Beginning Javascript Development with Dom Scripting and Ajax provides a good smattering of projects and samples of what you can do these days with (yikes) javascript. If you've avoided javascript because it just wasn't worth the pain, come back to it and start with this book.

It will take you through a "just right" primer of javascript. Not to cheesy and simple, not to lengthy or complicated. Then it will take you through the wonderful and wacky ways javascript can be used these days.
It progresses through DOM scripting, browsers and windows and forms (oh my!), ajax and some third party javascript libraries - and does these by using small pojects and examples that you can use. **That's right it's real code for real projects - not just a relisting of someone elses javascript documentation.

You may not read or use all of the chapters right away. But it is a great reference to dive back into when an idea strikes you and you need a reliable starting point.

I have been going through a lot of javascript books to find that all of them want to teach you the trivial things javascript can do. Not only are the examples trivial, they teach the reader horrible habits. This book doesn't have any "Hello World" examples. It gets into what javascript SHOULD be used for, and how to use it correctly. Other reviews have said that the examples do not work. Do not let that throw you off. I went through the ENTIRE book and every single example worked for me. There are a few towards the end that require a server or a local host like xampp, but either way they still worked. Another review also complained about the DOMhelp library that Chris creates. Chris explains EVERY method in that library before you use it. The library does not do trivial things like "getLinks" You learn how to do that the regular way with the DOM. I think that reviewer got that method mixed up with DOMhelp.getTarget which gets the correct target that a user clicked on depending on which browser the user is using. That is mostly what Chris developed the library for, browser cross compatibility so you don't have to write extensive code. Simply put, some of the other reviews were not very well thought out. If you want to learn useful javascript the right way with plenty of examples to help you learn it, then this is the book for you.

Just be aware of what you're getting into when you buy this book. It is *for beginners*, not for experienced developers. It spends the first 90 pages covering for- and while-loops, if-tests, and the rest of the machinery that you already know if you're an experienced programmer. It is the fate of most computer books, I'm afraid, that they either address rank beginners or professional software developers, with few addressing those in the middle.

After every chapter, I had to take a second to recapitulate what I had just learned into the terminology that I'm aware of from my experience with other languages. One large section, for instance, is devoted to namespace-collision issues -- but the word "namespare" appears nowhere in the index. If you need a book that will jumpstart to "Here's how you solve the namespace-collision problem in JavaScript," this book is not for you.

I had lots of specific questions, having just come to JavaScript. How do I set up a callback *chain*, for instance, on something like the window.onload event? This book is not at that level. It will be unable to answer that question for you. It spends so much time on beginners that it doesn't have enough time to help with best practices or common, cookbook-type programming problems.

And yet it does seem confused about exactly who its audience is. Right after a chapter on basic flow control, Heilmann tosses off "XSLT" as though he expects his readers to know what that is. I submit that those who needed the first chapter will not need the XSLT bit, and conversely.

So just be aware what you're getting into. I'm actually not blaming Heilmann, though I do blame whoever gave the book its title; it's much more about novices than professionals. If you look on the back of this book, you'll see the flow chart that Apress recommends: start with Heilmann's book, and progress into "Pro JavaScript Techniques" and "Pro CSS Techniques." "Pro Javascript" will be my next step.

He makes me cringe because he describes a lot of practices that are just really cheesy and annoying. People new to programming who start with this book are not going to advance the state of javascript enabled websites. Also, the examples are overly long. There's a 4 page example for each concept.

I liked this book - it has many real applications and explanations. I found myself slipping in markers on lots of pages so that I could come back for information that I knew I needed or showed a better way to code something that I had already done.

I liked this book - it has many real applications and explanations. I found myself slipping in markers on lots of pages so that I could come back for information that I knew I needed or showed a better way to code something that I had already done.

