JavaScript and Ajax for the Web, Sixth Edition (Visual QuickStart Guide)
by Tom Negrino, Dori Smith
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Book Summary Information
Author: Dori Smith, Tom NegrinoEdition: Paperback
Published: 2006-09-07
ISBN: 0321430328
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: Peachpit Press
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Book Reviews of JavaScript and Ajax for the Web, Sixth Edition (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Book Review: Should be called: JavaScript (& a chapter on AJAX)
Summary: 2 Stars
This is my first QSG book. I assume the layout is "feature" of the series, if so this will be my last.
Bottom line first: the title is a lie, this is a book about javascript with a chapter on AJAX; this book has good content, but the presentation will drive you insane while you read it.
Layout:
The book has a good concept but doesn't execute it well. Each page is divided into two columns, the example code is in one column, the text describing that code is in the other. This really is a great concept. It's used in analytic copies of a number of Shakespeare's plays and works well there. It works because they are conscientious about pagination, include line references, and use facing pages not columns.
Columns are a problem because each line has about three words before wrapping. The dot syntax of javascript is particularly hard to read with such short lines.
The pagination / line reference is really the biggest problem in the QSG's execution. They let the text and code flow through the columns across pages without much attention. This means you are constantly flipping forwards and backwards to see the code as you read. Without line references the flipping is not just annoying it's really more of a search.
They make two attempts to address the pagination problem: first, the code being talked about is highlighted in red; second, they reprint the code block being talked about in the text column. Neither of these is helpful. Half of the code ends up being highlighted red - at most you can scan the red blocks to figure out what that code is an example of, and what is just there to support the example. If they are going to reprint the code anyway why not just go over to a normal layout? My suggestion: use facing pages for the next edition!
AJAX:
This is not a book on AJAX. This is an introduction to javascript that includes a buzz word in its title to jump off the shelf at people. It's not even an introduction to javascript from an AJAX prospective. In fact AJAX isn't covered well in the book. For example there is very little discussion of how to navigate returned XML using javascript. AJAX is mentioned in the intro and then 'taught' in chapters 15 and 16. (Chapter 16 is just a discussion of available libraries!) You can't give AJAX top billing and then devote 10% of the actual book to it.
So why 2 stars?
I was looking for a book that assumed very little or no knowledge of javascript. I was hoping for something that would address canonical javascripting, best practices, and a bit theory behind the topics being covered. I'm self taught and wanted to see how things should be done instead of how they can be done. This book would be a darn good intro for a beginner. The theory and best practices parts were not explicitly addressed as often as I would have liked; however, they were demonstrated and covered at times.
4 star content, less 1 for layout, less 1 for title.
Summary of JavaScript and Ajax for the Web, Sixth Edition (Visual QuickStart Guide)
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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