Javascript: The Definitive Guide

This book is divided into four parts - Part 1 covers core JavaScript and it has an incredible amount of detail and examples illustrating fundamentals and intricate details of the language. As the author points out amply by giving specific code examples, even experienced programmers will be surprised by unexpected behavior if they are not careful! Part 2 covers Client-Side JavaScript which is of most interest to web developers - this book simply does an outstanding job of presenting various topics in this part with amazing clarity. Part 3 has Core JavaScript Reference and some of the examples and explanations from Part 1 refer to this part. Part 4 has Client JavaScript Reference and there are references to this part from some chapters of Part 2 as you may expect. Essentially, parts 3 and 4 have the comprehensive API reference.I read parts 1, 2 in full and I tested the code examples. For the most part, the examples run fine without any problem. The only exception was the chapter 23 that explains scripting flash and I was getting some exception when I tried to run it in both IE and Firefox. Where there are significant differences between IE and Firefox, this book does point out which is really helpful since these two are the most widely used browsers. While this book is not a light read, it is very comprehensive and therefore the only book you ever need on JavaScript. With this book (and possibly few searches on google searches), any one will have all info needed to implement specific functionality using JavaScript. Highly recommended to both novice users and highly experienced JavaScript programmers/developers.

This refers to the 5th edition.Ten years ago, JavaScript support was so different among various web browsers, I gave up trying to do any logical processing in JavaScript, and went into server-side programming.Today, you still have to do a select few things two or three times in JavaScript to get them to work in all web browsers. But with much better standardization across browsers -- including broad support for Ajax, or remote scripting -- it's become worthwhile again to spend time on JavaScript development.So, I took an online JavaScript class at the local community college. I bought this book as my reading text.This "bible" of JavaScript skimps at times on simple examples, but provides several lengthy general-purpose code samples that show how to abstract out the client-specific or case-specific handling from an underlying set of routines.Only the first part of this book is instructional. Then, there is the wonderful second half of the book, which is all reference. Divided into the core language reference and the client-side JavaScript reference, it's an essential quick lookup tool.If you are new to JavaScript or (like me) brushing up on it after a long time away, choose this book as your in-depth background information and your ongoing reference text. Choose something like Dori Smith's JavaScript and Ajax for the Web, Sixth Edition (Visual QuickStart Guide) for your smaller, quick-start examples to play with.Unfortunately, as long as browsers don't all support all the same JavaScript and CSS, there is still too much tedious hacking needed to provide a useful interface on the client side. Neither this book nor any other will get you past that little problem.

The great thing about it being a 5th edition, most of the issues, errors, oversights, and omitted content found in 1st editions are not a problem. This book is thorough, well written, and filled with examples. I also greatly appreciate how it ramps up the reader without overwhelming them. Too many of these types of books go from a useless overview of the language to moderate or advanced concepts with little explanation as to how you got there. I don't see this in this book. Personally, I purchased this just as a reference book, and it's great for that. You can look up almost anything in a few seconds, making it the kind of book you keep on your shelf for a long time. I highly recommend this book as a way to become familiar with the power of Javascript, and in learning it, you'll also gain a little insight into all of the C based languages for web programming as well. I'm bummed I ordered version 5 when version 6 is coming out in a month... but it's still a great book.

I knew next to nothing about javascript when I bought this book. I am not a professional programmer.After twice reading the theoretical section (the first half of the book) attentively, I was able to program some pretty interesting things with javascript. The book provided sufficient grounding for me to fly solo and use my imagination. The reference section has been valuable for this.I have read some of the negative reviews, and while I understand reviews that say this book could be more direct, practical and concise, I disagree with them as I found the author provided a very comprehensive narrative description of javascript including its nuances.The author is in command of the topic, he provides solid targeted examples, and alerts you the salient points in those examples. He is teacher.I have several other javascript books, but I return to this one regularly. Finding that the others are too cookbook oriented and do not give a sufficient grounding to solve complex problems.The only thing that worries me is the quality of the cover and binding... while holding up.. my book is already looking tatty after just a couple of months. The book is an accessible javascript companion.

Este livro é a quinta edição, mas é uma referência excelente do Javascript.É a edição em inglês, usado, mas em ótimas condições e o preço estava uma pechincha.Super recomendado!

Un peu ancien mais pour le prix ou je l'ai eu ça vaut la coup puisque les bases javascript sont les mêmes et je préfère lire sur papier que sur un écrant d'ordinateur.

I've owned a lot of programming books in the past, but David Flanagan's Javascript The Definitive Guide is by far one of the best! This book covers all the intricate details of Javascript and contains more than enough information to get any aspiring Javascript programmer started. But it doesn't end there - this book covers advanced details such as pseudo-OO in Javascript, namespaces, Java integration, AJAX, and alot of other features other books tend to gloss over.If you're going to buy a Javascript book, this is the one to get - Highly recommended!

I have been trying to really understand the basics of javascript from a number of books for sometime now and I must say no book has given me the thorough coverage of almost every topic like this book.It's certainly a reference book that must be on the desk of every javascript developer, whether you're a beginner, mid-level like I'm or an advanced developer.I especailly like the way the first 2 parts cover the core principles and the client side of javascript. Then you have the reference part that drives deep into all the functions and capabilities of the language.It's well written, explains the concepts very well and I think it's worth every penny.Working through books that have examples is good but I have found out that these books cannot explain every concept as that is not their main emphasis. This book does, and must be the first point of call for the beginner especially, before any other javascript book.

Bin selber Webentwickler und konnte mich lange Zeit mit Javascript nicht anfreunden. Mir wurde dieses Buch empfohlen und kann es nur weiterempfehlen.Es beschreibt sehr gut was Javascript ist, was man damit tun kann und wo man es verwenden sollte. Die Grundkonzepte werden sehr gut erläutert und es dient auch gut als Nachschlagewerk!Die richtige Lektüre für einen Webentwickler aber nichts für UI Designer.