Beginning JavaScript Second Edition [Paperback]

Paul Wilton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764555871 | ISBN-13: 978-0764555879 | Publication Date: May 7, 2004 | Edition: 2

What is this book about?

JavaScript is the preferred programming language for Web page applications, letting you enhance your sites with interactive, dynamic, and personalized pages. This fully updated guide shows you how to take advantage of JavaScript’s client-side scripting techniques for the newest versions of Netscape and Internet Explorer, even if you’ve never programmed before.

You begin with basic syntax and learn about data types and how to structure code for decision-making. Then you learn to use dates, strings, and other basic objects of JavaScript. Next, you see how to use JavaScript to manipulate objects provided by the browser, such as forms and windows. From there, you move into advanced topics like using cookies and dynamic HTML.

After you have a solid foundation, you explore dynamic generation of Web content using server-side scripting and back-end databases. And you practice what you learn by building a sample application as you go.

What does this book cover?

Here are some of the things you'll find in this book:

• What types of data are used in JavaScript
• How to identify and correct flaws in your code
• Techniques for programming the browser
• How to use Microsoft Script Debugger and Netscape Script Debugger
• Ways to manage cross-browser issues
• How JavaScript interacts with XML and HTML

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone who wants to learn JavaScript programming. You should have some understanding of HTML and how to create static Web pages, but no prior programming experience is necessary.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

JavaScript is the preferred programming language for Web page applications, letting you enhance your sites with interactive, dynamic, and personalized pages. This fully updated guide shows you how to take advantage of JavaScript’s client-side scripting techniques for the newest versions of Netscape® and Internet Explorer®, even if you’ve never programmed before.

You will begin with basic syntax and learn about data types and how to structure code for decision-making. Then you’ll learn to use dates, strings, and other basic objects of JavaScript. Next, you will see how to use JavaScript to manipulate objects provided by the browser, such as forms and windows. From there you will move into advanced topics like using cookies and dynamic HTML.

After you have a solid foundation, you will explore dynamic generation of Web content using server-side scripting and back-end databases. And you’ll practice what you learn by building a sample application as you go.

What you will learn from this book

• What types of data are used in JavaScript
• How to identify and correct flaws in your code
• Techniques for programming the browser
• How to use Microsoft® Script Debugger and Netscape Script Debugger
• Ways to manage cross-browser issues
• How JavaScript interacts with XML and HTML

Who this book is for

This book is for anyone who wants to learn JavaScript programming. You should have some understanding of HTML and how to create static Web pages, but no prior programming experience is necessary.

Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved.

About the Author

Paul Wilton. After an initial start as a Visual Basic applications programmer at the Ministry of Defense in the U.K., Paul found himself pulled into the Net. Having joined an Internet development company, he spent the last 5 years helping create Internet solutions and is currently working on an e-commerce website for a major British bank.
Paul’s main skills are in developing web front ends using DHTML, JavaScript, VBScript, and Visual Basic, and back-end solutions with ASP, Visual Basic, and SQL Server. Currently, in between web development projects, he is learning Palm OS programming.

Product Details

• Paperback: 767 pages
• Publisher: Wrox; 2 edition (May 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764555871
• ISBN-13: 978-0764555879
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 6.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #951,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Second edition adds great improvements, August 24, 2004

By 

J. Minatel "jimmin" (Fishers, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginning JavaScript Second Edition (Paperback)

All of the reviews of this book from April 2004 and earlier are based on the 1st edition, not this new second edition which didn't publish until the end of April 2004. The second edition adds some new great coverage of dynamic HTML in more recent browser versions and a new chapter on JavaScript and XML. Throughout the book there are many new examples and all of the code is now updated to be sure it works with the latest browser versions.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beginning JavaScript- a great place to start, January 19, 2007

By 

R. Morgan (CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beginning JavaScript Second Edition (Paperback)

I have experience programming Java, C++, Q-Basic, CSS, HTML, PHP and started to learn JavaScript from free resources on the internet. The problem is that the internet is full of sales pitches and just free code. I wanted to get a good understanding to write my own code. The Beginning JavaScript gave me a great understanding of the basics. The reading was very easy- for someone with programming experience, there was too much of the basic programming info and far too many examples to help understand the basics. If you have NO programming experience, then this book is perfect for you because it will teach you everything you need to get started. After reading this book I was able to do some pretty cool dymanic website stuff on my websites.

I did want to learn more JavaScript though, so I checked out the Professional JavaScript by the same publisher. The Professional JavaScript book is great (especially if you read the Beginning JavaScript or already now programming or a little JavaScript). I was affraid that after reading the Beginning JavaScript book I would see a lot of repeat stuff in the Professional JavaScript book- that is NOT the case. There is a little over lap, but the Professional book does not spend as much time on the easy stuff. To make a long review short... I recommend the Beginning for beginners and I recommend the Professional to those who finished the Beginning book and to those that are already good at programming!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book..., March 7, 2005

By 

T. Fitzpatrick (Dallas , TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginning JavaScript Second Edition (Paperback)

For years I'd gotten by with learning/copying JavaScript from existing websites, and used "JavaScript for the World Wide Web visual Quickstart guide" as my meager handbook. I finally decided to get serious about it.

Paul Wilton's book is very well-written and easy to follow. Even skimming the stuff I thought I knew I'd find cool new things I'd never heard of.

As a bonus, his section on Regular Expressions, another topic I'd found difficult for years, is a real eye-opener. He goes through the RegExp thought process step by step, gradully revealing more powerful options, with useful examples. I'm finally going to USE Regular Expressions! And I'm not the only one who found this enlightening. Wilton was hired to cover Regular Expressions in a few other books as well.

In short, I doubt I'll ever need another JavaScript book, and this was money well spent.