Interesting collection of examples, not good for learning

books:


	• JavaScript and Ajax for the Web, Sixth Edition (Visual QuickStart Guide) Tom Negrino, Dori Smith Peachpit Press, 2006 - 512 pages average customer review:based on 17 reviews view larger image
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Interesting collection of examples, not good for learning

I've been learning JavaScript off and on, with some success, for three months. In doing so, I've skimmed about a half-dozen books and tried the following three, so far, "graded" below:

Learning JavaScript (Powers B-)
VQS JavaScript and Ajax (Negrino & Smith C+)
O'Reilly JavaScript Pocket Reference (Flanagan B)

It's hard to find good books on this because the subject matter is new and the books are often dashed off quickly. VQS JavaScript and Ajax is essentially a collection of well-explained examples of well-organized code. It's written more to fill pages than flesh out the subject, however. The explanations are unnecessarily wordy and the broader coverage of concepts, context and how to, you would want to include in a teaching book are missing.

Strangest of all perhaps is the author's choice of leaving out how html talks to Javascript or the details of how they link. Since JavaScript's purpose is to interact with html and pass things back and forth, it's sort of like doing marriage counseling and only focusing on what the woman's thinking to herself. Unfortunately, they're not the only authors that make this oversight.

The VQS format is great and they do a good job of using color to highlight the portions of code they're referring to. The is a good, annotated collection of code examples. It's something I've found to be only marginally helpful in getting started.

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All Examples - Not too Much Explanation

I'm an experienced procedural php, xhtml and css developer with litter foundational knowledge about javascript. I purchased this book to fill that gap and was a little disappointed. It's not a bad book but it assumes a lot and has little instructional flow. The book scrolls though one example after another without much explanation for the actual language constructs behind javascript.

The author states that this book is not for beginners and I don't consider myself to be one, however, I'd advise anyone looking to buy this book to have a solid understanding of object oriented programming principals before they do so.

Overall it's not a bad book for a certain audience but it lacks foundational, and in my opinion vital, information about javascript.

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JavaScript & AJAX

The book arrived quickly. I is new quality. I intend to increase my knowledge of DOM, JavaScrip anf AJAX.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

Need to learn JavaScript fast? This best-selling reference?s visual format and step-by-step, task-based instructions will have you up and running with JavaScript in no time. In this completely updated edition of our best-selling guide to JavaScript, leading Web and computing experts Tom Negrino and Dori Smith use crystal-clear instructions and friendly prose to introduce you to all of today's JavaScript essentials. Along the way, you'll find extensive coverage of Ajax and XML techniques, current browsers (Opera, Safari, Firefox), and more.

Visual QuickStart Guide--the quick and easy way to learn!
Easy visual approach uses pictures to guide you through JavaScript and show you what to do. Concise steps and explanations get you up and running in no time. Page for page, the best content and value around. Companion Web site at www.javascriptworld.com offers sample scripts, updates, and more!

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