Learn the fundamentals, quickly and clearly

books:


	• Head Rush Ajax (Head First) Brett McLaughlin O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2006 - 446 pages average customer review:based on 54 reviews view larger image
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A fun read, but don't use it on the job...

The book is humourous and a pleasant read, and a fun way to learn Ajax in your easy chair by the fireplace.

But *don't* try using it on the job.

I tried building a real-world application with this as my guide - as I went through each chapter, I'd use the methods conveyed by the examples to build my own project. This went well until I got to the section on POST requests. As before, I adapted the example to my own project - and it didn't work. The problem is that the code on page 299 is flat-out wrong, and they don't tell you this until page 308 - after a several-page diversion into another subject. Then, on page 308, they finally reveal that on page 299 they had skipped an essential (but non-obvious) step.

Meanwhile, I had wasted about half an hour wondering why the back-end application wasn't receiving any of the form contents, putting in javascript in the front-end to display what it was sending before it sent it, putting logging in the back end to dump the inputs to files for analysis.

My copy now has "WRONG" written in one-inch letters across page 299.

(I was reminded of an episode of M*A*S*H. An unexploded bomb was in the camp, and Hawkeye was trying to defuse it while Radar read him the instructions - slowly, one step at a time - from a safe distance. The instructions were something like "Cut the red wire. But if there are also two black wires, you must not cut the red wire.")

Authors, I can appreciate your writing style and your general method of teaching - but please be aware that some programmers like to test our applications incrementally, and leaving a booby trap in the code just wastes our time.

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Learn the fundamentals, quickly and clearly

This book does exactly what it claims to do: teach you what Ajax is, and the basics of using it. After finishing this book, I feel like I have an extremely solid base with which to read and understand a more advanced book. This book didn't teach me any best practices, common Ajax patterns, cool tricks, or anything else fancy; it just gave me a firm, solid understanding of how to use Ajax, and that's exactly what I needed.

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We all learn in different ways

Some people prefer dense reference-like texts while others get droopy eyelids after just a few pages. Face it--this is complex material we are trying to learn. The O'Reilly Head First series has really figured out how to present concepts that can be difficult to understand, especially for people who are new to the field, in a way that makes it easy to learn.

If you are new to Ajax or if you have some experience with it but want to fill in the gaps, this is a great book.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Sick of creating web sites that reload every time a user moves the mouse? Tired of servers that wait around to respond to users' requests for movie tickets? It sounds like you need a little (or maybe a lot of) Ajax in your life. Asynchronous programming lets you turn your own web sites into smooth, slick, responsive applications that make your users feel like they're back on the information superhighway, not stuck on a dial-up backroad.

But who wants to take on next-generation web programming with the last generation's instruction book? You need a learning experience that's as compelling and cutting-edge as the sites you want to design. That's where we come in. With Head Rush Ajax, in no time you'll be writing JavaScript code that fires off asynchronous requests to web servers...and having fun doing it. By the time you've taken your dynamic HTML, XML, JSON, and DOM skills up a few notches, you'll have solved tons of puzzles, figured out how well snowboards sell in Vail, and even watched a boxing match. Sound interesting? Then what are you waiting for? Pick up Head Rush Ajax and learn Ajax and asynchronous programming the right way--the way that sticks.

If you've ever read a Head First book, you know what to expect: a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. Head Rush ramps up the intensity with an even faster look and feel. Have your first working app before you finish Chapter 1, meet up with the nefarious PROJECT: CHAOS stealth team, and even settle the question of the Top 5 Blues CDs of all time. Leave boring, clunky web sites behind with 8-tracks and hot pants--and get going with next-generation web programming.

"If you thought Ajax was rocket science, this book is for you. Head Rush Ajax puts dynamic, compelling experiences within reach for every web developer." -- Jesse James Garrett, Adaptive Path

"A 'technology-meets-reality' book for web pioneers on the cutting edge." -- Valentin Crettaz, CTO, Condris Technologies

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