The Book of JavaScript: A Practical Guide to Interactive Web Pages [Paperback]

Dave Thau (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1886411360 | ISBN-13: 978-1886411364 | Publication Date: January 15, 2000 | Edition: Pap/Cdr

This isn't just a book of scripts for you to cut and paste into your HTML, only to find out that nothing works. The Book of JavaScript will teach you how to use JavaScript to quickly add interactivity, animation and other tricks to your Web pages--on your own and without cut-and-paste solutions. Using real-world examples as a starting point, wild-man thau! shows you, step-by- step, how various scripts work and how to use them to produce the effects you want. Learn how to:

• Work with frames, forms, cookies, and alarms
• Use events to have your pages to react to a user's actions
• Perform image swaps and roll-overs
• Program your own JavaScript functions to produce customized solutions
• Use windows to make a remote control or a picture frame
• Store user preferences with cookies and build a shopping cart
• Use Dynamic HTML to turn web pages into multimedia applications

BONUS: Includes a complete reference to all JavaScript objects and functions, including examples, properties, methods, handlers, and browser compatibility!

The CD-ROM includes code and images for every example in the book (including the real-world ones), answers to the assignments, script libraries for hard-to-program applications, and many useful software programs.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Most Web developers pick up a book to learn how to use a language like JavaScript, looking for practical examples of how to get things done. The Book of JavaScript: A Practical Guide to Interactive Web Pages is plenty practical, and hits the mark as a reader-friendly and well-organized tutorial on JavaScript.

The book assumes no prior knowledge in JavaScript or other procedural languages, although familiarity with HTML is best. The well-thought-out text focuses on various programming goals--like rollovers and form validation--instead of the anatomy of the JavaScript language itself. The fast-moving chapters skillfully weave text with example code. Sections of the code and related sections of the accompanying text are numbered--a convention that is very helpful in teaching new techniques, and for quick reference later on.

Throughout the book, real-world examples of JavaScript in action, such as a clock script from NASA's site, illustrate its applications. A page from Salon.com, for instance, shows frame techniques, too. Ambitious readers can complete assignments to test their knowledge. The companion CD-ROM contains all of the code, as well as correct answers for the assignments.

Of all of the JavaScript tutorials out there, The Book of JavaScript is one of the more engaging and truly effective. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered:

• Browser detection
• Rollovers
• Window manipulation
• Custom functions
• Form processing
• Arrays
• Loops
• Timing events
• Frames
• Image maps
• Form validation
• Cookies
• Dynamic HTML (DHTML)
• Plug-ins
• ActiveX controls

From the Publisher

Thau! is not an everyday occurrence, though we could certainly use more authors like him. Rarely does an author combine such expert knowledge of his subject with the ability to write so clearly about it.

CTO of Nerve.com and the man behind the Webmonkey JavaScript tutorials. This man knows his stuff.

Thau! is a man with passion and energy. Thau! is the JavaScript God. All hail Thau!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 404 pages
• Publisher: No Starch Press; Pap/Cdr edition (January 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886411360
• ISBN-13: 978-1886411364
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,302,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dave Thau has taught countless thousands of people JavaScript via the Book of JavaScript, his Webmonkey tutorials, and in numerous courses and conference presentations. He also likes ants.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will teach you JavaScript, December 11, 2000

By 

Stephen Britton "tech writer and web developer" (A quiet suburb outside NYC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book of JavaScript: A Practical Guide to Interactive Web Pages (Paperback)

This book goes well beyond the typical "how-to" JavaScript book. After spending the first few pages explaining the history and basics of the language, David Thau mixes up the tutorials with real life JavaScript examples from sites like Sun, HotMail, and Pets.com. He carefully walks through all the code and explains everything. Thau is a great writer. I remember him from his days at WebMonkey.com and his JavaScript tutorials from that site taught me and I'm sure many others how to script. As he did with the online tutorials, this book does a thorough job covering all the basics like variables, strings, arrays, functions, etc. On the downside, there is nothing here for the advanced JavaScripter (check out O'Reilly's JavaScript Cookbook for that), but if you are a beginner or even an intermediate JavaScripter, this book is an excellent choice, and does a much better job teaching JavaScript than other entry level books, like "Teach Yourself JavaScript 1.3 in 24 Hours" or "JavaScript for Dummies."

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good instructional and reference book, October 25, 2000

By 

Water Monkey "Marc B." (Santa Clarita, Ca.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of JavaScript: A Practical Guide to Interactive Web Pages (Paperback)

Even though JavaScript is not a new technology (in term of the Internet world), it is often difficult to find well written books that are easy to understand about the subject. Those that are well written, good instructional books, tend to be poor reference books (with the ability to find answers without reading the whole chapter0.

"The Book of JavaScript..." does a good job at both. If you need the instructional "how-to" type of book you will find this book is excellent. Once you feel comfortable with JavaScript you will be able to use this book as a reference.

This book does a good job at combining both worlds. There are better books for instruction and better books for reference (JavaScript: The Definitive Guide O'Reilly Press), but as an all-in-one book this succeeds where others haven't.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid material, if somewhat dated..., April 3, 2004

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book of JavaScript: A Practical Guide to Interactive Web Pages (Paperback)

Target Audience
Beginning JavaScript coders.

Contents
This is a conversational tutorial on JavaScript coding designed for people who have not used the language much (or at all).

The book is divided into the following chapters:

Welcome To JavaScript!; Using Variables and Built-in Functions to Update Your Web Pages Automatically; Give The Browsers What They Want; Rollovers: Everyone's Favorite JavaScript Trick; Opening and Manipulating Windows; Getting Functional: Writing Your Own JavaScript Functions; Giving and Taking Information With Forms; Keeping Track of Information with Arrays and Loops; Timing Events; Frames and Image Maps; Validating Forms, Massaging Strings, and Working with CGI; Cookies; Dynamic HTML; How to Fix Broken Code; Beyond the Browser: Plug-ins, ActiveX, Making Music, and Java; Reference to JavaScript Objects and Functions; Answers to Assignments

Review
There are numerous books on the market that deal with learning JavaScript. There is everything from simplistic guides to the person building their first web page, to in-depth guide for the professional web developers, to detailed reference guides that document every feature. On that scale of coverage, this book falls somewhere on the lower end of the scale. That's not a bad thing... It's just good to know what the target audience is.

The tone of the author's writing is conversational and a little quirky. He uses a number of examples in each chapter to illustrate the subject matter, and they illustrate the points well. Each example is dissected so that the reader can follow along and understand what each line is doing. By the time you are finished, you should have a solid understanding of the basics of JavaScript. At that point, you should be ready to pick up a more detailed book and start learning the intricacies of the language.

The only bad thing about the book at this point in time is the age of the book. He assumes that the reader is working with either Netscape 3.0 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0. On one hand, most of the stuff you see here should be supported now in any browser. On the other hand, there's something to be said for learning the latest information on more up-to-date platforms. The age also shows up when you examine some of their web site samples. Obviously, the sites have been updated since the book was written, so you can't very well follow along any more.

Conclusion
A solid, if somewhat dated, tutorial treatment of basic JavaScript coding. Easy to read, and very good explanations of code examples.