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Jiving with Javascript: Learning More

Learning More

Books about Javascript

These are the books that I think you would be interested in picking up to further explore the world of Javascript. I include the list prices for the books, but I recommend you go to Amazon.com to look into buying them for two reasons. First, you'll find it cheaper there than if you order direct from the publishers. Second, and more importantly, you can read reviews of the books by other users - don't take my word for it!

Peachpit Press's "JavaScript for the World Wide Web, 3rd Edition"
Cost: $18, $15 at amazon.com
The Visual Quickstart books are not good raw reference books, but they absolutely excel at three things: getting you up and running with a program or technology, giving a good overview of the capabilities of it, and walking you through (step by step) common and popular tasks.
The 3rd edition is available now, but I was working off of the 2nd edition. However, it appears to be the 2nd edition with updated information, so it should be largely the same (and therefore good).
This particular book is very good if you don't intend to do a lot of hard-core Javascript programming, but instead want to be shown how to add specific effects to your pages. It comes with sample code, explanations, and screenshots for each effect, and you can start reading anywhere in the book - no need to read the book from the start to get going (although you should probably read the first few chapters if you are new to Javascript).

Peachpit Press's "DHTML for the World Wide Web, 3rd Edition"
Cost: $18, $15 at amazon.com
(See above for a description of the Visual Quickstart series from Peachpit.)
Javascript is only half the story when it comes to browser scripting. If you want to do really cool stuff, you will need to access DHTML with Javascript.
As is the case with most Visual Quickstart books, this book is right on the mark. It gives a quick, no-nonsense introduction to DHTML and how it can perk up your web pages enormously. With an introduction to CSS and DHTML, you learn the basics of the next-generation web design tricks. However, the best part is the introduction to using Javascript to control the DHTML parts of web pages. By combining the two, the scope of what can be done in a browser window is enhanced by staggering amounts.
However, the true strengths of this book are not for the fainthearted or novice web page developer. You should be very familiar with HTML before trying to tackle this book, and if you plan on scripting DHTML, you should have done some experimenting with 'plain-vanilla' Javascript first.

O'Reilly's "JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Edition"
Cost: $40, $24 at amazon.com
The O'Reilly books are high-quality as a rule, and, from what I understand, this book is no exception. I have not had a chance to delve into it, but it appears that this is a good reference work for when you start doing your own Javascript programming instead of following examples in books. The Visual Quickstart books even recommend it.
When you start getting into Javascript programming, you will need to have a reference of some kind that has all the object properties and handlers in one place. I have had to cull this information out of various step-by-step books, which is tedious. You will want to get a book like this when you start rolling your own stuff.
However, O'Reilly is coming out with a how-to book on Javascript next month, so watch for it.

Macmillan "Laura LeMay's Web Workshop: Javascript"
(You'll have to do a search at the site to find it.)
Cost: $40, $31 at amazon.com
This book is a decent tutorial for systematically learning Javascript, taking you through the basics to more advanced topics. It's not as friendly as the Visual Quickstart books, and it's not as complete as the O'Reilly book, but it works as a companion for just sitting down and learning Javascript.
I don't like it as much as the other books on this list.
There is a new version out (version 1.1), which I haven't used, but it's by the same author.

Peachpit Press's "JavaScript for the World Wide Web, 3rd Edition" Cost: $18, $15 at amazon.com The Visual Quickstart books are not good raw reference books, but they absolutely excel at three things: getting you up and running with a program or technology, giving a good overview of the capabilities of it, and walking you through (step by step) common and popular tasks. The 3rd edition is available now, but I was working off of the 2nd edition. However, it appears to be the 2nd edition with updated information, so it should be largely the same (and therefore good). This particular book is very good if you don't intend to do a lot of hard-core Javascript programming, but instead want to be shown how to add specific effects to your pages. It comes with sample code, explanations, and screenshots for each effect, and you can start reading anywhere in the book - no need to read the book from the start to get going (although you should probably read the first few chapters if you are new to Javascript).
Peachpit Press's "DHTML for the World Wide Web, 3rd Edition" Cost: $18, $15 at amazon.com (See above for a description of the Visual Quickstart series from Peachpit.) Javascript is only half the story when it comes to browser scripting. If you want to do really cool stuff, you will need to access DHTML with Javascript. As is the case with most Visual Quickstart books, this book is right on the mark. It gives a quick, no-nonsense introduction to DHTML and how it can perk up your web pages enormously. With an introduction to CSS and DHTML, you learn the basics of the next-generation web design tricks. However, the best part is the introduction to using Javascript to control the DHTML parts of web pages. By combining the two, the scope of what can be done in a browser window is enhanced by staggering amounts. However, the true strengths of this book are not for the fainthearted or novice web page developer. You should be very familiar with HTML before trying to tackle this book, and if you plan on scripting DHTML, you should have done some experimenting with 'plain-vanilla' Javascript first.
O'Reilly's "JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Edition" Cost: $40, $24 at amazon.com The O'Reilly books are high-quality as a rule, and, from what I understand, this book is no exception. I have not had a chance to delve into it, but it appears that this is a good reference work for when you start doing your own Javascript programming instead of following examples in books. The Visual Quickstart books even recommend it. When you start getting into Javascript programming, you will need to have a reference of some kind that has all the object properties and handlers in one place. I have had to cull this information out of various step-by-step books, which is tedious. You will want to get a book like this when you start rolling your own stuff. However, O'Reilly is coming out with a how-to book on Javascript next month, so watch for it.
Macmillan "Laura LeMay's Web Workshop: Javascript" (You'll have to do a search at the site to find it.) Cost: $40, $31 at amazon.com This book is a decent tutorial for systematically learning Javascript, taking you through the basics to more advanced topics. It's not as friendly as the Visual Quickstart books, and it's not as complete as the O'Reilly book, but it works as a companion for just sitting down and learning Javascript. I don't like it as much as the other books on this list. There is a new version out (version 1.1), which I haven't used, but it's by the same author.