked out, rather than days with the server-side solution.
I've seen some one-star, complaint-type reviews posted that this isn't a beginner book. Exactly right, but I'm confused as to how a quality rating [of 1 to 5 stars] equates, in any way, to skill level of the book, or its ability to meet someone's self-conceived personal notions of what the book is supposed to contain. There are some overview-type chapters that go over syntax, operators, scope, expressions, and the usual array of language basics, but these reviewers are correct in that this book is not a beginner's tutorial on JavaScript. It is a meat and potatoes, soup to nuts definitive guide and reference on all of the important and practical aspects of JavaScript programming. It is not a cookbook of cute-but-useless cut-n-paste recipes [although there are plenty of USEFUL code examples]. It is not the quick-and-dirty example of how to slap the hottest AJAX library into your site to attempt to make it behave like a Windows app. The chapter on AJAX shows you how to use the XML HTTP object directly, wrapped up in some nice reusable routines, so you can WRITE YOUR OWN AJAX-based features [which I prefer over using someone else's complicated, obfuscated framework].
Great job, again, David! If you develop websites in any capacity, you need this book. It should be on every developer's shelf.
JavaScript: The Definitive Guide Overview
This Fifth Edition is completely revised and expanded to cover JavaScript as it is used in today's Web 2.0 applications. This book is both an example-driven programmer's guide and a keep-on-your-desk reference, with new chapters that explain everything you need to know to get the most out of JavaScript, including:

Scripted HTTP and Ajax
XML processing
Client-side graphics using the canvas tag
Namespaces in JavaScript--essential when writing complex programs
Classes, closures, persistence, Flash, and JavaScript embedded in Java applications

Part I explains the core JavaScript language in detail. If you are new to JavaScript, it will teach you the language. If you are already a JavaScript programmer, Part I will sharpen your skills and deepen your understanding of the language.

Part II explains the scripting environment provided by web browsers, with a focus on DOM scripting with unobtrusive JavaScript. The broad and deep coverage of client-side JavaScript is illustrated with many sophisticated examples that demonstrate how to:

Generate a table of contents for an HTML document
Display DHTML animations
Automate form validation
Draw dynamic pie charts
Make HTML elements draggable
Define keyboard shortcuts for web applications
Create Ajax-enabled tool tips
Use XPath and XSLT on XML documents loaded with Ajax
And much more

Part III is a complete reference for core JavaScript. It documents every class, object, constructor, method, function, property, and constant defined by JavaScript 1.5 and ECMAScript Version 3.

Part IV is a reference for client-side JavaScript, covering legacy web browser APIs, the standard Level 2 DOM API, and emerging standards such as the XMLHttpRequest object and the canvas tag.

More than 300,000 JavaScript programmers around the world have made this their indispensable reference book for building JavaScript applications.

"A must-have reference for expert JavaScript programmers...well-organized and detailed." -- Brendan Eich, creator of JavaScript


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Getting Good with Javascript Review

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Getting Good with Javascript ReviewBased on my experience with Rockable Press publications in the past, I was a bit hesitant to purchase this book. Is it a good primer on Javascript? I think so, but the number of spelling and grammatical errors are unacceptable and very distracting. Simple concepts are obfuscated by glaring spelling and grammatical errors. Here are some highlights: using "you've" instead of "you'd"; "now" instead of "know"; "folowing" instead of "following"; and my personal favorite: every other page in chapter 2 has a page header of "Baiscs".
Rockable Press should be embarrassed that they released a book that could be considered a rough draft. The errors are so common and egregious, it is comical. At best, it is an amateurish attempt at publishing a book. If you can find your way through the grammatical mistakes, I think you'll find a decent introduction to Javascript. However, I'd wait until someone at Rockable Press decides to actually edit this book before purchasing.Getting Good with Javascript Overview
Ever wanted to spice up your websites with a dash of JavaScript, but not known where to start? In Getting Good with JavaScript, author Andrew Burgess breaks programming in JavaScript down into easy, straight-forward principles and practices.

