Simply JavaScript

[tripwire45]

Authors: Kevin Yank and Cameron Adams
Format: Paperback, 424 pages
Publisher: SitePoint (June 21, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0980285801
ISBN-13: 978-0980285802

Review by James Pyles
March 31, 2008

Not only is this a good book to have if you want to learn JavaScript from the ground up, but it's a good book to have if you want to learn the basic principles of programming. Chapter 2, Programming with JavaScript alone is worth the price of admission. So many books seem to throw the reader directly into the JavaScript (or some other programming language), without describing how to do the basic steps of programming in that language. Chapter 2 is truly written for the beginner and takes the reader by the hand, showing them how to build a simple program from the ground up.

You move from "what's a variable" to variable types (numbers, strings...), to demonstrations of variables to associative arrays. Next, on to conditions and loops. You are introduced to if statements, if-else statements, and else-if statements. While loops and for loops are next on the menu, then functions are presented. Chapter 2 rounds out with an intro to objects. I'm leaving out the details that provide a simple and straightforward explanation to each of these concepts, as well as the sample code that lets the reader "try out" how they work.

For the experienced programmer, this part of the book can be easily skipped, but this book is targeted directed at the newbie and it serves the newbie well. With a firm foundation in programming basics with JavaScript as your guide, should you decide to tackle other programming languages afterwards, these elementary concepts will already be part of your mind set and will be familiar faces when you visit those other languages.

The rest of the book is just as solid, building carefully, one concept upon another, so that the reader enjoys a sense of mastery at one level before moving on to the next. For instance, Document Object Model (DOM) is an oft mentioned concept associated with JavaScript but may seem like an "advanced" feature...at least until explained in the proper context. The authors waste no time and introduce DOM in Chapter 3, giving the reader an "aha" experience and assisting the neophyte in realizing that DOM is actually a very attainable and understandable concept. In fact, DOM is introduced before Events, which are very much linked to JavaScript. With DOM "out of the way" so to speak, events are handily managed in Chapter 4.

The ever-present Ajax enters in Chapter 8. I'm always dubious about including Ajax in a JavaScript book; not because it doesn't belong there, but because "Ajax" has become a well-worn "buzzword" that has suffered from overuse in publication...both hardcopy and on the web. Happily, it is managed here just as well as the other related JavaScript topics, rather than tossed in just for its "recognition" factor.

If I had one wish for this book, it's that code examples and exercises would have been handled better. You can go to the book's webpage at SitePoint and download the sample code from the book, but where and how it's used relative to the book's content isn't always spelled out. For instance, in Chapter 3, the authors assist the reader in creating their first function to use in finding an element by class (since DOM contains no such built-in function). Each slice of code is crafted and then put all together...but the only hint that this code exists in the code sample file is a minor notation in the upper right-hand corner of the JavaScript code on page 74 called core.js (excerpt).

In the main code file I downloaded, code samples aren't organized by chapter number but by topic, which makes finding what you want a bit ambiguous. Opening the DOM folder will reveal (among other files) the core.js file and opening it in a text editor and scrolling for awhile, will reveal the code presented on page 74. Some clearer directions on associating sample code with book content would have been much better, especially as this book is aimed squarely at the newbie who might become a tad frustrated and who might assume that this portion of the code wasn't included in the sample.

That one complaint aside, the rest of the book's content and presentation is really quite good. Code samples and diagrams all maximize understanding the concepts being taught. For a visual learner like me, this is a real plus. Letting the reader get their hands directly early in the game is also a bonus. My mind goes numb when I'm presented with concept for too long without the chance to put some of it into action. I can never really understand what I'm reading until I can actually operationalize it and see how the map relates to the territory.

I often lament that while there are so many books that teach specific programming languages, there are too few books that teach basic programming along the way. This book is an exception. Pick up a copy of the Yank and Adams book if you want to learn basic JavaScript (and beyond) and if you want to learn basic programming skil

[mitzs]

Thanks Trip, have added this one to my wish list also at amazon.