Don't let the all-inclusive title of this book fool you - it really doesn't seem to teach that much more than what you could learn by reading DOM Scripting (from Friends of ED). DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model

I keep running into a custom object in the code examples of the book called "DOMhelp". While I like the author's ideas about scripting in a more object oriented way, this does not help at all when trying to demonstrate DOM Scripting. For example, instead of using the actual DOM methods to get all the links on the page and loop through them, he shows you a line of code that just says "DOMhelp.getlinks". Yes, that line does the same thing by accessing his object and running the regular DOM functions, but what does it teach me? Nothing. That alone is a big enough annoyance to regret buying this book.

This book also pulls the "we'll explain that part later" trick one too many times. It's not that this book is completely awful, it's really that you can find a much better book to teach you more useful (and universal) things with DOM Scripting.

Don't let the all-inclusive title of this book fool you - it really doesn't seem to teach that much more than what you could learn by reading DOM Scripting (from Friends of ED). DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model

I keep running into a custom object in the code examples of the book called "DOMhelp". While I like the author's ideas about scripting in a more object oriented way, this does not help at all when trying to demonstrate DOM Scripting. For example, instead of using the actual DOM methods to get all the links on the page and loop through them, he shows you a line of code that just says "DOMhelp.getlinks". Yes, that line does the same thing by accessing his object and running the regular DOM functions, but what does it teach me? Nothing. That alone is a big enough annoyance to regret buying this book.

This book also pulls the "we'll explain that part later" trick one too many times. It's not that this book is completely awful, it's really that you can find a much better book to teach you more useful (and universal) things with DOM Scripting.

I bought this book because I am a web designer, but I'm terrible with Javascript, so I intended to try to figure it out a little bit with this book. It seems promising, as it goes from the ground all the way up to Ajax, but it uses the annoying practice of code snippets interspersed throughout the text, which can get kind of confusing.

I'm also not positive all of the examples work, although that could be my own error. It's definitely not a bad book, but it is probably slightly over the heads of individuals such as I.

I've had very positive experiences with Apress in the past, but I was really disappointed with this book....and it sounds like some of the other reviewers share my frustrations.

The example programs are sloppy and have errors (yes, the versions posted online work, but it's a massive pain in the a$$ to stare at the book for twenty minutes only to realize that there's an error in line x and line y doesn't even need to be there...and it's a bit unfair to expect the reader to know when to stop staring at the book and check the online version to see if it looks any different). Additionally, the author frequently dumps large amounts of code on the reader and instructs them to ignore parts (or to "ignore everything except for"). It happends over and over, and it gets annoying.

Also, from the beginning of the book, there is a heavy emphasis on web accessibility standards. Ensuring that your site can be accessed by visually impaired or otherwise disabled users is fine and great, but the examples get bloated because of it and, imho, it really gets in the way of learning the basic concepts.

If you want to learn Javascript and DOM, I'd recommend that you go to the Mozilla online docs for Javascript and DOM. The documentation and examples there are first rate. If, after learning Javascript and DOM, you want some recipes that *might* be helpful in ensuring compliance with accessibility standards, this book may be for you.

This book gives all kinds of javascript examples, right from page 2 and half of them don't even work. The author introduces new concepts and terms without a single explaination and then expects you to use them later on in the book. There are lots of references to "you'll learn more about that later"- we want to know what it means now or we'll never get to later! The book is disorganized, shows impractical examples, and the code that DOES work would be just as easily done in html.

This book gives all kinds of javascript examples, right from page 2 and half of them don't even work. The author introduces new concepts and terms without a single explaination and then expects you to use them later on in the book. There are lots of references to "you'll learn more about that later"- we want to know what it means now or we'll never get to later! The book is disorganized, shows impractical examples, and the code that DOES work would be just as easily done in html.

Up until now, most JavaScript books I have seen have not really described how to be a good JavaScript programmer - most of them have lead by example (which is how many JavaScript programmers I know learnt JavaScript). Unfortunately learning JavaScript by simply viewing other people's code without understanding why it was written the way it was could also lead to learning by bad example.

Christian Heilmann's "Beginning JavaScript with DOM Scripting and Ajax" is different - it teaches the reader the concepts that will help them to become a good JavaScript programmer. Perhaps more importantly, it teaches how to use JavaScript, CSS, DOM, and Ajax in a degradable manner, so that all visitors to your web site will be able to access it. Christian explains not only the guidelines for developing good code, but the reasons why it is important.