This book will introduce you to important programming concepts, show you how to write your first scripts, and make you comfortable with JavaScript code. You'll learn:

The basics of types, variables, and operators
Best practices for efficient coding
Testing and optimizing your JavaScript
Interacting with HTML elements

Andrew Burgess will help you get past the learning curve and get you Getting Good with JavaScript!


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Professional JavaScript for Web Developers (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) Review

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Professional JavaScript for Web Developers (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) ReviewThis is currently my favorite book on JavaScript.
Zakas doesn't pull any punches. It took me a while to work through some of the chapters, primarily Chapter 5 (Reference Types), Chapter 6 (Object-Oriented Programming) and Chapter 18 (Advanced Techniques) because of the difficulty of the material. This is a good thing: the difficulty is due to the sometimes non-intuituve aspects of JavaScript (i.e., function binding and currying), not to any possible failure on the part of the author. His command of his material is evident in his ability to explain these difficult techniques, which can seem overwhelming at first blush. I really like that he doesn't insult his reader's intelligence by sticking with the easier-to-understand aspects of JavaScript but covers the most advanced JavaScript topics thoroughly. I expect to be challenged when reading a book on JavaScript, and taking time to work through the examples by stepping through them in Firebug is well worth it and what I look forward to doing. I don't like when I can read a book and not have to touch a keyboard to understand the material.
I especially love the chapter on OO programming and how he breaks down each OO pattern. He starts with the most basic example of inheritance and works up to the best-case scenario, always giving the pros and cons of each pattern along the way and when each pattern could be employed. In doing so, he provides an invaluable service to those who want to understand how libraries are engineered. I remember when I first was looking at the source code for a particular library, and I was completely baffled by what I saw. For example, I would often see this:
MyClass.superclass.constructor.call(this);
There was no explanation to what this esoteric statement was doing. Now, after reading the book (actually, at the time it was the first edition of the book), I understand that this is known as constructor stealing or object masquerading, and I now know that it's used to inherit instance properties. I had many, many moments like this, and now when I look at source code I can intelligently follow it and understand its intent.
This book empowers the reader with new knowledge. This is especially important when more and more I encounter front-enders who feel that knowing jQuery is knowing JavaScript. I remember when I first began looking at JavaScript libraries I was completely overwhelmed; from that moment I resolved to learn the JavaScript language inside and out if I could. Then, I'd go back to the libraries. Well, that has paid off in spades now, and I feel completely comfortable working in any library knowing what they're doing under the hood (and I have worked with several at different jobs). In fact, I write my own library in my spare time, and I never could have begun to do that or understand how to do that without books like this one and others.
I also love how Zakas gives the back-history to all the subjects he covers. Knowing where stuff came from is important, even if I would never use it. For example, I never knew there were HTML methods, and if I were to have come across them in the legacy code that I support I would've thought that they were user-defined methods. Now I know better. Knowledge is power.
I work on a team composed of Java developers, and this book has helped me to better communicate with them. I love how Zakas talked about how the Array methods can act as data structures. That's very important for a book to cover. Giving comparisons to other languages and emphasizing the similarities and how one language can translate to another is another way that this book has empowered me. It's much easier for me now to convey ideas to my teammates when I can express things like, "JavaScript doesn't have block-level scope like you're used to, but that's what anonymous functions are doing and that's why you see them here...", etc.
Lastly, the expanded chapter on Best Practices is invaluable. I've already employed them in my own work and have gotten the wheels in motion to do what I can at work (gzipping and including compression in our build process).
If you're left a little or a lot puzzled about prototypal inheritance, closures and OO programming in general, get a copy of this book and devote time to it. You'll walk away completely confident that there isn't anything out there that you can't figure out, as I did.
P.S. I suggest reading this book cover-to-cover, even if you feel like that doesn't apply to you. Zakas is very thorough in disseminating lesser-known aspects of both core and client-side JavaScript. In fact, there's so much that I'm going back for a second-helping.
Professional JavaScript for Web Developers (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) OverviewProfessional JavaScript for Web Developers, 2nd Edition, provides a developer-level introduction along with the more advanced and useful features of JavaScript.
Starting at the beginning, the book explores how JavaScript originated and evolved into what it is today. A detailed discussion of the components that make up a JavaScript implementation follows, with specific focus on standards such as ECMAScript and the Document Object Model (DOM). The differences in JavaScript implementations used in different popular web browsers are also discussed.
Building on that base, the book moves on to cover basic concepts of JavaScript including its version of object-oriented programming, inheritance, and its use in various markup languages such as HTML. An in-depth examination of events and event handling is followed by an exploration of browser detection techniques and a guide to using regular expressions in JavaScript. The book then takes all this knowledge and applies it to creating dynamic user interfaces.
The last part of the book is focused on advanced topics, including performance/memory optimization, best practices, and a look at where JavaScript is going in the future.
This book is aimed at three groups of readers:
Experienced developers familiar with object-oriented programming who are looking to learn JavaScript as it relates to traditional OO languages such as Java and C++
Web application developers attempting to enhance the usability of their web sites and web applications
Novice JavaScript developers aiming to better understand the language

