This book has aged badly
This book was published in 1997 and unfortunately has aged badly. A newer revision would be required to bring it up to date with more modern standards and web browsers. Chapter 6 is a nice example of the problem: "What's New Since Navigator 2.0".I highly recommend the O'Reilly "Javascript & DHTML Cookbook" instead. The O'Reilly book was published in 2003 and is much more relevant to the current world.
A wonderful reference book, and quick look-ups!
This is not a book if you are learning JavaScript but the most useful reference book for those of us who need a quick look up. There is not a quick reference if you are yet to explore the world of JavaScript but those who already have you cannot remember everything. The exercises are short and right to the point as this entire book was and so easy to follow. I thought the book was great and I could not survive without it!
not to the point
This is not the best reference manual in the world - that's for sure. I'd say i've opened it less than 10 times and turned back to my 'complete idiots guide to javascript' every time to find the answer after my search in this book.It just does not seem tailored to help web developers.
Worth only as a Dummie's introductory book on the subject
It is incredible how a book with so many lack of content could have been acclaimed with so many stars. The only strong point of this book, is its clarity of exposition of a considerable amount of vanilla code snippets, making it an ideal reference for introductory elementar courses, or a Dummie's introduction to JavaScript, in direct oposition to the expressed author expectation, of a book suited for a much wider audience. Following is a list of some of its crucial missing content (usually available on many of the alternative references presented at the end of this review). No treatment of debugging techniques specially suited for common JavaScript error depuration. No sections on solution to common problems or frequently asked questions. No treatment of compatibility issues, nor comparative charts between distinct JavaScript versions or manufacturer implementations. No treatment of JavaScript security issues. No script content on useful actual applications like: remote window controls, multiple frame comparative search engine output, appointment calendars, advanced calculators, multimedia playing control interfaces, frame window customization, automated templates for html code generation. No treatment of Server-side JavaScript. Completely outdated Web-Resources appendix, with a inexepressive bunch of links, mostly of knowledge to anyone with a minimal interest on JavaScript. No external collection of scripts or real world applications on CD-ROM, except for the trivial code snippets examples presented on the book. So, to anyone with a bit more than superficial interest on JavaScript, a list of much more valuable references is presented below, in clear contrast to some of the content deficiencies ineherent to the reviewed book. Be aware that O'Reilly is about to release what can be expected to be another of its bestsellers, in a book with the same title of the reviewed one, but with content addressing real useful JavaScript recipes (exactly what this reviewed reference lacks most). Aside from O'Reilly not yet available JavaScript CookBook, one might consider some of those references: JavaScript Annotated Archives, Practical JavaScript Programming, Learn Advanced JavaScript Programming, Netscape Developers Guide to JavaScript 1.2, JavaScript Quick Reference, Instant JavaScript, JavaScript Bible (3rd ed), JavaScript Definitive Guide (3rd ed), JavaScript SourceBook, Drag and Drop CGI.
A very solid book on JavaScript.
Sometimes I have to wonder if the guys writing these reviews are not related to the author in some way. While I don't know Mr. Cohen, I think his book is very good. He covers all the topics with great detail and the codes examples actually work! However, if you are a new to the concepts of object-oriented programming, then this book can be a tough read. You should really know your HTML before you tackle this one.
(12 reviews)