Give Your Visitors An Interactive User Experience With JavaScript!

Coming up with a design for your website is only the first step to a completed project. Once you know your subject and how the site will look, you have to write the web pages. For the typical user, HTML and CSS are enough. However, as more and more interactive content becomes common (and expected by visitors), you may need to go a step further.

JavaScript has become one of the most popular programming languages on the web. JavaScript is a cross-platform, lightweight language used for embedding within other applications. JavaScript is used primarily to write functions within HTML pages. Some examples of this are:

• opening a new window and being able to specify the position, size and attributes of that new window (e.g. whether the menus, toolbars, etc. are visible)
• validation of web form inputs to make sure the right information is provided by your site visitors
• changing images when your visitor moves their mouse cursor over them
• creating calculators (e.g. a mortgage calculator, Fahrenheit to Celsius converter or advertising ROI tool) and other math functions

Because JavaScript code runs in a user’s browser (rather than on your host’s server) it can quickly respond to user actions. JavaScript code can also detect user actions which HTML alone cannot, such as keystrokes and mouse clicks.

The Best “Learning JavaScript Books”

Even if you are a casual web designer or Internet marketer (who is not outsourcing this type of work), having a couple well-written reference books at your side can save you hours of frustration. This page will show you the best JavaScript books we have found for learning JavaScript programming.

Murach’s JavaScript and DOM Scripting

Title: Murach’s JavaScript and DOM Scripting
Author: Ray Harris
Publisher: Mike Murach & Associates (August 17, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1890774553
ISBN-13: 978-1890774554
Page Count: 760 Pages

What the Critics Say: “Want to create websites that deliver the fast response times, dynamic user interfaces, and special effects that today’s users expect? Then this is the book for you! Whether you’re just starting out in JavaScript or whether you’re ready to move into DOM scripting, it gives you the skills you need. My bookshelf is a sea of royal blue Murach texts. Nothing comes close to them for clear explanations and excellent real-world demos.”

• It provides a fast start.
• It’s 2 books in 1: A JavaScript book and a DOM scripting book.
• It shows you how to create and use event-handling libraries for browser compatibility.
• It shows 20 complete applications that can be used as models for new apps.
• The paired-pages format lets readers set their own pace

Reader Reviews:

“The book is intelligently organized, and written in a concise fashion, with practical examples, delivered with a friendly voice that makes what can often be convoluted or confusing concepts easy to grasp for beginners.” -Jason, Guam

“You can use this book as a tutorial to get you going, and then later on, use the same book as a reference. Some books are either one or the other, but this book is both.” -Marvin, NY

“Understanding JavaScript is essential to web development, but the road to expertise can be frustrating without a guide to help explain best practices and how to work with XHTML, CSS and the DOM. Kudos to Ray Harris for putting together a comprehensive book on JavaScript that can carry the novice to an expert level of development.” -Oliver, CA

“… A superbly organized and presented instruction manual and reference guide. [It’s] specifically designed to rapidly but methodically bring the novice JavaScript programmer to a professional standard of execution ability. … covers coding, testing, debugging, HHTML, CSS, JavaScript essentials, DOM scripting, with chapters dedicated to controlling the web browser, and using JavaScript libraries. Enhanced with an exhaustive index, “Murach’s JavaScript and DOM Scripting” is an invaluable and highly recommended addition to personal and professional instructional reference collections.” -Midwest Book Review, WI

Code snippets can only take you so far.
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JavaScript, A Beginner’s Guide, Third Edition

Title: JavaScript, A Beginner’s Guide, Third Edition
Author: John Pollock
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media (September 11, 2009
ISBN-10: 0071632956
ISBN-13: 978-0071632959
Page Count: 512 Pages

Description: “Essential Skills–Made Easy! Create dynamic Web pages complete with special effects using today’s leading Web development language. JavaScript: A Beginner’s Guide, Third Edition gives you step-by-step coverage of the fundamentals, including variables, functions, operators, event handlers, objects, arrays, strings, forms, and frames. You’ll also learn about more advanced techniques, including debugging and security. This hands-on guide explains how JavaScript works with XHTML Transitional and covers the new features available in JavaScript. Get started using JavaScript right away with help from this fast-paced tutorial.” Designed for Easy Learning:

• Key Skills & Concepts: Chapter-opening lists of specific skills covered in the chapter
• Ask the Expert: Q & A sections filled with bonus information and helpful tips
• Try This: Hands-on exercises that show you how to apply your skills
• Notes: Extra information related to the topic being covered
• Tips: Helpful reminders or alternate ways of doing things
• Self Tests: End-of-chapter reviews to test your knowledge
• Annotated syntax: Example code with commentary that describes the programming techniques being illustrated

Reader Reviews:

“I bought this book based on other reviews. I needed to get a sound understanding of JavaScript quickly. I read the entire book, all 16 chapters. I did all the exercises and the tests at the end of each chapter. All of the exercises worked as entered. This is a GREAT beginners book!” -J, USA

“After struggling to find a good beginner’s book on JavaScript (JS), and after suffering through the Headfirst JavaScript book, I’ve finally found the one that is helping me move along. Compared to other JS books out there, this one really holds your hand, and the examples the author gives should give you a good understanding of what the scripts do, before moving on to other codes.

Towards the end of each chapter, he gives you review questions to answer. They aren’t very difficult, but for someone who has little JS coding, it really does refresh what you just read. All of the answers are provided in the back too. I highly recommend this book for those designers out there who haven’t had any coding experience like me. Eventually, after reading this book, you should be able to get a good grasp on JS and move on to more advanced books.” -Bookworm, USA

This is THE Beginner’s JavaScript Guide. Accept no imitators!
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