In addition, familiarity with the following related technologies is a strong indicator that this book is for you:
Java
PHP
ASP.NET
HTML
CSS
XML

This book is not aimed at beginners who lack a basic computer science background or those looking to add some simple user interactions to web sites. These readers should instead refer to Wrox's Beginning JavaScript, 3rd Edition (Wiley, 2007).
This book covers:
What Is JavaScript?—Explains the origins of JavaScript: where it came from, how it evolved, and what it is today. Concepts introduced include the relationship between JavaScript and ECMAScript, the Document Object Model (DOM), and the Browser Object Model (BOM). A discussion of the relevant standards from the European Computer Manufacturer's Association (ECMA) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is also included.
JavaScript in HTML—Examines how JavaScript is used in conjunction with HTML to create dynamic web pages. Introduces the various ways of embedding JavaScript into a page, including a discussion surrounding the JavaScript content-type and its relationship to the element.
Language Basics—Introduces basic language concepts, including syntax and flow control statements. Explains the syntactic similarities of JavaScript and other C-based languages and points out the differences. Type coercion is introduced as it relates to built-in operators.
Variables, Scope, and Memory—Explores how variables are handled in JavaScript given their loosely typed nature. A discussion about the differences between primitive and reference values is included, as is information about execution context as it relates to variables. Also, a discussion about garbage collection in JavaScript explains how memory is reclaimed when variables go out of scope.
Reference Types—Covers all of the details regarding JavaScript's built-in reference types, such as Object and Array. Each reference type described in ECMA-262 is discussed both in theory and how they relate to browser implementations.
Object-Oriented Programming—Explains how to use object-oriented programming in JavaScript. Since JavaScript has no concept of classes, several popular techniques are explored for object creation and inheritance. Also covered is the concept of function prototypes and how that relates to an overall OO approach.
Anonymous Functions—Explores one of the most powerful aspects of JavaScript: anonymous functions. Topics include closures, how the this object works, the module pattern, and creating private object members.
The Browser Object Model—Introduces the Browser Object Model (BOM), which is responsible for objects allowing interaction with the browser itself. Each of the BOM objects is covered, including window, document, location, navigator, and screen.
Client Detection—Explains various approaches to detecting the client machine and its capabilities. Different techniques include capability detection and user-agent string detection. Each approach is discussed for pros and cons as well as situational appropriateness.
The Document Object Model—Introduces the Document Object Model (DOM) objects available in JavaScript as defined in DOM Level 1. A brief introduction to XML and its relationship to the DOM gives way to an in-depth exploration of the entire DOM and how it allows developers to manipulate a page.
DOM Levels 2 and 3 Explains how DOM Levels 2 and 3 augmented the DOM with additional properties, methods, and objects. Compatibility issues between Internet Explorer and other browsers are discussed.
Events—Explains the nature of events in JavaScript, where they originated, legacy support, and how the DOM redefined how events should work. A variety of devices are covered, including the Wii and iPhone.
Scripting Forms—Looks at using JavaScript to enhance form interactions and work around browser limitations. Discussion focuses on individual form elements such as text boxes and select boxes and on data validation and manipulation.
Error Handling and Debugging—Discusses how browsers handle errors in JavaScript code and presents several ways to handle errors. Debugging tools and techniques are also discussed for each browser, including recommendations for simplifying the debugging process.
XML in JavaScript—Presents the features of JavaScript used to read and manipulate eXtensible Markup Language (XML) data. Explains the differences in support and objects in various web browsers, and offers suggestions for easier cross-browser coding. This also covers the use of eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT) to transform XML data on the client.
ECMAScript for XML—Discusses the ECMAScript for XML (E4X) extension to JavaScript, which is designed to simplify working with XML. Explains the advantages of E4X over using the DOM for XML manipulation.
Ajax and JSON—Looks at common Ajax techniques, including the use of the XMLHttpRequest object and Internet Explorer's XDomainRequest object for cross-domain Ajax. Explains the differences in browser implementations and support as well as recommendations for usage.
Advanced Techniques—Dives into some of the more complex JavaScript patterns, including function currying, partial function application, and dynamic functions. Also covers creating a custom event framework to enable simple event support for custom objects.
Client-Side Storage—Discusses the various techniques for storing data on the client machine. Begins with a discussion of the most commonly supported feature, cookies, and then discusses newer functionality such as DOM storage.
Best Practices—Explores approaches to working with JavaScript in an enterprise environment. Techniques for better maintainability are discussed, including coding techniques, formatting, and general programming practices. Execution performance is discussed and several techniques for speed optimization are introduced. Last, deployment issues are discussed, including how to create a build process.
Upcoming APIs—Introduces APIs being created to augment JavaScript in the browser. Even though these APIs aren't yet complete or fully implemented, they are on the horizon and browsers have already begun partially implementing their features. Includes the Selectors API and HTML 5.
The Evolution of JavaScript—Looks into the future of JavaScript to see where the language is headed. ECMAScript 3.1, ECMAScript 4, and ECMAScript Harmony are discussed.


