The JavaScript Pocket Guide

Author: Lenny Burdette
Publisher: Peachpit Press, 2010
Pages: 312
ISBN: 978-0321700957
Aimed at: Intermediate level
Rating: 4.5
Pros: Well written introduction to Javascript
Cons:Leaves you wanting more
Reviewed by: Ian Elliot

If you want a short introduction to all things Javascript then this is a great place to start.

Author: Lenny Burdette
Publisher: Peachpit Press, 2010
Pages: 312
ISBN: 978-0321700957
Aimed at: Intermediate level
Rating: 4.5
Pros: Well written introduction to Javascript
Cons:Leaves you wanting more
Reviewed by: Ian Elliot

 

Why does anyone want a pocket guide to Javascript? Do you keep it on you, in a pocket, so that if some Javascript crisis occurs you can look something up?

Well if this is the case this particular pocket guide isn't going to do the job because it's not a reference book. It's a very good account of Javascript and some ancillary technologies. If it was printed in a larger format it could compete with similar introductory guides to the language on an equal footing - but of course it wouldn't have very many pages. 

This pocket guide has about 270 useful pages so this would be equivalent to about 150 pages in a full size book and presumably this would be thought too slight to be a book at all. Why, I'm not sure. I'd prefer short and pithy coverage at a reasonable price than a "nutshell" book that is so big I can't hold it for long.

 

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To return to the book's contents, up to about Chapter 7 we have a course in basic Javascript. Topics covered include strings, arrays, functions, objects and using the global object. From about Chapter 8 the emphasis shifts to applied Javascript. Chapter 8 deals with getting Javascript into web pages. Chapter 9 is all about the browser and things like the history object, cookies and so on. Chapter 10 looks at using the DOM. Chapter 11 is on events and how to work with them. Chapter 12 is an overview of working with libraries - jQuery, YUI 3 and MooTools - in not really enough detail. Then we have a slideshow application as a demo of how everything fits together. Then drop down menus, Ajax and animation finish the book off on a practical note.

This is a well written and easy to read introduction to Javascript and its associated technologies. It's well worth having a copy and not just in your pocket. If you want a short introduction to all things Javascript then this is a great place to start.

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Graph Databases in Action (Manning)

Author:  Dave Bechberger and Josh Perryman
Publisher: Manning
Pages: 366
ISBN: 978-1617296376
Print: 1617296376
Audience: Developers interested in graph databases
Rating: 4.5
Reviewer: Kay Ewbank

This book sets out to give developers building applications using graph databases an understanding o [ ... ]



Python Programming with Design Patterns

Author: James W. Cooper
Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Date: February 2022
Pages: 352
ISBN: 978-0137579938
Print: 0137579934
Kindle: B09D2RKQB5
Audience: Python developers
Rating: 1
Reviewer: Mike James
There was a time that design patterns were all the thing. Not so much now. But Python - does it have [ ... ]


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Last Updated ( Monday, 22 November 2010 )