Review

Aimed at the HTML designer with or without previous programming experience, the JavaScript Bible, 4th Edition brings a popular text up to date with a full tour of using JavaScript with all of today's Web browsers. Smart, very approachable and filled with many useful tips, this book can put JavaScript development into the reach of just about anyone.

After presenting a solid tour of basic programming in JavaScript, the book centres in on the real issues of developing JavaScript applications for real browsers. This means truly comprehensive coverage of the document object model (DOM), HTML, window and frame objects, forms and style sheets that are available today. In about 1,000 pages (and almost 30 chapters), you learn what's available in today's JavaScript standard with a reference listing every object, API and property, plus tips on how to use each feature. All this material makes this text an extremely worthwhile desktop reference for everyday JavaScript development. Particularly useful; support for every feature is clearly documented across the full range of today's browsers from Netscape Navigator 2,3,4 and 6 to Internet Explorer 3 through version 5.5.

Later chapters move toward the JavaScript language itself, with material on strings, maths functions and dates. The author discusses techniques for adapting JavaScript to particular browsers as well as providing cross-browser support where appropriate. Short exercises end each chapter and the book presents sample solutions in an appendix. Additional CD-ROM chapters move beyond the whopping 1,200 pages of printed material.

In all, the author's patient, clear writing style and real-world advice for creating great-looking Web pages with JavaScript make this title a winner. Readers of previous editions of the JavaScript Bible will appreciate the updated focus on current browsers. For anyone who wants to learn JavaScript for the first time, this edition is arguably an unbeatable choice. --Richard Dragan

Synopsis

Greatly enhanced and updated from the third edition, this is the title any JavaScripter cannot afford to be without! JavaScript Bible, 4th Edition covers the new powerful functionality JavaScript will gain with the release of new revs of Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator. This book features essential new JS information, additional ready-to-use JavaScript applications, and scores of additional JavaScripts and Web page routines. As with the last edition, this book will bring non-technical professionals, including casual programmers and scripters, painlessly up to speed on all aspects of mastering JavaScript, including programming fundamentals, JavaScript language elements, and how to use them effectively, and how to easily and efficiently add powerful new functionality to HTML documents and Java applets.

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