Customer Reviews

JavaScript Bible, Fifth Edition

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Target Audience
Anyone who either uses or wants to learn JavaScript.

Contents
This is a detailed reference and tutorial guide to the JavaScript language. It is divided into six parts and the following chapters:

Part 1 - Getting Started With JavaScript: JavaScript's Role In The World Wide Web And Beyond; Authoring Challenges Amid The Browser Wars; Your First JavaScript Script
Part 2 - JavaScript Tutorial - Browser And Document Objects; Scripts And HTML Documents; Programming Fundamentals, Part 1; Programming Fundamentals, Part 2; Window And Document Objects; Forms And Form Elements; Strings, Math, And Dates; Scripting Frames And Multiple Windows; Images And Dynamic HTML
Part 3 - Document Object Reference - JavaScript Essentials; Document Object Model Essentials; Generic HTML Elements Objects; Window And Frame Objects; Location And History Objects; The Document And Body Objects; Link And Anchor Objects; Image, Area, And Map Objects; The Form And Related Objects; Button Objects; Text-Related Form Objects; Select, Option, And FileUpload Objects; Event Objects; Style Sheet And Style Objects
Part 4 - JavaScript Core Language Reference - The String Object; The Math, Number, And Boolean Objects; The Date Object; The Array Object, Control Structures And Exception Handling; JavaScript Operators; Functions And Custom Objects; Global Functions And Statements; Body Text Objects
Part 5 - Appendixes - JavaScript And Browser Object Quick Reference; JavaScript Reserved Words; Answers To Tutorial Exercises; JavaScript And DOM Internet Resources; What's On The CD-ROM; Index
Part 6 - Bonus Chapters (CD-ROM) - HTML Directive Objects; Table And List Objects; The Navigator And Other Environment Objects; Positioned Objects; Embedded Objects; XML Objects; The Regular Expression And RegExp Objects; Data-Entry Validation; Scripting Java Applets And Plug-ins; Debugging Scripts; Security And Netscape Signed Scripts; Cross-Browser Dynamic HTML Issues; Internet Explorer Behaviors; Application: Tables And Calendars; Application: A Lookup Table; Application: A "Poor Man's" Order Form; Application: Outline-Style Table Of Contents; Application: Calculations And Graphics; Application: Intelligent "Updated" Flags; Application: Decision Helper; Application: Cross-Browser DHTML Map Puzzle; Application: Transforming XML Data

Review
What can you say about a reference book that is in it's 5th edition? In this field, technologies change rapidly and it's tough to keep up. Often, authors stop after a first edition of a book, either due to lack of sales, financial return, or lack of interest in creating a follow-up. Not only has Danny Goodman created a definitive guide to the JavaScript language, he's continued to keep it current and fresh through five iterations. For that alone, he could be commended. But aside from longevity, this is likely the most complete coverage I've seen on a given topic.

By starting off with a tutorial that is easy to follow, the JavaScript Bible will appeal to new users of the scripting language. All of the essentials are covered, along with questions at the end of each chapter to test your retention. For the veteran coder, parts 3 and 4 are worth their weight in gold. Not only is every method and property of every object covered and documented, but you also are told what the browser compatibility expectations are. Since all the browsers are not equal in support of JavaScript, you can quickly get into situations where a coded routine will run for IE but not Netscape. You may even find problems between versions of the same brand browser. By paying attention to the compatibility information, you have a fighting chance of writing code that will be usable by more than one browser.

This is also a situation where the CD-is actually useful. The bonus chapters actually add more content to the book, instead of just adding on demo versions of software that you will never load. Since the CD contains the entire text of the book, you also have the distinct advantage of loading the PDF to your computer and searching for information you need. There isn't much in this book that is a waste of time, nor is there much else I can imagine that could be added to the book to improve it. It's truly a classic.

Conclusion
If you use JavaScript at all, this is the single reference book you'll need to own. This covers it all.

I hestated about buying this book when I read some of the reviews about how poorly organized this book is. Also I have "JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook" by same author and was not happy with it.

Before I bought the book, I would look up everything I needed info on, in the online index and found *EVERYTHING*. I did the same for a number of other Javascript books and most of the stuff wasn't in their index.

First let me say that I am an Engineer with 20+ years experience so though I'm pretty new to JavaScript, I'm an expert in a number of languages.

