Javascript Books..

[chibineku]

Hi there. As a few of you will know, I've recently started learning JavaScript and have worked through the W3C tutorials. I find them to be a bit too basic, though (I didn't even know, until someone on here showed me, that you can call a function with a parameter...). I was wondering if there are any particularly good books on the subject, or whether you think it's better to learn by trial and error and searching (fora like this, for example) for solutions? I need something that starts off fairly gently, but I would like to understand the full depth of JS and any related languages and components, like XML and, if necessary, server side scripting. Basically, a thorough DHTML manual. I do enjoy the amateur hack approach, which is to search for solutions, adapt things, and pick people's brains, but it'd be nice to have it all in one easily searchable format. So, suggestions, anyone?

[Mikeyham]

I've been using the JavaScript Bible (~1200 pages and 50 USD at most book stores) for several weeks now, and am up to chapter 9. According to the authors, there are 14 or so chapters of tutorial, and the remaining 21 chapters plus 5 appendices are for reference. You get a CD-ROM with it when you purchase it (atleast I did =P ), and that has these things called "My Evaluator Junior" and "My Evaluator Senior" for various JavaScript needs, like what properties can be used on certain objects. There's a little bit on AJAX and XML near the end, but I'm not so sure about PHP.Edit: there are also 22 bonus chapters on the CD-ROM, which cover everything else that isn't in the text.

[chibineku]

I've been using the JavaScript Bible (~1200 pages and 50 USD at most book stores) for several weeks now, and am up to chapter 9. According to the authors, there are 14 or so chapters of tutorial, and the remaining 21 chapters plus 5 appendices are for reference. You get a CD-ROM with it when you purchase it (atleast I did =P ), and that has these things called "My Evaluator Junior" and "My Evaluator Senior" for various JavaScript needs, like what properties can be used on certain objects. There's a little bit on AJAX and XML near the end, but I'm not so sure about PHP.Edit: there are also 22 bonus chapters on the CD-ROM, which cover everything else that isn't in the text.

And would you say that it answers most of your questions? For example, if you wanted to find out how to create an onclick that resulted in a function outputting in a different page div, could you figure that out pretty easy do you think? I reckon the answer is easy, though, I don't mean that as like a gold standard test for a JS book... I'm sick of just getting by on butchered code copied from someone else, and the W3C tutorials just aren't wide enough ranging.

[Mikeyham]

And would you say that it answers most of your questions? For example, if you wanted to find out how to create an onclick that resulted in a function outputting in a different page div, could you figure that out pretty easy do you think? I reckon the answer is easy, though, I don't mean that as like a gold standard test for a JS book... I'm sick of just getting by on butchered code copied from someone else, and the W3C tutorials just aren't wide enough ranging.

Well, yes, the innerHTML property is one of the first things you're taught in the tutorial. And as far as I know, anything you would like to know concerning JavaScript, you can find it in that book (hence "1200 pages"). It teaches you how to use different keywords and objects and such, and defines alot of the terminology.

[tweiss]

O'Reilly books are great resources I have the javascript, php programming, php cookbook(lots of examples), php&mysql also others less related to web app developement perl java C++ etc.. The Javascript book is huge and covers a lot- I highly recommend it. those others are if you get more interest in server side stuffof course php and mysql are very well documented online but sometimes I like the books when I head back "home" dial-up is painful hahaONLINE RESOURCESas far as Online Tutorialshttp://www.lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk3=true -- Some are free video clips to watch for a little bit. Find out what you want to learn and if you want to get a month's subscription.Also check out JQuery http://jquery.com/ - a javascript library you can use to do some slick stuff. http://blog.themeforest.net/tutorials/jque...s-video-series/

hopefully these help you out and get you excited about DHTML/Server Side Scripting --- I Recommend making a text file that you keep adding anything helpful to and label them under different categories...you can build quite a library of resources that way.

[chibineku]

O'Reilly books are great resources I have the javascript, php programming, php cookbook(lots of examples), php&mysql also others less related to web app developement perl java C++ etc.. The Javascript book is huge and covers a lot- I highly recommend it. those others are if you get more interest in server side stuffof course php and mysql are very well documented online but sometimes I like the books when I head back "home" dial-up is painful hahaONLINE RESOURCESas far as Online Tutorialshttp://www.lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk3=true -- Some are free video clips to watch for a little bit. Find out what you want to learn and if you want to get a month's subscription.Also check out JQuery http://jquery.com/ - a javascript library you can use to do some slick stuff. http://blog.themeforest.net/tutorials/jque...s-video-series/

hopefully these help you out and get you excited about DHTML/Server Side Scripting --- I Recommend making a text file that you keep adding anything helpful to and label them under different categories...you can build quite a library of resources that way.

Thanks for the recommendations. I already plumped for the JavaScript Bible by Danny Goodman, and so far it seems really good. Working my way through the tutorials. The fact that there are exercises is great, because it's one thing to read an example and think you understand it, another to type it out and realise you can't remember exactly the syntax or whatever, and the more you type scripts the better you get at debugging (I spent half an hour debugging one simple script, only to realise I was a " down...I'll come back to this thread when I'm up to speed with JS, and see what's next. I would eventually like to have the know-how to manage accounts and, well, basically make a forum. I realise that even this site's forum is powered by a third party engine, so I probably won't be able to make it quite as good as this one, but I want to know that I can. I reckon that will require more than a little server side coding, so that will likely be my next stop.

[casper3912]

i'm currently reading "dom scripting" by jeremy keith and ppk on javascript by peter-Paul koch. I think their pretty good.