JavaScript: A Beginner's Guide, Second Edition (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Step-by-step instruction teaches beginning JavaScript programmers and Web designers to create windows, display moving text, and generate sound or other multimedia elements with ease. Uses the successful Beginner's Guide teaching system, which countless new users have praised for giving them a solid foundation in technology.

From the Back Cover

Essential Skills--Made Easy!

Create dynamic and inviting Web pages with help from this friendly, step-by-step guidebook. Through a logical sequence of tutorials, you'll learn the basics of the leading Web development language. Author John Pollock provides easy-to-understand coverage of the essentials--variables, tags, event handlers, objects, frames, and more--that will help you program your Web site to react to a viewers' actions or surprise them with special effects. This proven teaching tool also contains screen shots and plenty of sample code to assist you with real-world programming tasks. Begin using JavaScript right away and add interactivity to your site in no time!

Designed for Easy Learning:

• Modules--Each concept is divided into logically organized modules (chapters), ideal for self-paced learning
• Critical Skills--Each module opens with the specific skills covered in the module
• Mastery Checks--End-of-module reviews test knowledge using short-answer, multiple-choice, and fill-in-the-blank questions
• Ask the Experts--Q&A sections throughout are filled with bonus information and helpful tips
• Progress Checks--Quick self-assessment sections check your progress
• Projects--Practical exercises show how to apply the critical skills learned in each module
• Annotated Syntax--Example code annotated with commentary that describes the programming techniques being illustrated

About the author: John Pollock has been working with JavaScript and other Web development tools for more than seven years. He is a technical writer and runs two Web sites devoted to Web development technology.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 2 edition (December 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072227907
• ISBN-13: 978-0072227901
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #57,727 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #14 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Web Development > Programming > JavaScript
  #61 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > Introductory & Beginning
  #70 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > Java

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb book for the beginner..., August 18, 2004

By	William D. Barrett (San Juan Capistrano, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Javascript: A Beginner's Guide is the best book that I have seen for beginners. The book is written like a text book and provides novice programmers with information on basic programmer's terminology, etc. Exercises are provided to help develop programming skills. When I start offering javascript class, this will likely be my choice for a textbook.

As a beginner's book, I give this 10 stars. This is a great book for people completely new to programming. For example, graphics designers without programming experience who want to develop web pages could easily use this book to learn javascript. Experienced programmers, however, may find this book to be too elementary. The author takes several pages to define what a variable is, which may be aggravating to experienced programmers who just want to learn a new language.

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great beginner's book, September 28, 2005

By	Kim Foster "kat226" (Goleta, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I have no programming experience and am teaching myself JavaScript. I tried a couple of other books, which left me feeling frustrated-even if they were supposed to be for beginners. Desperate, I tried this one and am happy to say that I'm writing small scripts and becoming familiar with all the different options.

The lessons are well written and easy to follow. The little progress checks and tests at the end of the chapters help highlight the lessons and, if you get any answers wrong, show you where to go back to reread/practice. Although a beginner's book, it gives hints of what can be done, which keep me motivated to continue learning.

It may be that I "outgrow" this book at some point, but I'm likely to keep it around for a quick reference.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Buy..., September 12, 2006

By	Dusty Williams (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

An excellent book -- here's why:

1) The author is an excellent teacher. You will have a solid understanding of the fundamental concepts of Javascript when finished with this book.

2) The code samples are clear and easy to try.

3) Each chapter covers a fundamental aspect of the Javascript language, such as variables, conditional loops, objects, etc.

4) Provides mastery checks at the end of the lesson to ensure you learned the materials, as needed.

It's perfect for the beginner, yet excellent for the more advanced programmer who wants to learn the starting fundamentals of this language. In my opinion, it's a 5 star book. (500+ pages and clearly-illustrated.)