I found this book to be very well organized and incredibly helpful. I haven't tried reading it as a book cover to cover, and at 1200 pages (plus bonus chapters on CD) I never will. I use it as a reference and read just enough to understand what I need to do. As a result I'm coming at the book not as a novice but with enough understanding to have basic ideas of what I want to do. For this type of usage, this book is "fantastic".

The CD is awesome. There are a number of bonus chapters (one which was very useful to me...using XmlHTTPRequest), and having the entire book available as a pdf is a totally great way to do searches. Too bad the .pdf is too big to be readable on my clie.

I highly recommend this book.

The value of this massive book lies in its many examples. The JavaScript language is simple enough, but its the definitions of the system objects that create complexity in using it. Goodman spends lots of time going over the particulars, with short readable examples.

This is great for the serious HTML writer. I'm imagining a reader who's done a good bit of HTML and may have a little experience with more common kinds of programming. That reader has probably looked into the source code for lots of other people's web pages, and has probably seen JavaScript embedded for various cool functions. Such people will appreciate the thoroughness, detail, examples, and friendly style of the book.

That intended reader is not a battle-hardened veteran of software engineering or advanced student of computer science. People with more programming background may be disappointed by the relatively low density of the text, and by its organization. The author has created a successful organization grouping by task, but that is very different from a formal presentation of the language and standard APIs.

Decide who you are and what you want. This is a book for a specific purpose and reading population, and seems to serve those very well. If your purpose or backgorund are different, though, the organization may not meet your needs.

//wiredweird

With nearly 10 years of javascript programming behind me and not one single day dedicated to alert "hallo world" or prompt "tell me ur name" bagatelles, and with almost 15 javascript books purchased over those years at a rate of one per year, I guess I have an educated and somewhat reliable word, which can be trusted, to say about this book - and its various eidtions.

When I first purchased an early edition, I thought the title was a bit conceited: a "Bible", you see.

If some book of this series ever fully deserved such qualification, this can be only Mr. Goodman's book. I can't vouch for future editions, but I qualify for the past ones: this book is definitive.

The book is divided into chapters that deal with the subject object by object. This is exactly what is expected for coping with a language like javascript that is arranged with properties and methods that work on objects. That's the correct approach, simply, under any point of view, educational included.

For each object all the properties and methods get explained in an astonishing manner.
It is important to stress that unlike some "core" manuals (I think of some Php), these explanations are not snappy or short: they are detailed. They do not assume you can guess what they don't say by working out the rest from parsimonious and cryptic sentences as many online manuals invariably do: they employ all the words it takes to be clear and detailed.

It seems mr. Goodman has understood that in order to be terse and clear you haven't to be so short and so cryptic, but only as short as it is necessary and not a bit more - and never, never cryptic.

The new editions cover, with the highest professionality, all the new DOM related methods, and this accounts for why new editions get released: because the language is subject to huge evolutions since it got connected with the DOM.
If the latter evolves, the former has to follow, and mr. Goodman has to write more.

The reason a few beginners say that this book is not for them is easily explained: the book deals, as I said, with javascript object by object. It starts like that _nearly_ immediately.

So, it does not cover the basics (which pertain to any scripting language and not just to javascript) in real detail.

That is, the book _implicitly_ presumes something (but not too much): it somewhat presumes you know what a loop via a "for" cycle is, it somewhat presumes you know what an "if/else" conditional check is, and it somewhat presumes you know, more or less at least, what an array is: a collection of variables each arranged as key versus value.

It does not presume more. And it is not that it does not provide explanations for those topics at all: it is that for an _absolute_ beginner grasping the meaning of a loop can be daunting regardless of how many words you spend. This is no mr. Goodman's fault: it has been daunting for us all the first times in our lives we saw loops.
You have to chew on them on your own, with a little bit of torment and agony, and nothing, not even tons of words, could really ever bridge the gap of unfamiliarity that the first blast gives to a novice.
This is why mr Goodman, arguably, does not spend _that_ ton.

Provided you have a minimal knowledge, this is your javascript book. Period. Nothing compares. That is. Simply.

Provided you haven't such minimal knowledge yet the matter is as follows: you will have it in a few weeks finding some route of your own - we all did that way if you had no teacher as I hadn't.
I learned what loops are on mr. Jason J. Manger (1996) manual, and if you complain it is difficult to understand loops from mr. Goodman, wait to understand them via mr. Manger's work as I did!

And once you will have that understanding, this will be, again, your book, your defintive javascript book, after you trudged your way through those few weeks.

