Product Description: 'With my book, you'll gain a thorough understanding of the JavaScript language, learning all the key concepts from the ground up. The knowledge you'll gain here will help you to start programming exciting and powerful web applications.'
Amazon.com Review: Suitable for learning basic programming for Web browsers, Beginning JavaScript is a patient, introductory tutorial on writing scripts successfully. It teaches you how to create client-side scripts (including full coverage of fundamentals like variables and flow control, plus plenty of screen shots.)
JavaScript is a good way to learn programming. It's powerful, of course, but the book takes small steps, using scripts that work with string and time data first, and then moving to manipulating browser objects like forms and windows. A running case study for a trivia game helps anchor the steps with a practical (and fun) example. There are plenty of tips on debugging your scripts (including how to use the Microsoft Script Debugger tool), and each section includes sample questions. (The book also offers extensive answers in over 80 pages at the end of the book.)
There's plenty of material on the differences between Internet Explorer and Netscape, especially when it comes to Dynamic HTML (DHTML). Coverage of the Document Object Model (DOM) for browsers helps bring the text up to date on some of the latest standards in Web browsers (including the new Netscape 6).
While the focus of Beginning JavaScript clearly is on the client, later sections turn to server-side ASP development (in which the sample trivia game is enhanced with ASPs written in JavaScript using ADO and Microsoft Access.) Reference sections on JavaScript and the browser object model for Internet Explorer and Netscape (through version 4.x) round out the material.
In all, with its approachable style and clearly rendered code examples, Beginning JavaScript makes for a worthwhile very first book of programming for today's browsers. Even if you haven't programmed before, this text can give you the tools you need to bring your static Web pages to life. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered:
Introduction to JavaScript
Cross-browser compatibility issues
JavaScript data types and variables
Displaying errors
Calculations
Operators
String handling
Flow control statements
Loops
Introduction to using objects
The browser object model
HTML forms (including types of input controls)
Frames and windows
Tutorial for regular expressions
Advanced string methods
Date, time, and timer objects
Common errors
The Microsoft Script Debugger
Cookies
Dynamic HTML (DHTML) on Internet Explorer 4.0 and Netscape Navigator 4.x
The Document Object Model (DOM)
ActiveX controls and plug-ins used with JavaScript
Server-scripting
Introduction to ASP and databases (including SQL basics and database design with Microsoft Access)
Sample case study for a trivia game
Sample exercises and answers
References to JavaScript
Internet Explorer 4 and 5 and Netscape Navigator 4 objects
ASP object model reference
Customer Reviews
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers - Beginning Javascript excellent book
Can't say enough about this book. Really outstanding in explaining the how-to of Javascript, especially for the beginner. Truly an outstanding book! Thnak you.
Rated by buyers - information in this book is very very VERY old!
this book is a total waste of money. The things you learn are made for very old browsers. So if you want a book to learn js don't get this one, you would learn things as they where done 10 years ago.
Rated by buyers - Full client side javascript tutorial
This is a perfect book for those who is looking for skills of creating dynamic web pages, though it is a bit outdated now in part of intensive discusion on how to create cross-platform pages for older versions of IE and Netscape.
The original drawback of the book is a lack of information on how to handle situations when you don't use IIS as a web server and your database is other than MS Office Access. It's understood a single book can not cover every single OS flavor and all the variety of Web Servers and databases but limiting a discusion of server side scripting to ASP only is sort of a weak approach. The same is true for programming examples with MS Acess only.
However, besides that it is a really good book and is strongly suggested as a comprehensive guide for client side javascripting.
Rated by buyers - Great book for beginners
This is a great book for beginners. The author explained everything in detail on how everything works together. You do not need any book else for the same topic to get you started and to get your work done.
Rated by buyers - Book confuses the issues and doesn't get to the syntax
Instead of defining all the attributes of say "Request.QueryString" into differenct contexts like Javascript and HTML , he muddles around with probably the lamest web application environment around.
- Beginning Javascript excellent book
- information in this book is very very VERY old!
- Full client side javascript tutorial
- Book confuses the issues and doesn't get to the syntax