Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.lang.javascript > #16475

Re: What's a good [JavaScript] book?

Show key headers only | View raw

On 08/10/12 09:35, I Am Here wrote:

> Can someone recommend me a good book which will cover ALL important
> features of [JavaScript]?

There is no book that adequately covers JavaScript. Douglas
Crockford's *JavaScript: The Good Parts* contains a moderately high
level of technical depth, but is quite brief.

David Flanagan's *JavaScript: The Definitive Guide* is at best a
mediocre physical manifestation of Mozilla's Developer Network and
at worst a complete waste of time (which is my opinion).

Those are the two major JavaScript books that I have read and--in the 
case of the latter book, unfortunately--purchased. I own another, but
its quality is so dubious that I will not cite it. Other authors such as 
Danny Goodman have attempted to cover JavaScript at length. A
perusal of the c.l.j. archives will evince that heavy scepticism is 
advised whilst reading his work.

> I already have 3, but NONE of them, as I  discovered to my downfall
 > recently, covered for example, hashes, or how they are treated as
> objects. I don't wish to go on my expertise  alone, as it's failed
> me  - I want some experts to recommend a book which will cover
> everything.

If there is a book that covers *everything* on a specific topic, I
would like to know of it. Of course, that is likely to be impossible.
Because topics--and therefore, technologies--evolve, one
comprehensive effort can quickly become outdated. Donald Knuth has
been writing the *The Art of Computer Programming* series for decades,
and some portions are already considered by some as outdated.

Of the JavaScript books that I have read, zero have covered the DOM
in sufficient detail. That book still needs to be written.
Consequently I advise the following options:

1. Read the previously cited c.l.j. FAQ. It covers a wide variety of
topics, including HTML, CSS, and the DOM API.

2. Read both the ECMA-262 3rd (ES3)[0] and 5th (ES5)[1] edition
specifications. The ES3 specification will equip you with knowledge
that is relevant to older environments that implement it (or in the
case of *M*icro*S*oft *I*nternet *E*xplorer, something similar to it),
whereas the ES5 specification is relevant to modern browsers. I suggest
that the former specification be read before the latter. Both are
available--and are cited--in HTML format.

3. Read material on the DOM API. I recommend starting with a DOM 0
reference[2]. Once a base of knowledge has been established, ascend
the DOM ladder (with each level denoting a "rung"). The DOM Core
specifications are intended to cover multiple document types, whereas
the DOM HTML specifications are intended to cover HTML documents.

4. Research the `window` object. The W3C has provided a draft[3] for
it; and it is also covered in the HTML 5 specification[4].

5. Experiment with this knowledge by testing it in various browsers.
Mozilla[5], Microsoft[6], Opera[7], Apple[8], and Google[9] have all 
documented implementation-specific behaviour to some degree.

[0]: http://bclary.com/2004/11/07/
[1]: http://ecma-international.org/ecma-262/5.1/
[2]: http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19957-01/816-6408-10/
[3]: http://www.w3.org/TR/Window/
[4]: http://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-apps/current-work/
multipage/browsers.html#the-window-object
[5]: https://developer.mozilla.org
[6]: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms533050%28v=VS.85%29.aspx
[7]: http://dev.opera.com/
[8]: https://developer.apple.com/devcenter/safari/index.action
[9]: http://www.chromium.org/developers

-- 
`The theologian Meric Casaubon argued--in his 1668 book, *Of Credulity
and Incredulity*--that witches must exist because, after all, everyone
believes in them. Anything that a large number of people believe must
be true.'--Carl Sagan--*The Demon-Haunted World*.

Back to comp.lang.javascript | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