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Eloquent JavaScript: A Modern Introduction to Programming Review

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Eloquent JavaScript: A Modern Introduction to Programming ReviewA concise and balanced mix of principles and pragmatics. I loved the tutorial-style game-like program development. This book rekindled my earliest joys of programming. Plus, JavaScript!
/beEloquent JavaScript: A Modern Introduction to Programming Overview
"A concise and balanced mix of principles and pragmatics. I loved the tutorial-style game-like program development. This book rekindled my earliest joys of programming. Plus, JavaScript!" -Brendan Eich, creator of JavaScript

JavaScript is the language of the Web, and it's at the heart of every modern website from the lowliest personal blog to the mighty Google Apps. Though it's simple for beginners to pick up and play with, JavaScript is not a toy—it's a flexible and complex language, capable of much more than the showy tricks most programmers use it for.

Eloquent JavaScript goes beyond the cut-and-paste scripts of the recipe books and teaches you to write code that's elegant and effective. You'll start with the basics of programming, and learn to use variables, control structures, functions, and data structures. Then you'll dive into the real JavaScript artistry: higher-order functions, closures, and object-oriented programming.

Along the way you'll learn to:

Master basic programming techniques and best practices
Harness the power of functional and object-oriented programming
Use regular expressions to quickly parse and manipulate strings
Gracefully deal with errors and browser incompatibilities
Handle browser events and alter the DOM structure

Most importantly, Eloquent JavaScript will teach you to express yourself in code with precision and beauty. After all, great programming is an art, not a science—so why settle for a killer app when you can create a masterpiece?


