JavaScript books

This book not only teachers JavaScript - a great programming 'gateway' language - it also teaches readers the fundamental programming concepts they need to grasp in order to learn any computer language. Plus, it uses game creation as a teaching tool. The goal of the series is adaptive learning. Readers will be able to utilize these skills when learning their next programming language.

HTML5 and JavaScript Projects shows you how to build on your basic knowledge of HTML5 and JavaScript to create substantial HTML5 applications. Through the many interesting projects you can build in this book, you'll build your HTML5 skills for your future projects, and extend the core skills you may have learned with its companion book, The Essential Guide to HTML5.
HTML5 and JavaScript Projects covers the most important areas of HTML5 that you'll want to know how to program, including: video, and audio, databases, localStorage, and geolocation. The projects have been carefully selected to help you build your HTML5 and JavaScript programming skills. You'll build games and applications, such as video jigsaws, recipe archives, paper dolls, and many more captivating examples.
Each project starts out with an introduction to the basic HTML5 and JavaScript concepts covered and then includes specific, appealing examples explained step-by-step. You'll also discover line-by-line explanations for every single line of code—we'll make sure that you can fully understand what each line of code does, so that you can easily take that understanding and apply it to your own HTML5 projects.
HTML5 and JavaScript Projects:

• Shows how to produce applications combining Canvas drawings, photos, and videos
• Explains how to incorporate Google Maps and geolocation into your projects
• Reveals how to build applications requiring persistent data, storing the information locally or on a database on the server

What you’ll learn

• How to create line drawings using mathematical operations for defining coordinate positions
• How to incorporate Google Maps and geolocation to determine the location of the user
• How to use locations as triggers for playing videos using JavaScript
• How to combine the canvas with geolocation maps using HTML5 and JavaScript
• Use HTML5 Audio for event sounds and background music
• How to manipulate, store and retrieve complex information using localStorage
• How to build applications involving JavaScript and the HTML5 APIs

Who this book is for

HTML5 and JavaScript Projects is for the developer who wants and needs to move to the next level of Web development, including more sophisticated programming and the design and construction of sets of applications. This book targets people who want to go beyond the basics of HTML5 and, for example, incorporate maps using the Google Maps API into their work or build projects that require persistent data on the client computer (localStorage). The book will be helpful for people working in teams, where considerable effort is required to create, access and manage information.

Table of Contents

1. Building the HTML5 Logo—Drawing on Canvas, with Scaling, and Semantic Tags
2. Paper Dolls—Accurately Positioning Objects on the Canvas
3. Bouncing Video—Animating and Masking HTML5 video
4. Map Maker—Combining Google Maps and Canvas
5. Deep-Linking—Creating Journeys Through Video, Images and Maps
6. Where Am I?—Building Games with the Geolocation API
7. Accurate Origami—Using Math to Draw Precise Paper Folding on the Canvas
8. Video Jigsaw—Moving and Checking HTML5 Elements Using JavaScript
9. Picture Puzzle—Storing Game Scores and Choices Using the LocalStorage API
10. Bookmark Application—Using Form Validation and Databases

Make your Web pages stand out above the noise with JavaScript and the expert instruction in this much-anticipated update to the bestselling JavaScript Bible. With renowned JavaScript expert Danny Goodman at your side, you’ll get a thorough grounding in JavaScript basics, see how it fits with current Web browsers, and find all the soup-to-nuts detail you’ll need. Whether you’re a veteran programmer or just starting out, this is the JavaScript book Web developers turn to again and again.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

The jQuery JavaScript framework is a rising star in the world of web development. JavaScript frameworks in general have grown to become immensely popular in the past few years in parallel with the ever-increasing presence of JavaScript-driven, so-called Web 2.0 websites that make heavy use of technologies like AJAX and JavaScript in general for slick graphical enhancements that would be impossible or much more cumbersome to incorporate without JavaScript.

jQuery’s mission as a JavaScript library is simple — it strives to make the lives of web developers easier by patching over certain portions of cross-browser development and by making other tasks commonly needed by developers much easier. jQuery has the real, proven ability to reduce many lines of plain-vanilla JavaScript to just a few lines, and, in many cases, just a single line. jQuery strives to remove barriers to JavaScript development by removing redundancy wherever possible and normalizing cross-browser JavaScript development in key areas where browsers would otherwise differ, such as Microsoft’s Event API and the W3C Event API, and other, more remedial tasks like getting the mouse cursor’s position when an event has taken place.

jQuery is a compact, lightweight library that currently works in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser from version 6 on, Firefox from version 1.5 on, Safari from version 2.0.2 on, Opera from version 9 on, and Google’s new Chrome browser from version 0.2 on. Getting started with jQuery is very easy — all you have to do is include a single link of markup in your HTML or XHTML documents that includes the library. Throughout this book, I demonstrate jQuery’s API (Application Programming Interface) components in detail and show you how all the nuts and bolts of this framework come together to enable you to rapidly develop client-side applications.

