Customer Reviews

JavaScript Cookbook

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It is incredible how a book with so many lack of content could have been acclaimed with so many stars. The only strong point of this book, is its clarity of exposition of a considerable amount of vanilla code snippets, making it an ideal reference for introductory elementar courses, or a Dummie's introduction to JavaScript, in direct oposition to the expressed author expectation, of a book suited for a much wider audience. Following is a list of some of its crucial missing content (usually available on many of the alternative references presented at the end of this review). No treatment of debugging techniques specially suited for common JavaScript error depuration. No sections on solution to common problems or frequently asked questions. No treatment of compatibility issues, nor comparative charts between distinct JavaScript versions or manufacturer implementations. No treatment of JavaScript security issues. No script content on useful actual applications like: remote window controls, multiple frame comparative search engine output, appointment calendars, advanced calculators, multimedia playing control interfaces, frame window customization, automated templates for html code generation. No treatment of Server-side JavaScript. Completely outdated Web-Resources appendix, with a inexepressive bunch of links, mostly of knowledge to anyone with a minimal interest on JavaScript. No external collection of scripts or real world applications on CD-ROM, except for the trivial code snippets examples presented on the book. So, to anyone with a bit more than superficial interest on JavaScript, a list of much more valuable references is presented below, in clear contrast to some of the content deficiencies ineherent to the reviewed book. Be aware that O'Reilly is about to release what can be expected to be another of its bestsellers, in a book with the same title of the reviewed one, but with content addressing real useful JavaScript recipes (exactly what this reviewed reference lacks most). Aside from O'Reilly not yet available JavaScript CookBook, one might consider some of those references: JavaScript Annotated Archives, Practical JavaScript Programming, Learn Advanced JavaScript Programming, Netscape Developers Guide to JavaScript 1.2, JavaScript Quick Reference, Instant JavaScript, JavaScript Bible (3rd ed), JavaScript Definitive Guide (3rd ed), JavaScript SourceBook, Drag and Drop CGI.

Sometimes I have to wonder if the guys writing these reviews are not related to the author in some way. While I don't know Mr. Cohen, I think his book is very good. He covers all the topics with great detail and the codes examples actually work! However, if you are a new to the concepts of object-oriented programming, then this book can be a tough read. You should really know your HTML before you tackle this one.

This book was published in 1997 and unfortunately has aged badly. A newer revision would be required to bring it up to date with more modern standards and web browsers. Chapter 6 is a nice example of the problem: "What's New Since Navigator 2.0".

I highly recommend the O'Reilly "Javascript & DHTML Cookbook" instead. The O'Reilly book was published in 2003 and is much more relevant to the current world.

The first edition of this book suffers from a number of typos that can cause the JavaScript beginner a LOT of headaches! While there are many cross-references within the text, there is no list of tables, list of figures or list of listings with page numbers. I still recommend the book; but would like to see a better job of technical editing done.

A tremendous book! A must have for every one who wants to learn JavaScript and/or spruce up their web page! This book not only teaches JavaScript from the ground up but also provides many JavaScript examples to help the reader not only to learn the language better, but also to have JavaScript enhancements on their page.

An excellent book that is not only a great starting book, but also a tremendous resource.

This is not the best reference manual in the world - that's for sure. I'd say i've opened it less than 10 times and turned back to my 'complete idiots guide to javascript' every time to find the answer after my search in this book.

It just does not seem tailored to help web developers.

After buying a "quickie" book and learning nothing, but spending hours slogging through examples well above my level of understanding, I knew it was time for a different text. JS cookbook is a great way to learn the language, with lots of examples and a total reference to the language. The typos in some of the scripts are a bit of a pain. I looked through a lot of JS books, and this was clearly the best available, in my opinion. Great for someone new to the language who needs to develop applications in a hurry.

JavaScript Cookbook helped me learn JavsScript in only two days. The book not only leads you through the paces of JavaScript, but has an example on nearly every other page. The book is also full of reference material. After Mr. Cohen teaches you the basics, he puts every object, property and method of JavaScript and Web Pages in Reference form.

I not only use this book now for JavaScript programming, but for reference on all objects of a Web Page. I purchased and Active Server Pages book and a VB Script book when I purchased this. I use this book to compliment what the others left out concerning Web Page objects.

One minor issue, there are a lot of grammatical errors and misspellings in the book.

Although there were a few helpful examples in the book, the hows and whys were not written in a clear and succint manner. The writing style was dry and did not captivate my interest.

This is not a book if you are learning JavaScript but the most useful reference book for those of us who need a quick look up. There is not a quick reference if you are yet to explore the world of JavaScript but those who already have you cannot remember everything. The exercises are short and right to the point as this entire book was and so easy to follow. I thought the book was great and I could not survive without it!