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Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations?

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In comp.lang.javascript message <timstreater-B1ECC6.17143901012012@news.
individual.net>, Sun, 1 Jan 2012 17:14:39, Tim Streater
<timstreater@greenbee.net> posted:

>I haven't looked there but my guess would be that, like all specs, they
>are formally correct but lack readability and have few examples.

The ECMA spec has at least four considerable advantages over books such
as Goodman and Flanagan, and even pocket Flanagan.

It is available in bits - zeroes and ones - at no cost.
It loads onto any reasonable computer.
It is virtually massless.
It is machine-searchable.

Consider an experienced Pascal programmer, at the Gene stage of
JavaScript, whose next bit of code calls for a repeat-until loop in his
Pascal mind.  He can heave his book off the shelf, consult the index,
find no mention of "repeat", wonder if it is indexed in a more general
manner, etc.

Or he can have his PDF of ECMA 262 open, scan for the word "repeat", and
find just two instances of it; clearly each is an "English" rather than
"JavaScript" word.  Likewise "loop".  So there's no repeat-until loop as
such.

But he knows that the Contents List of such a standard will be fairly
reliable - looking down it, he sees the first (and last) interesting
section at "12 Statement", the relevant sub-section at "12.6 Iteration
Statements", and in that sub-sub-sectione 12.6.1 to 12.6.4, with 12.6.1
looking likely.

12.6.1 starts "The production   do Statement while ( Expression );   is
evaluated as follows:", which is probably all that need be said; and,
while the details are not all immediately clear, he should easily see
that there is always at least one iteration, and that 'continue' and
'break', whatever they may be, can be used.

If that's not enough, he at least knows what to look for in a book, or
what to try in a test file.

-- 
 (c) John Stockton, nr London, UK.    ?@merlyn.demon.co.uk     Turnpike v6.05.
 Website  <http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/> - w. FAQish topics, links, acronyms
 PAS EXE etc. : <http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/programs/> - see in 00index.htm
 Dates - miscdate.htm estrdate.htm js-dates.htm pas-time.htm critdate.htm etc.

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JavaScript Book Recommendations? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2011-12-30 11:49 -0800
  Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? "Mel Smith" <med_cutout_syntel@aol.com> - 2011-12-30 13:18 -0700
    Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2011-12-30 13:45 -0800
    Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Tim Streater <timstreater@greenbee.net> - 2011-12-30 22:43 +0000
  Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? "Jukka K. Korpela" <jkorpela@cs.tut.fi> - 2011-12-30 22:25 +0200
    Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2011-12-30 13:52 -0800
      Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? "Evertjan." <exjxw.hannivoort@interxnl.net> - 2011-12-30 23:28 +0000
        Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2011-12-31 23:47 -0800
          Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? "Evertjan." <exjxw.hannivoort@interxnl.net> - 2012-01-01 13:11 +0000
            Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-01-02 10:54 -0800
              Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? "Evertjan." <exjxw.hannivoort@interxnl.net> - 2012-01-02 23:31 +0000
                Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-01-02 17:10 -0800
                Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? "Evertjan." <exjxw.hannivoort@interxnl.net> - 2012-01-03 11:17 +0000
                Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-01-03 12:26 -0800
      Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Scott Sauyet <scott.sauyet@gmail.com> - 2012-01-02 09:50 -0800
    Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-01-01 16:15 +0000
  Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? "Michael Haufe (TNO)" <tno@thenewobjective.com> - 2011-12-30 12:38 -0800
    Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2011-12-30 13:57 -0800
  Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Dr J R Stockton <reply1152@merlyn.demon.co.uk> - 2011-12-31 21:01 +0000
    Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Dr J R Stockton <reply1201@merlyn.demon.co.uk> - 2012-01-03 10:28 +0000
  Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-01-01 15:58 +0000
    Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Tim Streater <timstreater@greenbee.net> - 2012-01-01 17:14 +0000
      Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-01-02 10:59 -0800
        Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Tim Streater <timstreater@greenbee.net> - 2012-01-02 19:07 +0000
          Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-01-02 12:10 -0800
      Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Dr J R Stockton <reply1152@merlyn.demon.co.uk> - 2012-01-02 20:08 +0000
      Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Dr J R Stockton <reply1201@merlyn.demon.co.uk> - 2012-01-03 20:44 +0000
        Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Tim Streater <timstreater@greenbee.net> - 2012-01-04 12:32 +0000
          Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? "Mel Smith" <med_cutout_syntel@aol.com> - 2012-01-04 09:15 -0700
          Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-01-04 10:44 -0800
  Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? williamc <temp4@williamc.com> - 2012-01-02 15:18 -0500
  Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? "M. Strobel" <sorry_no_mail_here@nowhere.dee> - 2012-01-06 00:58 +0100
    Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2012-01-06 03:16 +0100
      Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? "M. Strobel" <sorry_no_mail_here@nowhere.dee> - 2012-01-06 12:06 +0100
        Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2012-01-06 21:05 +0100
        Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? "M. Strobel" <sorry_no_mail_here@nowhere.dee> - 2012-01-09 13:54 +0100
        Re: JavaScript Book Recommendations? Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2012-01-11 15:59 +0100

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