JavaScript 1.5 Buy it now at Amazon

This website is all about VB - so why are we reviewing a JavaScript book? Simply because JavaScript is really the only viable option in client-side web programming. The only other option is VBScript. Only IE supports it. Yes, I know IE is the gargantuan part of the market, but according to our web server logs, Netscape users (all versions) comprise a good 15% of visitors as of December 2000. So why cut them out needlessly?

I am a Visual Basic programmer. I truly love this tool. It freed me from the annoyances of pointer programming of C/C++. I felt emancipated. So now comes along the client-side web programming in JavaScript and, mind you, I don't want to write entire programs for the browser, but just to make an occasional validity check, animate an element, set a timer here and there. In other words, I don't want to become a JavaScript guru or learn another language - I just want to do what's minimally necessary. Besides, to nab a good job (or at least one that pays well), VB alone is no longer enough. You must supplement it with at least the knowledge of databases and client-side web programming.

This is where JavaScript 1.5 by Example comes in. Don't get me wrong - if you want to become at least an intermediate JavaScript programmer - this books will ably teach you and more. However, to me it serves as an excellent quick reference. If I need to know something, anything, about JavaScript - I can quickly find it.

After the obligatory history of the language, the authors get it going with a review of language fundamentals and how to use them in the context of HTML pages. Then a tour of the language which gets into oft-used JavaScript functions like alert, prompt, confirm… As you get the feel for the language, you'll be treated to a JavaScript rendition of familiar concepts such as arrays, conditions, for and while loops, if then else constructs…well, you know the drill. This was great, because I have nearly forgotten all my C training. The book jogged my memory and I was looping in no time.

If you already know the basics of JavaScript and simply want to learn how to apply it to the DOM, then start with chapter 8. You'll learn how to catch and respond to events, how to take advantage of built-in (really useful) JavaScript objects. Lastly, it goes for in-depth (to an extent a 300 page book about a different subject allows) coverage of the Document Object Model, ending with an onslaught of various samples.

Criticisms? Barely any. While the book does a good job of separating of what runs in IE and what runs in Netscape 4 or 6, in several places it wasn't clear to me whether the example was W3C DOM standard compliant or not, whether it runs in both browsers or not.

I wish, Amazon.com would post the weight of the book along with the price. Some of the heavier JavaScript books (some over a 1000 pages) I've seen do half the job that this tome does. The price is right too - list price of US$30, which means Amazon has it for US$23.99. This book does what it says it does: it teaches JavaScript, and it does it as good as I've seen. Great investment.