Learning JavaScript, 2nd Edition

If you're new to JavaScript, or an experienced web developer looking to improve your skills, Learning JavaScript provides you with complete, no-nonsense coverage of this quirky yet essential language for web development. You'll learn everything from primitive data types to complex features, including JavaScript elements involved with Ajax and dynamic page effects. By the end of the book, you'll be able to work with even the most sophisticated libraries and web applications. Complete with best practices and examples of JavaScript use, this new edition shows you how to integrate the language with the browser environment, and how to practice proper coding techniques for standards-compliant websites. This book will help you:Learn the JavaScript application structure, including basic statements and control structures Identify JavaScript objects -- String, Number, Boolean, Function, and more Use browser debugging tools and troubleshooting techniques Understand event handling, form events, and JavaScript applications with forms Develop with the Browser Object Model, the Document Object Model, and custom objects you create Learn about browser cookies and more modern client-side storage techniques Get details for using XML or JSON with Ajax applications Learning JavaScript follows proven learning principles to help you absorb the concepts at an easy pace, so you'll learn how to create powerful and responsive applications in any browser. If you're new to JavaScript, or an experienced web developer looking to improve your skills, Learning JavaScript provides you with complete, no-nonsense coverage of this quirky yet essential language for web development. You'll learn everything from primitive data types to complex features, including JavaScript elements involved with Ajax and dynamic page effects. By the end of the book, you'll be able to work with even the most sophisticated libraries and web applications.Complete with best practices and examples of JavaScript use, this new edition shows you how to integrate the language with the browser environment, and how to practice proper coding techniques for standards-compliant websites. This book will help you:Learn the JavaScript application structure, including basic statements and control structuresIdentify JavaScript objects—String, Number, Boolean, Function, and moreUse browser debugging tools and troubleshooting techniquesUnderstand event handling, form events, and JavaScript applications with formsDevelop with the Browser Object Model, the Document Object Model, and custom objects you createLearn about browser cookies and more modern client-side storage techniquesGet details for using XML or JSON with Ajax applicationsLearning JavaScript follows proven learning principles to help you absorb the concepts at an easy pace, so you'll learn how to create powerful and responsive applications in any browser. I am trudging through this book right now, and as a beginner who has no prior experience with JavaScript, I can tell you that this book isn't for the beginner. I've gone through a few examples and typed in the code as written and found that a few of the examples don't even work. I'm sure that it was written using some sort of word processing software, so what made it so hard to copy and paste the JavaScript code into a file to check to see if the code actually works? Also, I don't understand why the examples are so complex. After reading and rereading the script examples, I can usually figure it out, but having to do that is why I say that this book is not for the beginner. The good part about this book, is that I am actually learning the material. The "test" questions at the end of the chapter range from simple to intermediate, and I can answer all of them correctly. I just wish it was a bit easier to read for us beginners. A guide to JavaScript covers such topics as functions and operators, forms, browser objects, DOM, JavaScript objects, and Ajax.