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Accelerated DOM Scripting with Ajax, APIs, and Libraries (Expert's Voice) Review

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Accelerated DOM Scripting with Ajax, APIs, and Libraries (Expert's Voice) ReviewAccelerated DOM Scripting, Ajax, APIs, and Libraries by Jonathan Snook, Aaron Gustafson, Stuart Langridge, and Dan Webb is not just another book on DOM scripting. There are many excellent DOM scripting and JavaScript books available to us as developers. Some are thorough explanations of JavaScript with a little bit about the DOM, while others are full blown books on the subject of DOM scripting. This book takes a slightly different direction discussing DOM scripting in light of Ajax, the array of APIs available, and the many libraries available that help us rapidly develop our applications. Upon hearing of the arrival of this book, I was worried that it might be something that would be considered obsolete the week after it was published due to the rapid rate of change in libraries and APIs. After reading this book, that worry was put to rest as each of the authors did an excellent job of digging into the guts of the libraries, exposing how things are done, how you could do it yourself, and how a library could be of assistance to you.
Contents
Chapter 1 starts us off with an explanation of the state of JavaScript. JavaScript has been abused heavily in the past, and due to this abuse and its inconsistencies - many developers chose to shy away. However, this is no longer the case. Along with explaining the state of JavaScript, we get to look at ways to manage our JavaScript code as well as debug our code. This gives us the tools we need as we begin development throughout the rest of the chapters.
Chapter 2 dives into HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Often referred to as the trinity of front-end development, it is valuable for you to understand the purpose of each, and how they interact with one another. The basics of each are discussed, and then we move to the DOM and find out how we can use semantic markup and meaningful CSS to create the necessary hooks for our JavaScript to interact. Topics such as traversing, reading, and writing to the DOM, handling attributes, detecting browser support, and handling events are all discussed. This chapter builds from previous chapter, and prepares us as we move on to the following chapters.
Chapter 3 tackles the sometimes tough subject of object oriented programming. Depending on your background and experience in programming, the idea of OOP may seem foreign to you. However, the author does an incredible job of highlighting the benefits, formatting, and examples throughout the entire chapter. Some of the benefits discussed are: Namespaces, closures, and encapsulation. To me, this chapter was one of the most valuable in the entire book as it helps you to understand the programming at the core of the libraries that are discussed. Knowing what is going on under the hood is extremely important as you develop and troubleshoot your code.
Chapter 4 moves us to the discussion of the available libraries. As I stated earlier, I was concerned that this book would quickly become stale due to the change and development of libraries. I couldn't have been more wrong. This chapter doesn't just show you the libraries and move on. This chapter teaches you how the libraries work, how you can develop within the libraries, and explains the benefits of using libraries. It teaches you what takes place under the hood for so many different aspects. Along with teaching these things, the author gives you some tips as you are searching and selecting a JavaScript library to work with, something invaluable as there are many options to choose from.
Chapter 5 moves into the world of Ajax and Data Exchange. This chapter discusses all of the nuances of Ajax. These are the important things that need to be addressed before you start implementing Ajax in your applications. Understanding the data formats that are returned. Understanding the HTTP codes. Understanding the different ActiveX Objects. Understanding how to prepare for and handle failure. All of these things are very important as you use Ajax. After you learn what is going on under the hood and how to put the pieces together, the author shows you how libraries can help you in the process.
Chapter 6 discusses Animation, what most people think of when they hear Ajax. As with the previous chapter, you start off by building a simple animation object, then look to see what the libraries have to offer.
Chapter 7 takes us into form validation with JavaScript. All validation should first take place on the server side, then use the client-side to enhance the user experience. The tricky part comes when you find yourself maintaining two validation codebases, one in a server-side language and one in JavaScript. This chapter brings both of these worlds together and allows you to specify your validation rules in one place, sharing your server-side code with the client-side. This makes the validation process much easier and expandable. If you ever want to add or remove validation rules, you can do it in one spot and both the server-side and client-side will follow suit. As with the previous chapters, we first build our example from scratch so we understand the core, then we see how libraries can help us in the process.
Chapter 8 is a case study in building a FAQ system. This chapter walks through the process of creating a usable, accessible, and progressively enhanced FAQ system. This case study builds the semantic HTML, the necessary CSS hooks, and uses the necessary JavaScript to achieve our tasks. The process is extremely thorough as each and every piece is tackled and dissected in the building process. This case study is an excellent tutorial in using all of the building blocks we have discussed up to this point.
Chapter 9 is another case study that walks us through the process of building a dynamic help system. This current example utilizes the Ruby on Rails framework to build the application. The first part of this case study spends important time in planning and preparation. This is important in any application that uses progressive enhancement. As the author points out, this chapter starts with a solid base of semantic HTML, and then builds the CSS and JavaScript on top where necessary. The planning is in place, the foundation is established, and the hooks are in place. As with the previous case study, this chapter does an excellent job of diving in and showing you all of the little details necessary to put an application together.
Conclusion
This book went beyond my initial expectations. It is geared more towards someone who already has a good understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. If you are looking for a book to teach you JavaScript, then this is not it. This book will help you take your understanding of JavaScript to the next level, and help you grasp what is going on at the core of your library of choice. This is especially important when you have to troubleshoot a piece of JavaScript, or you have to extend something to fit your needs. This book doesn't simply leave you with an explanation of libraries, but teaches you where libraries are helpful, and how you can fully understand what the libraries have to offer. JavaScript is not evil. JavaScript libraries are not evil. This book will show you how to make proper use of the tools available to you.Accelerated DOM Scripting with Ajax, APIs, and Libraries (Expert's Voice) OverviewJavaScript is one of the hottest web development technologies around, and DOM Scripting is a very important subset of JavaScript, which specifically allows developers to add dynamic functionality to their web applications.Interest in this subject is proven by sales of the book "DOM Scripting" from friends of ED (1590595335,) and Pro DOM Scripting adds to that knowledge base by providing a Pro level resource aimed more at developers/programmers than designers. Pro DOM Scripting provides a thorough walkthrough of all the fundamentals you need to know for effective dynamic web applications (OOP, events, Ajax, JavaScript libraries etc.)It then hits home with 3 complete real world case studies detailing complete dynamic web applications. This is the first DOM Scripting book aimed at the experienced web developer.

