JavaScript books

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.

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

Want 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 book
Most 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 start
Section 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 compatibility
One 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 apps
The 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 pace
Murach 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!

Essential Skills--Made Easy!

Create dynamic Web pages complete with special effects using today's leading Web development language. JavaScript: A Beginner's Guide, Third Edition gives you step-by-step coverage of the fundamentals, including variables, functions, operators, event handlers, objects, arrays, strings, forms, and frames. You'll also learn about more advanced techniques, including debugging and security. This hands-on guide explains how JavaScript works with XHTML Transitional and covers the new features available in JavaScript. Get started using JavaScript right away with help from this fast-paced tutorial.

Designed for Easy Learning:

• Key Skills & Concepts--Chapter-opening lists of specific skills covered in the chapter
• Ask the Expert--Q & A sections filled with bonus information and helpful tips
• Try This--Hands-on exercises that show you how to apply your skills
• Notes--Extra information related to the topic being covered
• Tips--Helpful reminders or alternate ways of doing things
• Self Tests--End-of-chapter reviews to test your knowledge
• Annotated syntax--Example code with commentary that describes the programming techniques being illustrated

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.

So you're ready to make the leap from writing HTML and CSS web pages to creating dynamic web applications. You want to take your web skills to the next level. And you're finally ready to add "programmer" to the resume. It sounds like you're ready to learn the Web's hottest programming language: JavaScript. Head First JavaScript is your ticket to going beyond copying and pasting the code from someone else's web site, and writing your own interactive web pages.
With Head First JavaScript, you learn:

• The basics of programming, from variables to types to looping
• How the web browser runs your code, and how you can talk to the browser with your code
• Why you'll never have to worry about casting, overloading, or polymorphism when you're writing JavaScript code
• How to use the Document Object Model to change your web pages without making your users click buttons

If you've ever read a Head First book, you know what to expect -- a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. Head First JavaScript is no exception. It starts where HTML and CSS leave off, and takes you through your first program into more complex programming concepts -- like working directly with the web browser's object model and writing code that works on all modern browsers.
Don't be intimidated if you've never written a line of code before! In typical Head First style, Head First JavaScript doesn't skip steps, and we're not interested in having you cut and paste code. You'll learn JavaScript, understand it, and have a blast along the way. So get ready... dynamic and exciting web pages are just pages away.

Once listed in the "nice to have" sections of job postings, these days the knowledge of JavaScript is a deciding factor when it comes to hiring web developers. And rightly so. Where in the past we used to have the occasional few lines of JavaScript embedded in a web page, now we have advanced libraries and extensible architectures, powering the "fat-client", AJAX-type rich internet applications.

JavaScript is the language of the browser, but it's also heavily employed in many other environments: server-side programming, desktop applications, application extensions and widgets. It's a pretty good deal: you learn one language and then code all kinds of different applications. While this book has one chapter specifically dedicated to the web browser environment including DOM, events, and AJAX tutorials, the rest is applicable to all the other environments too.

This book treats JavaScript as a serious object-oriented language, showing you how to build robust, maintainable, and powerful libraries and applications. Along the way, we cover many of the recent innovations such as AJAX, JSON, and interesting design and coding patterns. After reading this book, you'll be prepared to ace your JavaScript job interview and even impress with some bits that the interviewer maybe didn't know. You should read this book if you want to be able to take your JavaScript skills to a new level of sophistication.

What you will learn from this book?

* Learn to think in JavaScript, the language of the web browser
* The basics of object-oriented programming, and how they apply to JavaScript
* Set up and use your training environment (Firebug)
* Master data types, operators, and flow control statements
* Understand functions: usage patterns, variable scope, and built-in functions
* Closures demystified
* Create and use objects
* Understand and use prototypes
* Reuse code with common patterns for inheritance
* Understand and work with the BOM (Browser Object Model)
* The DOM (Document Object Model) - accessing, modifying, adding, and deleting nodes
* Build responsive web pages with AJAX
* JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)
* Listen and respond to browser events
* Apply design patterns to solve common problems
* Adopt coding patterns that unleash the unique power of the language
* Make your programs cleaner, faster, and compatible with other programs and libraries
* Achieve missing object-oriented features in JavaScript such as private properties and methods

Who is this book written for?

The book requires no prior knowledge of JavaScript and works from the ground up to give you a thorough grounding in this powerful language. If you do already know some JavaScript, you will find plenty of eye-openers as you discover just what the language can do.

This book takes a do-it-yourself approach when it comes to writing code, because the best way to really learn a programming language is by writing code. You are encouraged to type code into Firebug's console, see how it works and then tweak it and play around with it. There are practice questions at the end of each chapter to help review what you have learned.

This task-based, visual reference guide has been fully revised. It uses step-by-step instructions and plenty of screenshots to give beginning and intermediate Web designers what they need to know to learn JavaScript. Readers can start from the beginning to get a tour of the programming language, or look up specific tasks to learn just what they need to know. In this updated seventh edition, readers will find new information on Ajax design and modern coding techniques.

JavaScript is an essential language for creating modern, interactive websites, but its complex rules challenge even the most experienced web designers. With JavaScript: The Missing Manual, you'll quickly learn how to use JavaScript in sophisticated ways -- without pain or frustration -- even if you have little or no programming experience.

JavaScript expert David McFarland first teaches you the basics by having you build a simple program. Then you'll learn how to work with jQuery, a popular library of pre-built JavaScript components that's free and easy to use. With jQuery, you can quickly build modern, interactive web pages -- without having to script everything from scratch!

• Learn how to add scripts to a web page, store and manipulate information, communicate with the browser window, respond to events like mouse clicks and form submissions, and identify and modify HTML
• Get real-world examples of JavaScript in action
• Learn to build pop-up navigation bars, enhance HTML tables, create an interactive photo gallery, and make web forms more usable
• Create interesting user interfaces with tabbed panels, accordion panels, and pop-up dialog boxes
• Learn to avoid the ten most common errors new programmers make, and how to find and fix bugs
• Use JavaScript with Ajax to communicate with a server so that your web pages can receive information without having to reload

This eagerly anticipated update to the breakout book on JavaScript offers you an in-depth look at the numerous advances to the techniques and technology of the JavaScript language. You'll see why JavaScript's popularity continues to grow while you delve through topics such as debugging tools in Microsoft Visual Studio, FireBug, and Drosera; client-side data storage with cookies, DOM storage, and client-side databases; HTML 5, ECMAScript 3.1, the Selectors API; and design patterns including creational, structural, and behavorial patterns.