JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook (2nd edition) [Paperback]

Danny Goodman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0596514085 | ISBN-13: 978-0596514082 | Edition: 2nd

In today's Web 2.0 world, JavaScript and Dynamic HTML are at the center of the hot new approach to designing highly interactive pages on the client side. With this environment in mind, the new edition of this book offers bite-sized solutions to very specific scripting problems that web developers commonly face. Each recipe includes a focused piece of code that you can insert right into your application.

Why is JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook so popular? After reading thousands of forum threads over the years, author and scripting pioneer Danny Goodman has compiled a list of problems that frequently vex scripters of various experience levels. For every problem he addresses, Goodman not only offers code, but a discussion of how and why the solution works. Recipes range from simple tasks, such as manipulating strings and validating dates in JavaScript, to entire libraries that demonstrate complex tasks, such as cross-browser positioning of HTML elements, sorting tables, and implementing Ajax features on the client.

Ideal for novices as well as experienced scripters, this book contains more than 150 recipes for:

• Working with interactive forms and style sheets
• Presenting user-friendly page navigation
• Creating dynamic content via Document Object Model scripting
• Producing visual effects for stationary content
• Positioning HTML elements
• Working with XML data in the browser

Recipes in this Cookbook are compatible with the latest W3C standards and browsers, including Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 2, Safari, and Opera 9. Several new recipes provide client-side Ajax solutions, and many recipes from the previous edition have been revised to help you build extensible user interfaces for Web 2.0 applications. If you want to write your own scripts and understand how they work, rather than rely on a commercial web development framework, the JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook is a must.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...does for web scripting and dynamic HTML what the best cookbooks do for food...The best cookbooks distil the wisdom of an experienced and skilled master - and this is precisely what Danny Goodman does here. " TechBook Report --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Danny Goodman has been writing about personal computers and consumer electronics since the late 1970s. In 2006, he celebrated 25 years as a freelance writer and programmer, having published hundreds of magazine articles, several commercial software products, and three dozen computer books. Through the years, his most popular book titles - on HyperCard, AppleScript, JavaScript, and Dynamic HTML - have covered programming environments that are both accessible to non-professionals, yet powerful enough to engage experts. His Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference, now in its third edition, is an O'Reilly bestseller. To keep up to date on the needs of web developers for his recent books, Danny is also a programming consultant to some of the industry's top intranet development groups and corporations. His expertise in implementing sensible cross-browser client-side scripting solutions is in high demand and allows him to, in his words, "get code under my fingernails while solving real-world problems."

Danny was born in Chicago, Illinois during the Truman Administration. He earned a B.A. and M.A. in Classical Antiquity from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He moved to California in 1983 and lives in a small San Francisco area coastal community, where he alternates views between computer screens and the Pacific Ocean.

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 2nd edition (August 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596514085
• ISBN-13: 978-0596514082
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 1.1 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,631 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #61 in Books > Computers & Technology > Web Development & Design > Programming > JavaScript

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Book from Danny Goodman May 15, 2003

By neihtn

Format:Paperback

Danny Goodman is the author of "JavaScript Bible", probably the most popular book on JavaScript as it went through 5 editions, the last one being the Gold edition published in 2001. I have used JavaScript Bible extensively and intensively, often longing for a cross-index of recipes for solving problems. This new book by the author addresses that need in the form of a cookbook, one carefully written and eminently readable. Not only does he give clear recipes, he also discusses some history and background, lists which browser version is required, both for Netscape and Internet Explorer, then weighs the pros and cons of different approaches.

The recipes range from the mundane, like opening a window, to the more esoteric for positioning page elements or creating dynamic contents. Even if one does not plan to use a recipe, it is still enlightening to see how JavaScript or some feature of it is brought to bear on solving a particular problem. Most cookbooks assume you already know the subject quite well, then launch on intricate discussions often discouraging to neophytes. Here, the way Danny Goodman writes, the clarity of his style, and the completeness of his coverage, make this book well suited to every reader level. If your JavaScript knowledge is only nascent, you will be enlightened with this book. If you are a JavaScript "expert", be surprised that you will still learn many new techniques.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't read this review. Just buy the book. March 29, 2005

By .NET Code Monkey VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I am an ASP.NET developer, and I have never been too crazy about JavaScript. It is much too slow to develop, it is finicky to debug, and maintenance is just ridiculous.

That is exactly why I love this book. It shows me exactly what I need to know to add some VERY sophisticated client-side pizzazz to my applications. Unlike most programming books, you don't have to read half the book to understand the advanced concepts. Each "recipe" has a more-than-adequate supporting explanation.

For the past FOUR YEARS, I have consulted this book above all other JavaScript references. And now with ASP.NET AJAX released, it is more helpful than ever...easily giving you the edge over other .NET developers that live in a "code-behind-only" world. It is well worth the price.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for what it is November 17, 2005

By Jase T. Wolfe

Format:Paperback

In the computer world, cookbook / tips / "hack" style books are a funny thing. Unlike food cookbooks you purchase when you have a specific culinary goal, scripting cookbooks are typically bought without much knowledge of the information that they are going to present to you. This can be doubly so when you are purchasing from an online vendor that has not made the table of contents (TOC) available. At the time I write this, Amazon.com has not. O'Reilly's does, and I encourage you to visit this title's TOC page on O'Reilly's web site first before you purchase.

For what this book covers, it is covered very well. The included scripting projects are indeed useful, efficiently written, presented in a user friendly manner, and as a whole contain very few errors. Each script example is presented by introducing a web design problem, followed by a solution discussion, a working script, and a follow-up if needed. None of the code examples in the book are included, but again, O'Reilly's web site for this book has the files available for download.

This is not a stand-alone title, it is not for JavaScript beginners, and it is not a cookbook that provides generic solutions. This is a great companion book to the author's other book, "Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference" (ISBN 1565924940) and David Flanagan's title "JavaScript: The Definitive Guide" (ISBN 0596000480). Web developers looking to better utilize HTML and JavaScript will find (or already know) that these two mentioned books are invaluable. As for this cookbook, if you see something in the TOC that interests you, make the purchase and you certainly wont regret it. But if you don't, feel comfortable skipping it.