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Pro JavaScript Techniques Review

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Pro JavaScript Techniques Review§
"Pro JavaScript Techniques" is definitely for experienced and advanced scripters. The level of abstraction is high in this treatment of the latest trends of JavaScript. If you are looking for ready-made scripts to solve some specific problem in your site or application, you are looking for a different sort of book.
If you have ever gone to Douglas Crockford's site to learn about advanced concepts in JavaScript, and withdrew dazed and abused by his obtuse examples -- but with a conviction that there was something valuable to learn there -- this book is for you.
The author states, and I agree, that understanding Chapter 2, "Object Oriented JavaScript" is the key to the puzzle. "The phrase object-oriented JavaScript is somewhat redundant, as the JavaScript language is completely object-oriented and is impossible to use otherwise. However, a common shortcoming of most new programmers is to write their code functionally without any context or grouping."
The chapter contains a clear exposition of what the author means by "context or grouping." In fact, his concise but relevant example code to explain the distinction between privileged methods and static methods lit up all sorts of light bulbs in my head...Finally! :-)
Be aware that the author's approach has a particular bias in that it is often directed at the *programmer* coming into Web scripting. The idea is to make the JavaScripting world appear more like the programming languages already known. You learn "how to go about writing a variety of object-oriented code to suit anyone coming from another programming language."
This is a great book -- but not for all.
§Pro JavaScript Techniques OverviewJavaScript usage on the Web has changed in recent times, due to increased JavaScript support in web browsers, and new techniques coming to light. JavaScript is also now being looked on as a proper programming language, whereas in it's inception it was regarded as little more than a scripting toy.This book addresses all the points above in detail - modern browser support (including information on Internet Explorer 7), Object-Oriented JavaScript, testing and debugging, Unobtrusive JavaScript techniques using DOM Scripting, Ajax, creating and using blocks of reusable code, and looking towards the future of JavaScript.It backs up all the concepts with real world examples and full-blown case studies, and also includes several reference sections to allow developers to look up details quickly and easily.

