Customer Reviews

Pure JavaScript

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

It's terribly hard to find a book that actually provides useful reference, nowadays. Thanks to "desktop publishing" it seems that everyone and their ten-thumbed cousin is putting out a book that reputes itself to be the "definitive" source on a topic. After searching for some time, and finding nothing but frustration, I finally came upon Pure Javascript. Not only does this book have a complete table of contents, it is extensively cross-referenced in the index, and each object, property and method is laid out in an easy-to-read-and-find format. How many times have you wanted to know whether an object was supported by your browser of choice? Or wondered why a method that worked fine in Netscape 3 is now breaking in 4 and higher? Each object, method, and property starts with a description of what scripting language it originates from, and what versions it is supported in. This is not a book for someone with absolutely no experience in Javascript; this is a book for someone that needs to be able to find information at a moment's notice, without having to work through tangled or incomplete descriptions. If you work with Javascript, client-side or server-side, this book is for you.

This was exactly what I was looking for in a JavaScript book. The first two sections, which explain the language, are concise and simple, and do not waste time with rudimentary things that programmers like myself already know (i.e. what is an array, etc). The third section is a full reference to every command in the JavaScript language, with code and syntax examples for each. If you are already a programmer (in any language, but particularly a C++ or C programmer), this is probably the best book on the subject to get on the subject.

First if you have not gotten the impression from the other reviews by now, this book is NOT for the beginner. As a beginner you will not learn how to use JavaScript from this book. It IS an extensive reference on everything about JavaScript. If you need to know if your code will work with certain browsers or what a specific object or syntax does, this is the book for you! This book very well cross referenced and laid out nicely, it is easy to find what you are looking for when you need it and that saves a ton of time.

Pure JavaScript is exactly what I was hoping for: THE reference book on JavaScript!

I love to make web pages using notepad and HTML! I am currently interested in JavaScript programming so I decided to pick up a book on it. I read through the reviews on several books and found them to be disappointing for my skill level. Then I heard about this one and bought it. It is a GREAT book! First it explains about how JavaScript runs, then how to use it in html, etc., (even touches on server-side javascript), and lastly has every single syntax available! I loved it and suggest the begginner through advanced should buy it!

Two words, PURE AWESOME! This has got to be the most complete REFERENCE javasript book in the market - by far. For any web developer who is looking for a book on javascript's syntax and definition, also to mention which browsers support what in the javascript language, this book is the one.

I liked the book, the examples are plenty, and well done, not partial example clips. The information appears to be very complete, and if your a novice, or an expert, you'll still find it useful. The back page indexes are complete, perhaps too much, which makes finding the logical alphabetical break difficult in some cases. Subtopics are sometimes very long, spanning multiple pages, which makes it hard to find details, but not impossible. Includes compliancy information for the web browsers AND the jscript, ecmascript and javascript. Discusses server side javascript seperate from browserside javascript (very useful)

Simply, this book is the best reference you'll find on javascript, it covers every single aspect, including server-side, javascript 1.4 and jscript 5.

But, this book isn't for beginners, it will not teach you how to write and script, it asumes you already know what "<script>", so if you don't please look for another book, or maybe you could read some web tutorial and use this book as a reference, which is excellent, every function is there, with an explanation, an example, and wich browser support it (or language version).

The only compliant I have about this book is the size of the pages, they are "small" in width, with no typos wich makes somewhat difficult to read, the pages almost have no margins and the titles are only on bold (maybe if they where underlined...). If the pages were of the "normal size" the book will be less thick and easier to manipulate. But this isn't very important right?

I've got mixed feelings about this book. I bought it as an update to the first edition, and the information between the covers is very useful in itself. However, the information I really need -- the DOM reference -- has been relegated to the CD-ROM. The reason that I buy reference books is so that I don't have to keep toggling between my code and an on-line reference. The DOM material runs to 400 pages - too much for me to print out. Perhaps Sams could have turned the book into a two-volume reference.

I bought this book in Oct 2001 and have been using it because I needed a reference for JavaScript; by the way, this book comes a CD and you can search the CD for info if you don't like thumbing through the 1600 pages. Har, the older version died after two months of daily reference, so thus the rating for the 4 stars because I feel that that the binding for the new book should feel more robust. Hmmm... only time will tell. On the whole this is a needed reference which has some more info on server side scripting. It covers JavaScript 1.6, but if I'm not wrong the most people who are not into IT or web programming use Netscape 4.7 or IE 4.01 still. JS(1.2 or 1.3). Rest assured, it is a concise reference, if you need one.

Great book to refer to when you want to get the full list of objects , methods, properties and their details when writing code. However, those wishing to learn JavaScript with little or no previous knowledge should select another book first. The reason for the five stars is that I believe its a great REFERENCE book.