Christian's passion for creating maintainable, standards compliant, usable websites is clearly visible in his writing. Throughout the book he reiterates key issues that good programmers should know, and demonstrates them in his code.

This is an excellent book on JavaScript, and one that I will thoroughly recommend to anybody new to JavaScript programming. I also recommend it to anyone who plans to make their website more accessible to a wider audience (and who doesn't want that?).

What a pleasant surprise, amongst a development landscape full of JavaScript libraries to actually find: Beginning JavaScript with DOM Scripting and Ajax by Christian Heilmann. To state it boldly, this is the JavaScript book we have all been waiting for (though, John Resig and Jonathan Snook both have books coming). Why? Because the author actually uses modern object oriented (Object Literal) coding principles in the books examples. As well, the book has a progressive enhancement mindset, and explains the difference between several implementations of the same functionality, based on accessibility. All of this is done without the use of a JavaScript library! However, in a way the author provides his own little library of helper functions, which is certainly more digestible than Prototype, Dojo, YUI or jQuery. The author even dedicates the last chapter to third-party examples, which demonstrates the usage of the YUI and jQuery JavaScript libraries.

Anyone trying to bridge the gap between CSS, HTML and JavaScript will not be disappointed with this read. It should be stated however, that the term "Beginning" in the title of this book is a little misleading. I would not recommend this book to a beginner. It's a fast-paced book, spending most of the time in the trenches of JavaScript implementation (code examples). If you are a beginner, build a foundational understanding of the language before you take on this book. If you're looking for a great book to compliment this one, I would recommend the SitePoint book DHTML Utopia.

JavaScript has had an up-and-down reputation as a developer's tool with promising and creative concepts followed by problems with browser problems and cross-platform variations and a whole host of other problems. But that situation has changed to a great extent due to better browser support, better standards, and more consistent performance across browsers. Combine that with the recent fascination with creative uses of the Ajax techniques and it seems that everyone is getting onto the bandwagon.

In this book the author teaches the basics of the JavaScript platform and how to use it to create a dynamic and user-friendly website. This is one of the best books available to learn JavaScript from scratch. The presentation moves gracefully from the very basics through detailed descriptions and workable code examples to a complete understanding of how to write productive code. Christian Heilmann's writing style is unusually clear and makes concepts easy to grasp. Some of the areas covered include working with images, roll-over effects, site navigation, using forms, data validation techniques, and debugging JavaScript. Beginning JavaScript with DOM Scripting and Ajax is highly recommended as one of the best introductions to JavaScript available on the market today.

This JavaScript tutorial is a bit different than most I've had the opportunity to review over the years... Beginning JavaScript with DOM Scripting and Ajax: From Novice to Professional by Christian Heilmann. It will probably play well to the serious developers who want to come at JavaScript from an object-oriented background...

Contents: Getting Started with JavaScript; Data and Decisions; From DHTML to DOM Scripting; HTML and JavaScript; Presentation and Behavior (CSS and Event Handling); Common Uses of JavaScript: Images and Windows; JavaScript and User Interaction: Navigation and Forms; Back-End Interaction with Ajax; Data Validation Techniques; Modern JavaScript Case Study: A Dynamic Gallery; Using Third-Party JavaScript; Debugging JavaScript; Index

Most JavaScript books that try and teach the language usually do the "Hello World" approach, have you put a date on the web page, etc. All OK stuff, but pretty common fare. Heilmann seems to treat JavaScript as a legitimate coding language, with plenty of power and features to allow you to code solutions based on current accepted techniques. For instance, he dives into DOM manipulation pretty early, so you end up seeing quite a bit of material using document.getElementsBy statements. In most JavaScript books, that's either relegated to the later chapters, or skipped altogether. Breaking up the learning by presentation and behavior also helps those who are more in tune with MVC-style design. JavaScript *can* be built in such a way that it's maintainable and segmented, and Heilmann does a very nice job in teaching that style. I also really liked the chapter on debugging, as that's one of those things that I find extremely frustrating about JavaScript. He presents some great options that top my normal "scan the code and see if anything looks wrong" method of finding JavaScript errors...