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Murach's JavaScript and DOM Scripting (Murach: Training & Reference) Review

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Murach's JavaScript and DOM Scripting (Murach: Training & Reference) ReviewI've read a ton of books on JavaScript, and Ray Harris' wonderful tome is perhaps THE best modern titles you'll find on the topic. The book is intelligently organized, and written in a concise fashion, with practical examples, delivered with a friendly voice that makes what can often be convoluted or confusing concepts easy to grasp for beginners.
On that note, the book serves as a valuable refresher for the experienced web developer wanting to get up to speed on current-day concepts or the advanced dev needing best practices in her coding. And like all Murach titles, the book doesn't inundate the reader with useless chapters of the history of the at-hand topic, it just tells you what JavaScript can do for your web applications and shows you the best, most efficient ways to do it.
In particular, I found Harris' work to have exceptional contributions of several topics: there is excellent coverage of debugging tools & techniques, featuring the latest browsers, plugins, and GUIs. The book has a wonderful discussion of how to use client-side regular expressions. And the chapters on object-oriented programming and DOM scripting are some of the best you'll find. Likewise appreciated are the discussions on JavaScript libraries such as jQuery and Dojo.
It's truly a holistic look at client-side development.
So Get out and buy this book...whatever your level, it'll be a welcome addition to your technical library!Murach's JavaScript and DOM Scripting (Murach: Training & Reference) OverviewWant to create websites that deliver the fast response times, dynamic user interfaces, and special effects that today's users expect?Then this is the book for you! Whether you're just starting out in JavaScript or whether you're ready to move into DOM scripting, it gives you the skills you need. Here's how:#1: It's 2 books in 1: A JavaScript book and a DOM scripting bookMost books cover JavaScript or DOM scripting. But to create user-responsive sites, you need to know both.So the first half of this book is a course in JavaScript essentials. Then, the second half is a course in DOM scripting that gives you a clear understanding of how DOM scripting works, how JavaScript underlies it, and how to use it to build applications that run slide shows, use drop-down menus, rotate headlines, sort tables, provide animation, and more!That means you can gain basic to expert skills in a single book.#2: It provides a fast startSection 1 is a crash course in JavaScript. In fact, by the end of chapter 3, you'll know how to code, test, and debug applications that include elementary DOM scripting. Then, the rest of the book builds on those skills to cover all the JavaScript and DOM scripting essentials.#3: It shows you how to create and use event-handling libraries for browser compatibilityOne of the headaches of web programming is ensuring that the code will work with all the popular browsers. So this book shows you how to create your own event-handling libraries of browser-compatible code, so you can draw on it as needed. It shows you how to take advantage of free, third-party libraries like jQuery and Dojo. And it helps you to appreciate, and profit from, the extensive libraries of tested code that are included in the downloadable applications for the book. #4: It shows 20 complete applications that can be used as models for new appsThe key to mastering client-side web development is to have plenty of applications that show how the features interact and what problems might occur in building a website. So this book gives you complete code for 20 professional applications. These run the gamut from business applications, like object-oriented forms validation, to entertainment apps, like a rotating, 3-dimensional carousel of images that the user can control with the mouse or keystrokes.You can download these for free from the Murach website. Experiment with them on your own, then use them as time-saving models for new applications.#5: The paired-pages format lets developers set their own paceMurach books have a distinctive format. Each two-page spread presents a single topic: the lefthand page explains the topic, while the righthand page shows the critical details, using syntax, code, screen shots, and how-to notes. Both beginning and experienced developers tell us that this format makes it easy to focus on the information they need, whether they're using the book for training or reference. Again, you can try this out for yourself by downloading chapters 2 and 3 for free from the Murach website.So don't wait to become an expert web developer. Get your copy of Murach's JavaScript and DOM Scripting today!

