JavaScript Pocket Reference, Second Edition

By David Flanagan
October 2002
Pages: 136
Series: Pocket References
ISBN 10: 0-596-00411-7 | ISBN 13: 9780596004118
(5) (Average of 4 Customer Reviews)

Book description

The JavaScript Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition, provides a complete overview of the core JavaScript language and client-side scripting environment, as well as quick-reference material on core and client-side objects, methods, and properties. The new edition has been revised to cover JavaScript 1.5, and is particularly useful for developers working with the standards-compliant web browsers, such as Internet Explorer 6, Netscape 7, and Mozilla.
Full Description

JavaScript--the powerful, object-based scripting language that can be embedded directly into HTML pages--has earned its place in the web developer's toolkit, to the extent that it's now considered required knowledge for web developers. You can use JavaScript to create dynamic, interactive applications that run completely within a web browser. JavaScript is also the language of choice for developing Dynamic HTML content. Because its syntax is based on the popular programming languages C, C++, and Java, JavaScript is familiar and easy to learn for experienced programmers. At the same time, it's an interpreted scripting language, providing a flexible, forgiving programming environment for new programmers.

The JavaScript Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition, provides a complete overview of the core JavaScript language and client-side scripting environment, as well as quick-reference material on core and client-side objects, methods, and properties. The new edition has been revised to cover JavaScript 1.5, and is particularly useful for developers working with the standards-compliant web browsers, such as Internet Explorer 6, Netscape 7, and Mozilla. Ideal as an introduction for beginners and a quick reference for advanced developers, this pocket-sized book is easy to take anywhere and serves as the perfect companion volume to the bestselling JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 4th Edition.

O'Reilly's Pocket References have become a favorite among developers everywhere. By providing a wealth of important details in a concise, well-organized format, these handy books deliver just what you need to complete the task at hand. When you've reached a sticking point and need to get to the answer quickly, the new JavaScript Pocket Reference is the book you'll want close at hand.

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Book details

Second Edition: October 2002
Series: Pocket References
ISBN: 0-596-00411-7
Pages: 136
Average Customer Reviews: (5) (Based on 4 Reviews)

Featured customer reviews

One of the few books always on my desk, February 13 2009

Rating:

Submitted by Anonymous Reader [Respond | View]

The Javascript Pocket Reference is one of the few reference
books I keep on my desk, as opposed to on a bookshelf in
another room. It doesn't provide for interesting reading or
any extensive insight into the language, but instead it just
gives you the answer to your Javascript question. As a Java
developer, when it comes time for Javascript I do my best to
rely on frameworks like Prototpye or jQuery, but when those
prove too sophisticated for the task at hand, I usually end up
picking up the pocket reference before I've finished the task
at hand. The Pocket Reference's strength is it's size. Small
to the point where there isn't room for vague, ambiguous
explanations. The answer is either there or not and it doesn't
take long to figure it out.

Priceless, March 05 2007

Rating:

Submitted by Scott Trenda [Respond | View]

Even if you're a seasoned Javascript hacker, odds are you'll still find dozens of little tidbits in this book that'll make you say, "I didn't know I could do that!" I recommend this book to every fellow developer I can; I find that most people learn more about the nooks and crannies of the language within the first twenty pages of this book than they've learned from years of exposure to code floating around on the Internet.

Concise, accurate, easy to understand, and packed to the brim with useful information. A must-have for anyone working seriously with Javascript.

JavaScript Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition Review, March 19 2003

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Submitted by Doug Domeny [Respond | View]

I refer to this book all the time. I've done extensive development with JavaScript and it would have been painfully slow without this book and its preceding edition. At a 127 pages, it really fills out a lot of the material that was missing from the 1st edition. I had written many notes in my 1st ed. copy and all of that material is now in the 2nd edition. If you have the 1st edition, I recommend getting the 2nd ed because of its broader and deeper and updated coverage of JavaScript.

The TOC is about 2 pages and lists the main JavaScript objects, but not their methods and properties. For a small book, this is fine. I don't have any problem finding the information I need. It doesn't have an index, which would be nice, but isn't necessary.

This is an excellent reference for JavaScript as a language and the DHTML DOM. The only negative thing with the 2nd edition is that the figures in the 1st edition are missing. I refer to figures 1 (client-side object heirarchy) and 2 (windows and frames) so often that I copied them onto the blank pages at the back of the 2nd edition.

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JavaScript Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition Review, March 17 2003

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Submitted by Tom Dolhanty [Respond | View]

This book is one of the best of its type that I've come across. I am a seasoned programmer, but somewhat new to JavaScript, and I could not ask for a better book to take me through the basics, to the more arcane. My compliments to the author and publisher for producing an excellent reference at a time when there is so much that is mediocre!!

Media reviews
"[Consumers] will find the fine 'pocket references' produced by O'Reilly to be compact and affordable."
-- James Cox, The Computer Shelf: Midwest Book Review

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