I have version 2 of the book and it is fantastic! Seems each of the experts wrote about his/her field and the result is very in-depth study. The book's coding is still actual though it dealt with IE 4 and 5. What I want is to find version 3 that deals deal the more current IE 6 release - but they probably never published it.

And yes, another WROX. No formal organization, no definte goal, but a whole bunch of high class authors. The result: an excellent book if you're looking for examples of that little twist of class, a dash of luster code.

There are excellent case studies that make this a good addition to your bookshelf and there are valuable hints scattered everywhere: but the total lack of organization and tutorial direction leaves the book like a box full of sharp tools hidden in a dusty attic.

There is no attempt to teach Javascript (perhaps Paul Wilton's excellent Beginner Javascript is intended for that). The section on Good coding Practice is laughable: why does a book entitled *Profesional" Javascript have 2 chapters on programming practices? The Core javascript section is just a bare scratch on the surface of language itself and does not do Javascript any justice. The Jscript.Net seems to have been thrown in as an after thought.

I like WROX for the "from the field" examples for which they are famous: and I found the case studies ( a third of the book) very interesting. However, sorry, Wrox, it's not worth paying that much for just the last chapters. I'll wait till it hits my library or wait for the 3rd edition.

This book is terrible - it's incredibly frustating to use. It's worthless as a reference and I doubt that anyone has ever read it cover to cover (including the army of authors that wrote it). I have over 10 years of experience in software development in a wide variety of languages: C++, VB, Pascal, and others. What I need to know about JavaScript could probably fit in a book half this size. This book is over 1000 pages, it's poorly organized, the index is bad, and it doesn't focus on relevant facts about the language. If I want lots of prose I'll pick up a novel, not a JavaScript book.

Including the discussion on JScript.NET. Excellent coverage on JavaScript, providing practical solutions. A must to have book for every Web developer.

If you are a beginner, think twice about this one. This is for the Pros. This book is seriously packed with improvements and deep explanations that you won't find anywhere else. With tons of pages and code samples to download covering everything you every wanted to know about web scripting with JavaScript. This is a definate keeper in your library!!...

Good book but was disappointed because it did not provide more details and examples of using CGI/Perl with Java Script. Seemed to be promoting the sale of ScriptEase Software.

I thought this book was quite all right. Although it says professional, anyone with high school level of programming knowledge will be able to pick things up quite quickly. It covers all the basics of js then goes onto telling us how to implement it over the web client and server wise and then some. For those who never done it this book will also explain how to build an online store. Authors made a great job at collecting all the necessary information you would otherwise have to collect yourself on the web or other peoples sources. I used it to move from writing my asp in vbscript to jscript, which seems to be a much better alternative and is a joy to work with.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who does any web related stuff where js could be utilized. Its will be also helpful for anyone who will make a jump to another c based language such as php, c# or java.

Why oh why didn't I look at the Wrox book first!!!???

This enormous and insightful tome delivers what it promises - JavaScript in context. It doesn't fluff around with high-level theorizing like so much of the rubbish that I've wasted my money on before. There's a thorough but concise intro to the language structure and concepts and then we're quickly into context.

Buy this first, then look to cover any niche knowledge you may need with the pulp that's also out there.

JM.

If you have no or very little programming experience and are considering this book to learn from the ground up about JavaScript and what it is possible to do with it, I would recommend looking for something else. The first 100 pages describe the basic elements of the language (you know, the operators + - / % & == and the various control loops etc.) without, in my opinion, one worthwhile practical example of how these elements would be used in an actual application.

An analogy that comes to mind would be that if a JavaScript program were a house, and I bought a book to describe what kind of houses I would be able to build, I would expect to see some examples of different kinds of architecture (simple whole programs) and step by step explanations of how those houses were built. This book describes the chemistry of mortar and the compression stresses on and of the bricks, and the characteristics of the various kinds of clay that the bricks where made from, and the different kinds of wood that could be used to frame a house, but I never really saw examples of houses, or of how to put a house together, at least, in a beginner friendly way.

The book is titled Programmer to Programmer. Maybe that is where I went wrong. I have done some programming in C for WinXX, but I am not a professional programmer. I expected something more like Petzold's instruction. Instead I was left wanting.

Numerous authors listed on the cover and you will see why when you read this book. Very fragmented book, several topics are covered twice. Not a very useful reference book. The only thing that saves this book from being having a rating of one were some of the examples (which I used on one of my projects), and I found a couple of chapters had some decent explanations. A better book is "Javascrip, The Definitive Guide by David Flanagan". I found this book to be much more helpful.

I was a die-hard O'Reilly fan, but this book really changed my mind. I find Wrox press books to be even more comprehensive, filled with excellent examples. This book makes no exception.

The book covers all of the basic Javascript functions, plus intermediate/advanced application examples. These examples are not fluff either - they are well coded examples that really give you an idea of how to use advanced javascript functions. Interface programmers bordering on web application development will definitely benefit from this book.

Well written enough to read-through (good luck) and easy to search through the index. Excellent.