All the javascript routes lead to this book, like all the ways in the ancient world were said to led into Rome.

Alberto Vallini

I picked up this book and another one (that shall remain unnamed) recently when starting to learn javascript. What I have appreciated the most about this book is that it seems to always discuss the quirky things about javascript that would take me a day or more to figure out what is going wrong and how to fix. It has saved me a huge amount of time.

Whether you're a beginner, or a seasoned object-oriented programmer, you'll find the instruction in this book to be well written and understandable.

The first one-fifth of the book is an introduction to JavaScript and basic scripting concepts that really apply to most languages: variables, data types, loops, if...then, etc. And suddenly, bam! You're a JavaScripter!

After that follows the most complete JavaScript reference you're likely to find. Every object, major browser, property and method is covered, with a bit of code for each. Try them out and learn by doing.

One of my favorite features of a book so thick and meaty, is a good index. This book has one of the best! There isn't much I cannot look up quickly when I need to invent something new on the job.

In the last 5 years, this is the ONLY JavaScript book I've needed. It's truly a must have reference for front-end Web developers. Get one for your home and one for the office.

Take your Web pages to the next level beyond static XHTML and CSS into the interactive world of client-side scripting with the Web's most universal client-side scripting language.

This is an exhaustive reference text. It documents the full functionality of javascript, indicating which functionality works on which browsers, and is the best of its kind, based on the several texts I have considered.

The complete text (plus additional chapters) is on an included CD, which is handy for searching.

The only critique I have is that it is now two years old, and things change. Hence, it documents the Mozilla browser, but no references to Firefox, which is derivative from Mozilla. Would like to see an updated version, or better yet, would like to see the publisher allow owners of the book to access a continuously updated version online.

The discounted price makes it well worth the money, especially with free super saver shipping.

Pro: really good reference work for most people
Cons: 1) Not for someone who doesn't know either javascript basics or another scripting language. 2) Organization is good, but it isn't an encyclopedia and it isn't a start-to-finish tutorial. 3) Poor typeface decisions.

This book is the greatest for several different types of people. First, anyone who knows the basics of javascript, from advanced beginner to advanced js user. Second, anyone who wants to learn javascript and already knows some programming; you can use it as a tutorial, but only if you don't need much explanation about scripts and object-oriented programming.

It really is just excellent for someone who has previously learned something about one of the chapters but needs a refresher and/or more detailed/comprehensive walkthrough.

Four stars instead of five for a completely unnecessary mistake. Unfortunately, the W3c ignores people who do not have eagle-sharp vision and will fill a page full of semicolons and colons, or parens and curly brackets. If you don't have a font that clearly distinguishes these, it is a major source of semantic errors and eyestrain. The font chosen to print the code in this book could not be worse. Colons and semicolons are almost impossible to distinguish (not to mention periods and commas),and curly brackets look like thin lines with no curls.

C'mon guys. There are fonts of every type where periods and commas are easier to distinguish, and curly brackets have a distinct shape. USE THEM FOR PUBLISHING CODE!!

I like this book. But I'm not so sure about how the author targets his audience.

He seems to try to make it available to the casual HTML coder that wants to liven-up his pages; but I don't think this will aid someone who's never coded anything in his life before.

Javascript is the kind of language real programmers hate (and the author makes a point of this!) Nonetheless, it's also a language many like myself have to live with; so I can say this much about it...

This book is certainly huge and also quite helpful to someone that knows HTML and needs some interactivity on the client side. You can also just read the first 1/4 of it and keep the rest around to draw from as a reference. It's certainly useful; and the companion CD contains a full PDF of the book so you don't have to lug this heavy tomb between work and back.

If you already know how to program and you're looking for a good JavaScript reference, this is the book for you. However, if you're not already an experienced programmer this book won't be of much help. JavaScript Concepts & Techniques: Programming Interactive Web Sites does a much better job of teaching people to program in JavaScript. The JavaScript Bible assumes you already understand basic programming concepts and can program efficiently in some other language.

That said, Danny Goodman's JavaScript Bible does an excellent job of explaining the idiosyncrasies of the JavaScript language to experienced programmers. The book contains detailed syntax listings and descriptions of Core and Client-Side JavaScript objects, properties, and methods. Pertinent examples make it easy to put the explanations into context.

Every JavaScript programmer worth her salt has a copy of the JavaScript Bible on her bookshelf.