I also cover the jQuery UI library, which makes redundant user-interface (UI) tasks on the client side ridiculously easy and accessible to everyday web developers who might not have much JavaScript programming expertise. Have you ever wondered how websites make virtual pop-up windows using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS? The jQuery UI library provides the ability to create these pop-up windows and includes the ability to animate transitions like fading the window on and off, or having it re-size from very small to full sized. The jQuery UI library gives you the ability to use animations and transitions using JavaScript, markup, and CSS that you may have thought previously could only have been done with Adobe’s Flash player.

What This Book Covers

This book covers the jQuery JavaScript framework and the jQuery UI JavaScript framework and demonstrates in great detail how to use the jQuery framework to get more results more quickly out of JavaScript programming. I cover each method exposed by jQuery’s API, which contains methods to make common, redundant tasks go much more quickly in less code. Some examples are methods that help you to select elements from a markup document through the DOM and methods that help you to traverse through those selections and filter them using jQuery’s fine-grained controls. This makes working with the DOM easier and more effortless. I also cover how jQuery eliminates certain cross-browser, cross-platform development headaches like the event model; not only does it eliminate these headaches, but it also makes it easier to work with events by reducing the amount of code that you need to write to attach events. It even gives you the ability to simulate events.

Later in the book, I cover how you can leverage the jQuery UI library to make graphically driven UI widgets. jQuery gives you the ability to break content up among multiple tabs in the same page. You have the ability to customize the look and feel of the tabs, and even to create a polished look and feel by providing different effects that come in when you mouse over tabs and click on them. The jQuery UI library also makes it easy to create accordion sidebars, like the one on Apple’s Mac website. These sidebars have two or more panels, and when you mouse over an item, one pane transitions to another via a smooth, seamless animation wherein the preceding pane collapses and the proceeding pane expands.

The jQuery UI library also gives you the ability to make any element draggable with the mouse; by clicking and holding and moving the mouse, you can move elements around on a page. It also makes it really easy to create drag-and-drop user interfaces. This can be used to make a dropping zone where you take elements from other parts of the page and drop them in another, as you would in your operating system’s file manager when you want to move a folder from one place to another. You can also make lists that are sortable via drag-and-drop, rearranging elements based on where you drop them. You can also have a user interface where you drag the mouse cursor to make a selection, as you would in your operating system’s file manager when you want to select more than one file. Then jQuery UI also exposes the ability to re-size elements on a page using the mouse. All of those neat things that you can do on your computer’s desktop, you can also do in a web browser with jQuery UI.

jQuery UI also provides a widget for entering a date into a field using a nice, accessible JavaScript-driven calendar that pops up when you click on an input field.

You can also make custom pop-up dialogues that are like virtual pop-up windows, except they don’t open a separate browser window — they come up using markup, CSS, and JavaScript.

Another widget that jQuery UI provides is a graphical slider bar, similar to your media player’s volume control.

As jQuery has done for JavaScript programming in general, jQuery UI strives to do for redundant graphical user interface (GUI) tasks. jQuery UI gives you the ability to make professional user-interface widgets with much less development effort.

This book is for anyone interested in doing more with less code! You should have a basic understanding of JavaScript. I review some basic JavaScript programming concepts, such as the Event API, but I do not go into great detail about the JavaScript language itself. You’ll want to have at least a basic grasp of the Document Object Model, or DOM, and basic JavaScript programming syntax. Additionally, you’ll need to know your way around CSS and HTML, since knowledge of those technologies is also assumed. A complete beginner might be able to grasp what is taking place in the examples in this book but might not understand certain terminology and programming concepts that would be presented in a beginner’s JavaScript guide, so if you are a beginner and insist with pressing forward, I recommend doing so with a beginning JavaScript book on hand as well. Specifically, I recommend the following Wrox books for more help with the basics:

• Beginning Web Programming with HTML, XHTML, and CSS, 2nd ed. (2008), by Jon Duckett
• Beginning CSS: Cascading Style Sheets for Web Design, 2nd ed. (2007), also written by yours truly.
• Beginning JavaScript, 3rd ed. (2007), by Paul Wilton and Jeremy McPeak

For further knowledge of JavaScript above and beyond what is covered in this book, I recommend Professional JavaScript for Web Developers, 2nd ed. (2009), by Nicholas C. Zakas.

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!

If you know HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you already have the tools you need to develop Android applications. This hands-on book shows you how to use these open source web standards to design and build apps that can be adapted for any Android device -- without having to use Java.