What's a good Javascript book? I Am Here <iamhereintheworld@gmail.com> - 2012-10-08 06:35 -0700
  Re: What's a good Javascript book? "Evertjan." <exxjxw.hannivoort@inter.nl.net> - 2012-10-08 13:52 +0000
    Re: What's a good Javascript book? "Jukka K. Korpela" <jkorpela@cs.tut.fi> - 2012-10-08 17:03 +0300
      Re: What's a good Javascript book? Tim Streater <timstreater@greenbee.net> - 2012-10-08 15:22 +0100
        Re: What's a good Javascript book? "Mel Smith" <med_cutout_syntel@aol.com> - 2012-10-08 08:56 -0600
  Re: What's a good Javascript book? Stefan Weiss <krewecherl@gmail.com> - 2012-10-08 16:11 +0200
    Re: What's a good Javascript book? John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-10-09 10:43 +0100
      Re: What's a good Javascript book? Stefan Weiss <krewecherl@gmail.com> - 2012-10-09 13:12 +0200
        Re: What's a good Javascript book? John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-10-10 15:32 +0100
          Re: What's a good Javascript book? Stefan Weiss <krewecherl@gmail.com> - 2012-10-10 20:13 +0200
            Re: What's a good Javascript book? John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-10-11 14:28 +0100
      Re: What's a good Javascript book? Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-10-09 17:56 +0100
        Re: What's a good Javascript book? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2012-10-10 00:32 +0200
          Re: What's a good Javascript book? Daniel Pitts <newsgroup.nospam@virtualinfinity.net> - 2012-10-09 16:37 -0700
          Re: What's a good Javascript book? Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-10-10 06:44 +0100
            Re: What's a good Javascript book? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2012-10-10 20:09 +0200
            Re: What's a good Javascript book? Dr J R Stockton <reply1241@merlyn.demon.co.uk.invalid> - 2012-10-11 19:43 +0100
  Re: What's a good Javascript book? Gregor Kofler <usenet@gregorkofler.com> - 2012-10-08 16:21 +0200
  Re: What's a good Javascript book? "Michael Haufe (TNO)" <tno@thenewobjective.com> - 2012-10-08 07:56 -0700
  Re: What's a good [JavaScript] book? Matt McDonald <matt@fortybelow.ca> - 2012-10-08 11:38 -0400
    Re: What's a good [JavaScript] book? Matt McDonald <matt@fortybelow.ca> - 2012-10-08 11:42 -0400
      Re: What's a good [JavaScript] book? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2012-10-10 00:41 +0200
  Re: What's a good Javascript book? Danny <dann90038@gmail.com> - 2012-10-08 11:57 -0700
    Re: What's a good Javascript book? Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-10-08 20:39 +0100
  Re: What's a good Javascript book? I Am Here <iamhereintheworld@gmail.com> - 2012-10-09 06:19 -0700
    Re: What's a good Javascript book? Gregor Kofler <usenet@gregorkofler.com> - 2012-10-09 18:43 +0200
      Re: What's a good Javascript book? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-10-09 10:06 -0700
        Re: What's a good Javascript book? Scott Sauyet <scott.sauyet@gmail.com> - 2012-10-09 11:43 -0700
          Re: What's a good Javascript book? Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-10-09 20:07 +0100
          Re: What's a good Javascript book? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-10-09 13:40 -0700
        Re: What's a good Javascript book? Gregor Kofler <usenet@gregorkofler.com> - 2012-10-09 20:55 +0200
          Re: What's a good Javascript book? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-10-09 13:45 -0700
          Re: What's a good Javascript book? Scott Sauyet <scott.sauyet@gmail.com> - 2012-10-10 04:31 -0700
      Re: What's a good Javascript book? Stefan Weiss <krewecherl@gmail.com> - 2012-10-09 20:09 +0200
        Re: What's a good Javascript book? Gregor Kofler <usenet@gregorkofler.com> - 2012-10-09 21:01 +0200
          Re: What's a good Javascript book? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-10-09 13:50 -0700
      Re: What's a good Javascript book? John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-10-10 15:26 +0100
        Re: What's a good Javascript book? Tim Streater <timstreater@greenbee.net> - 2012-10-10 15:58 +0100
          Re: What's a good Javascript book? John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-10-11 14:39 +0100
            Re: What's a good Javascript book? Scott Sauyet <scott.sauyet@gmail.com> - 2012-10-11 06:52 -0700
              Re: What's a good Javascript book? John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-10-11 17:13 +0100
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Scott Sauyet <scott.sauyet@gmail.com> - 2012-10-11 10:39 -0700
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-10-12 10:37 +0100
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Scott Sauyet <scott.sauyet@gmail.com> - 2012-10-12 07:11 -0700
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-10-13 10:53 +0100
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-10-12 09:49 -0700
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Scott Sauyet <scott.sauyet@gmail.com> - 2012-10-12 10:22 -0700
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-10-12 13:17 -0700
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-10-12 20:32 +0100
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-10-13 10:50 +0100
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-10-13 19:45 +0100
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2012-10-13 21:55 +0200
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-10-13 21:52 +0100
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2012-10-13 23:49 +0200
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2012-10-13 23:57 +0200
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-10-13 23:34 +0100
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2012-10-14 02:09 +0200
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-10-14 00:00 +0100
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2012-10-14 01:58 +0200
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-10-14 07:17 +0100
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2012-10-15 01:17 +0200
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-10-14 13:40 +0100
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-10-14 19:03 -0700
                Re: What's a good Javascript book? John G Harris <john@nospam.demon.co.uk> - 2012-10-15 10:42 +0100
    Re: What's a good Javascript book? "Evertjan." <exxjxw.hannivoort@inter.nl.net> - 2012-10-09 22:49 +0200
  Re: What's a good Javascript book? Scott Sauyet <scott.sauyet@gmail.com> - 2012-10-09 12:00 -0700
  Re: What's a good Javascript book? I Am Here <iamhereintheworld@gmail.com> - 2012-10-16 06:57 -0700

csiph-web