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DHTML Utopia Modern Web Design Using JavaScript & DOM [Paperback]

Stuart Langridge
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)


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Paperback, May 1, 2005 --  
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Book Description

May 1, 2005

"Create Killer Websites Using the Power of Modern JavaScript"

DHTML Utopia is an easy-to-follow, step-by-step tutorial that will show you how to make your websites more slick, dynamic, and usable.

Add dynamic interactivity to your website with DHTML by combining the power of JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets(CSS), and the Document Object Model (DOM) to achieve bulletproof, accessible, standards-compliant, and aesthetically pleasing results that work on all browsers.

  • Build fancy DHTML effects that can be instantly reused in any project
  • Learn to code accessible JavaScript that won't trouble older browsers
  • Make search engine friendly, multi-level, drop-down navigation menus
  • Create usable forms that auto-complete, just like "Google Suggest"
  • Build dynamic web applications using remote scripting techniques/Ajax


Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Add dynamic interactivity to your Web site with DHTML and Cascading Style Sheets!
  • Targeted to designers and content creators, not just programmers.
  • Visual, task-based format the ideal way to get up and running with DHTML.

This edition is up-to-date on the current Web standards and browsers, and includes all new coverage of using DHTML to get information about the browser environment and adding multimedia to a site, as well as new basic and advanced dynamic techniques, such as making objects appear and disappear, moving objects in 3D, and adding dynamic content. This edition offers full cross-platform and cross-browser coverage. This book does not focus on the more complex aspects of DHTML, but focuses on practical examples of what really works with DHTML and CSS, making it useful for beginners just starting out with DHTML, as well as professional developers looking for a quick reference.

About the Author

Stuart Langridge is quite possibly the only person in the world to have a BS in computer Science and philosophy. When he's not fiddling about with computers, he's an information architect, author of SitePoint's "DHTML Utopia," a member of the WaSP's Scripting Task Force, and a drinker of decent beers. He's also one-quarter of the team at LugRadio, the world's premiere free and open source software radio show.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 318 pages
  • Publisher: SitePoint (May 1, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0957921896
  • ISBN-13: 978-0957921894
  • Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.5 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,539,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 56 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars New things happening with JavaScript June 10, 2005
Format:Paperback
In the past year I have seen some impressive yet close to incomprehensible scripts that show a new direction in JavaScript. We can find syntax and approaches so different from the standard practice most of us implement. Unfortunately, the scripters who have grasped the new techniques have shown little interest in explaining the new approach. Their examples published on the Web have a "show-offy" character that do little to communicate or proselytize.

For that reason, I was eager to study this book since it promised to deal with some of the new approaches, including the syntax. I have learned a lot from the author who early on made pains to keep me running apace. Regretfully, the author seemed to be less and less concerned with keeping me with him as the book progressed. The first 4 chapters were the clearest.

Part of the problem was mine. Since the book did not seem to be organized in a linear fashion, I skipped Ch. 5 on animation. I design Web applications so I associate animation with script kiddies and popup ad makers. Ch. 6, on form validation, was up my alley but following the author was painful because he kept referring to a variable "fV" that was defined with a self-referential, bizarrely nested syntax. Only at the end of the chapter did he mention that Ch. 5 first used this syntax. I had to go back to the previous chapter to get a clue. But only a clue because that chapter never really tried to explain why this extremely unconventional approach was used.

The author early on tries to make the case that his approach is better than the conventional one. I *think* I agree but as the chapters progressed, he made less and less effort to prove anything at all. I was very disappointed in this. I also did not like the odd way the braces in the scripts were handled. Because he did not line them up well, it was difficult to tell when a section of a script began or ended. The author recognized this in some cases by putting in comments:

} /* end 'if' */

} /* end 'for' */

It would have been better to match braces visibly. Yes, code alignment is a matter of taste so I cannot really hold that against him.

Some examples did not work quite as advertised. The type-ahead dropdown script did not work at all in Windows Firefox and worked only erratically in IE.

I liked the way the author oriented his examples to user-centered design. Ultimately, the key to the best implementations of JavaScripting is not the syntactical approach but how the functionality fits into the usability of what you are doing.
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Avoid this like the plague February 20, 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is without doubt the worst book on DHTML/Javascript that I've ever read. The author tries to be cute, funny and authorative but ends up just plain painful. The examples are over-long and artificial, and would be difficult to incorporate into a real world application. The author peppers the book with snazzy shots like "It's the modern way!" but rarely explains the benefits of the methodology he's pushing, and glosses over any shortcomings.

For instance, in discussing regular expressions he provides a simple expression for a telephone number, then points out that it's seriously flawed. But it's "suitable for our discussion" so onward we press, and a correct solution is never provided. Bad luck if you were after such a beast. (Footnotes abound - often just URLs to now broken links - so you have to wonder why he couldn't have provided the solution at the bottom of the page.) The part on Ajax is a joke - he just plugs in an out-of-date version of the Sarissa library and never scratches below the surface.

Beware.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Advanced, but terse June 23, 2005
Format:Paperback
There is some great cutting edge stuff in here. If you know what you are doing already and want to get a jump start into Ajax then this is a good book for you. My problem with it is that the text relies too heavily on the code to convey the message. Which means that the book is better for advanced readers. I also would have appreciated some more emphasis on what works cross browser and how to handle older browsers.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book With Very Clean Code
I agree with most reviews for DHTML Utopia; the book is middle level, leaving beginners in the dust but pros wanting more. Read more
Published on November 9, 2006 by T. Ellison
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but hard to read hence hard to learn
This book has a lot of great stuff but you have to have the patience to sit down and read it line by line. Can't scan through the book and hope to learn something. Read more
Published on August 10, 2006 by H. Zheng
4.0 out of 5 stars Complicated but definately worth reading
(this was originally published on www.last-child.com)

This is a difficult book to read for non-javascript programmers. Read more
Published on April 11, 2006 by Ted Drake
2.0 out of 5 stars Definitely NOT a book for beginners
As a developer with no prior JavaScript experience, I've been very disappointed with this book. In the Introduction section, the author says "Some experience with JavaScript might... Read more
Published on March 11, 2006 by Mashhoor Al Dubayan
2.0 out of 5 stars light reading for the dhtml set
I got this book looking to find more coverage on how dhtml/ajax works. I got a book very light on details and focused on very broad how-to/cut-and-paste type scripts. Read more
Published on February 3, 2006 by Felix Sheng
5.0 out of 5 stars Sturdy introduction to DHTML
With the "bad old days" of browser sniffing behind us, this book explains how DHTML should be done today. Read more
Published on January 6, 2006 by A. Truong
4.0 out of 5 stars A solid, if limited, introduction to modern approaches
Stuart Langridge's survey of modern scripting techniques is very worthwhile for those who've dabbled in object-oriented JavaScript programming but who have clung to approaches... Read more
Published on November 10, 2005 by Michael Macrone
3.0 out of 5 stars Decent writing, new material, but not on par with O'Reilly's standards
I'm really pleased to find a modern JavaScript book. It was short, yet I got a lot out of it. On the other hand, there were many errors. Read more
Published on October 17, 2005 by Shannon J. Behrens
5.0 out of 5 stars Interresting, and has a good point of view
The book has a good sense of humor, and a really good sense to tell the meanings of thing in a "readerfrendly" point of view. Read more
Published on September 23, 2005 by Orcsik Antal
4.0 out of 5 stars Learn some cool techniques
Like a lot of the other reviewers, I found the first few chapters the most helpful. If you are willing to completely ignore non-DOM compliant browsers (which we should all be... Read more
Published on September 2, 2005 by Michael Bodily
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