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JavaScript: The Good Parts Review

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JavaScript: The Good Parts ReviewDo you struggle when creating objects in Javascript?
Do you find the syntax to be non-intuitive and frustrating?
Do you know the difference between using a function as an object vs using an object literal?
Do you know how using object literals can simplify your code and create something similar to namespaces?
Do you know how to augment the type system -- for example, if wanted all strings to have a trim() method?
Do you know why the "new" statement is so dangerous? Do you know an alternative that eliminates the use of "new" entirely?
These are some of the topics that the book touches upon.
This book is aimed at someone with intermediate programming experience that wants to know the best way to create and use objects, arrays, types, etc. Crockford takes his experience with Javascript to show you best practices coding techniques and styles to use with Javascript. In addition, the book provides insights into what makes Javascript so confusing and what can be done about it.
You might ask "Isn't this stuff already covered in other books that I have?" The answer is no. For one, most other books use a psuedo-classical coding style (see below) to explain objects that is a source of confusion.
Javascript can be very confusing, especially for programmers who have extensive experience in other C-based languages (like myself). Writing good Javascript that uses objects, methods, etc. is hard. In Javascript, if you want to create objects, use inheritance and create methods, you have several different ways to write your code and it's difficult to know what the strengths and weaknesses of each are.
Crockford explains the problem plainly. Other C-based languages use class inheritance (Crockford calls this classical inheritance). Javascript, on the other hand, is the only popular language that uses prototype inheritance, which does not have classes. However, the syntax which Javascript uses to create object is Java-like (Crockford calls this pseudo-classical syntax). It's confusing, because it keeps you in a class-based frame of mind while working in a language that has no concept of classes.
Clarifying what's going on with the object model is the best part of this book. Crockford also explains other parts of Javascript that can be problematic and the techniques that he prefers for handling them. I don't necessarily agree with all of them, but the important thing is that he explains his reasoning.
To effectively learn Javascript, I recommend that you buy 1) a book that covers the details of the language and can be used as a reference (e.g. Javascript, the Definitive Guide) and 2) Crockford's book. Advanced programmers might also enjoy Pro Javascript Design Patterns, which shows a number of ways to combine Javascript with some of the GoF patterns. I would avoid any cookbook style books on Javascript, because you're better off using YUI, JQuery or one of the other Javascript libraries than writing your own drag-and-drops, calendars, etc.
There are a series of Yahoo! videos by Crockford that mirror the material in this book and can be found as podcasts under YUI Theater. They contain nearly all of the material in the book and probably a little more. Those videos are:
- Douglas Crockford/An Inconvenient API: The Theory of the DOM (3 parts)
- Douglas Crockford/The JavaScript Programming Language (4 parts)
- Douglas Crockford/Advanced JavaScript (3 parts)
- Douglas Crockford/Javascript The Good PartsJavaScript: The Good Parts Overview
Most programming languages contain good and bad parts, but JavaScript has more than its share of the bad, having been developed and released in a hurry before it could be refined. This authoritative book scrapes away these bad features to reveal a subset of JavaScript that's more reliable, readable, and maintainable than the language as a whole-a subset you can use to create truly extensible and efficient code. Considered the JavaScript expert by many people in the development community, author Douglas Crockford identifies the abundance of good ideas that make JavaScript an outstanding object-oriented programming language-ideas such as functions, loose typing, dynamic objects, and an expressive object literal notation. Unfortunately, these good ideas are mixed in with bad and downright awful ideas, like a programming model based on global variables. When Java applets failed, JavaScript became the language of the Web by default, making its popularity almost completely independent of its qualities as a programming language. In JavaScript: The Good Parts, Crockford finally digs through the steaming pile of good intentions and blunders to give you a detailed look at all the genuinely elegant parts of JavaScript, including:

Syntax
Objects
Functions
Inheritance
Arrays
Regular expressions
Methods
Style
Beautiful features

The real beauty? As you move ahead with the subset of JavaScript that this book presents, you'll also sidestep the need to unlearn all the bad parts. Of course, if you want to find out more about the bad parts and how to use them badly, simply consult any other JavaScript book. With JavaScript: The Good Parts, you'll discover a beautiful, elegant, lightweight and highly expressive language that lets you create effective code, whether you're managing object libraries or just trying to get Ajax to run fast. If you develop sites or applications for the Web, this book is an absolute must.


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