You'll learn how to create an Android-friendly web app on the platform of your choice, and then convert it to a native Android app with the free PhoneGap framework. Discover why device-agnostic mobile apps are the wave of the future, and start building apps that offer greater flexibility and a broader reach.

• Learn the basics for making a web page look great on the Android web browser
• Convert a website into a web application, complete with progress indicators and more
• Add animation with jQTouch to make your web app look and feel like a native Android app
• Take advantage of client-side data storage with apps that run even when the Android device is offline
• Use PhoneGap to hook into advanced Android features -- including the accelerometer, geolocation, and alerts
• Test and debug your app on the Web under load with real users, and then submit the finished product to the Android Market

This book received valuable community input through O'Reilly's Open Feedback Publishing System (OFPS). Learn more at http://labs.oreilly.com/ofps.html.

The aim of Sams Teach Yourself JavaScript in 21 Days is to tutor the Web-literate novice JavaScripter through to a high level of competency in applying JavaScript to Web pages.

In addition to core uses of client-side JavaScript, Sams Teach Yourself JavaScript in 21 Days also covers emerging topics such as the use of JavaScript with PDFs and the scripting of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG).

The key principles taught throughout the book are backed up with clear and useful examples. This enables the reader to easily apply what they¿ve learned with confidence in order to meet their own coding needs.

* Features more than 500 oversized, annotated screenshots and a companion Web site with all the code from the book
* Demonstrates over 100 key JavaScript tasks, such as using buttons to trigger events, detecting browsers, changing text and link colors, working with forms and frames, and determining environment properties
* Each step is illustrated with callouts that show the reader exactly where the action occurs on the screen
* JavaScript remains extremely popular for use in interactive Web pages

On numerous online forums for JavaScript and DHTML, the majority of questions begin with "How do I...?" This new Cookbook provides the answers. After reading thousands of forum threads over the years, author and scripting pioneer Danny Goodman has compiled a list of problems that frequently vex scripters of various experience levels. He has now applied state-of-the-art ECMA and W3C DOM standards and used best practices to create this extensive collection of practical recipes that can bring your web pages to life.

The JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook is all about adding value to the content of a web page. The book focuses on practical and sensible applications of scripting, rather than flying images and gratuitous color changes. For every problem Goodman addresses, there's a solution or "recipe"--a focused piece of code that web developers can insert directly into their applications. Yet, rather than just cut-and-paste code, you also get explanations of how and why the code works, so you can learn to adapt the problem-solving techniques to your designs.

The recipes range from simple tasks, such as manipulating strings and validating dates in JavaScript, to entire libraries that demonstrate complex tasks, such as cross-browser positioning of HTML elements and sorting tables. This book contains over 150 recipes on the following topics:

• Working with interactive forms and style sheets
• Presenting user-friendly page navigation
• Creating dynamic content
• Producing visual effects for stationary content
• Positioning HTML elements
• Managing browser windows and multiple frames

This book is the ideal companion to O'Reilly's JavaScript: The Definitive Guide and Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference. If you own either of these books, the JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook is a must.

JavaScript is a powerful, object-based scripting language; JavaScript programs can be embedded directly in HTML web pages. When combined with the Document Object Model (DOM) defined by a web browser, JavaScript allows you to create Dynamic HTML content and interactive client-side web applications. JavaScript syntax is based on the popular programming languages C, C++, and Java, which makes it familiar and easy to learn for experienced programmers. At the same time, JavaScript is an interpreted scripting language, providing a flexible, forgiving programming environment in which new programmers can learn.

JavaScript: The Definitive Guide provides a thorough description of the core JavaScript language and both the legacy and standard DOMs implemented in web browsers. The book includes sophisticated examples that show you how to handle common tasks, like validating form data, working with cookies, and creating portable DHTML animations. The book also contains detailed reference sections that cover the core JavaScript API, the legacy client-side API, and the W3C standard DOM API, documenting every JavaScript object, method, property, constructor, constant, function, and event handler in those APIs.

This fourth edition of the bestselling JavaScript book has been carefully updated to cover JavaScript 1.5 (ECMAScript version 3). The book also provides complete coverage of the W3C DOM standard (Level 1 and Level 2), while retaining material on the legacy Level 0 DOM for backward compatibility.

JavaScript: The Definitive Guide is a complete programmer's guide and reference manual for JavaScript. It is particularly useful for developers working with the latest standards-compliant web browsers, like Internet Explorer 6, Netscape 6, and Mozilla. HTML authors can learn how to use JavaScript to build dynamic web pages. Experienced programmers can quickly find the information they need to start writing sophisticated JavaScript programs. This book is an indispensable reference for all JavaScript programmers, regardless of experience level.