My only "quibble" with the book is that I don't think I'd recommend it for the pure novice. Perhaps a novice JavaScript developer with solid development skills in other areas... I think a pure novice to coding in general AND JavaScript in particular would quickly get lost here...

Definitely a good read if you have the basics down, and it will likely improve your JavaScript skills and coding techniques...

I am a novice with the use of JavaScript in settings outside of Adobe Acrobat. I thought this book would be perfect to help me translate my knowledge from Adobe Acrobat JavaScript to using JavaScript in website development, as well as help me to have a beginning level of understanding of JavaScript so that learning ASP might be easier. I was wrong.

This book is very disorganized. While giving many examples, it introduces new elements in the JavaScript without any explanation as to what they are or what they do. I found many of the new elements were eventually discussed in future chapters, but what good is that? Understanding the foundation is important to building one's knowledge in a subject and this book seems to ignore such a fact.

Also, explanations given are quite technical and hardly deep enough to actually understand the code. Unfortunately, the author also bad grammar (is that the norm for computer programmers?). Not good for the novice.

Many examples are given, but we see the results of very few of the examples. Most examples end with variations of, "The new property did X, and the other properties did Y." Few examples go into a little more detail as to X, while most do not go into any details as Y. In other words, when one element/property/object is introduced and two are used in the script, only the one element/property/object introduced is explained.

The term "primitive" was never explained. The "Date" object examples used many new script items and the explanations were vague, inadequate and useless.

The script example using the random number generator to mimic the rolling of a die (page 38) implies that multiplying 5*0 will never result in 0, but multiplying 6*0 will result in the occasional 0. A little later, the author includes adding 1 to the 5*random number, but this example shows the lack of order with explanations and examples which is endemic to this book.

I am unsure if I will get another book on JavaScript because this book shows me nothing that JavaScript can do which other more accepted technologies cannot do with more programming ease, greater functionality or greater assurance that the result will appear in browsers the way which was intended.

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This book is for advanced beginners and professional developers. Simon Willison in his forward to the book says "There has never been a more exciting time to learn JavaScript." I agree completely and would add "re-learning" JavaScript as well for those of us no longer beginners. Several good books published the past year or so (see my other reviews for the best ones) show the clean and sharp turn JavaScript implementation has taken.

This book stands out in many ways. I think its particular strengths reflect Christian Heilmann's active participation in Web forums focused on key Web development technology issues. For instance, this book has the deepest and most extensive treatment of scripting best practices related to Cascading Styles Sheets I have seen in any recent scripting book. This is a reflection of the author's ongoing and strong contributions in CSS-Discuss, the deservedly popular discussion list founded by Eric Meyer.

In fact, the whole book is well-integrated on several levels. Heilmann always follows his points on the DOM, best practices, unobtrusive script, progressive enhancement, object detection, accessibility, browser bugs, etc, with excellent links to further information for the serious student. I was also very impressed with the quality of the downloadable code and how well it was organized. When the author directs you to a certain file, the file is there and with the proper name. For some reason lots of code books fail in this. This one does not. Thank you! The book's Web site continues the excellent integration. It has the code download and lots of subsidiary links.

There is one convenience for the beginners: Most script books force you to know the official name of a special symbol in order to look it up. This book has the JavaScript special characters at the front of the index.

The language in the book is always clear and I found almost no jarring typos or errors. On p. 67 it is stated that IE support to getElementById() began with version 5.5. The support has been there since IE5 in Windows. On p. 108 the author correctly says that setAttribute() takes two parameters -- then promptly gives two examples with one parameter and illegal syntax! Those examples would not work even in decrepit IE. Thankfully, the author only slipped in the text. His working code is just fine.

The author avoided extensive treatment of those "cool" effects like animation and drag/drop that tend to give client-side scripting a bad name. He stuck to the things that mean the most to those of us who make Web sites and browser-based applications to earn a living. The book is full of ways to make our code lighter, more reusable and easier to maintain. There is real value here.
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