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Editorial description(s): Product Description JavaScript has evolved quite a bit since its earliest days, from a relatively basic scripting language to a full-blown programming language in its own right. You can use JavaScript to create even more breathtakingly cool Web sites than ever before. You've probably seen Web sites with the following features:
All of these features (and much more) can be created with JavaScript. The thing is, JavaScript isn't easy to use. The JavaScript language itself has become more complex than its earlier incarnations – but that's where his new, improved, better-tasting edition of JavaScript For Dummies comes in! Even if you're not a crackerjack programmer, you can use the techniques and sample scripts in this book to create interactive, "intelligent" Web pages bursting with animated effects. JavaScript For Dummies, 3rd Edition, gives you all you need to know to get started with JavaScript, plus some really cool JavaScript tricks, all explained from the point of view of the first-time JavaScript programmer. Here are just a few of the topics you'll find covered:
JavaScript For Dummies, 3rd Edition, also includes a CD-ROM with trial versions of popular Web creations tools, such as HomeSite, Dreamweaver, NetObjects ScriptBuilder, and SurfMap JavaScript. So if you've worked with HTML before but want to add more flexibility and punch to your pages, or even if you've never written a stick of code in your life but are eager to hop on the JavaScript bandwagon, JavaScript For Dummies, 3rd Edition, is the book for you. Reader description(s): (There are 77 reader reviews—please be patient while they load.)  Javascript Professionals learn by doing, not reading! (51/52 votes)I, as well was not too impressed with the book. Fortunately, I know some Java so that JS was not too difficult. But, if you are a total novice and know nothing about object-oriented or object-based programming, then you are going to be totally lost. I think that the author dives into functions and object methods way too early. There are some useful scripts in the book, especially for client-side form validation. But, if you are not familiar with Javascript you're going to be lost. My suggestion to the author is that she also have exercises to test the reader's knowledge - you can only learn this stuff by doing. If any novice is reading this review, my suggestion would be to first visit Joe Burns' javagoodies (http://www.javagoodies.com)site and go through the 30 javascript primers that are there. The best thing about them is that they're free! Also, if Joe's new book on Javascript (Javascript Goodies) is anything like his web tutorials or his HTML Goodies book, then I would save your money and wait for that one to come out.  OK, it's not me after all...it's the book that sucks (30/30 votes)I tried to get through this book several times and kept giving up. I couldn't figure out why I was having such a hard time with learning JavaScript. I've learned other languages on my own. Therefore, why was it so hard to get a handle on the concepts of Javascript? I mean, this book is supposed to be for dummies like me, right? However, after my latest attempt to read this book and after reading some of the reviews on this site, I realize it's not me, it's the book. First off, the author fails to provide a context for JavaScript. She just launches into coding. There's no answer to the question "why?" A better approach would be to show a sample web page that uses JavaScript and then explain how the JavaScript accomplishes the end result. Then, explain the advantages of JavaScript over other possible solutions. Also, the author tries much to hard to make cutesy little jokes and puns and they get really annoying really fast. I don't think it's much of an exaggeration to say that she tries to make a joke in every other paragraph. I believe another review on this site recommends Thau's "Book of JavaScript." And, I agree with that recommendation. His book is just about everything this one isn't. It provides sample and context for the explanation of JavaScript. There is a light-hearted tone to the writing, which makes the reading of a technical topic easier. But, he doesn't go overboard with the cutesy puns and quips. So, if you want a beginner's guide to JavaScript, avoid this book. Try "Book of JavaScript" by Thau instead. Don't be a dummy. Don't buy this book! (22/22 votes)Ok. I may not be a techno geek, but I am not an idiot either. After reading this book, I was still in the "fog" about JavaScript. This is not a book for beginners of JavaScript, as the author does not teach the subject well. It was recommended to me that I look at: The Book of JavaScript by David Thau Guess what. It is a great book. The examples make sense. The reasons why things happen are explained in a way that a non programmer can understand! The entire book is like taking a class with an excellent teacher. The chapters are like assignments. In four chapters, I already know more than I did after finishing the "Dummies" book. If you want to have a book that you can just cut and paste code with a vague idea how it works, then Dummies book may work for you. However, if you want to have understanding of what you are doing, purchase: The Book of JavaScript by David Thau! Amazon.com won't mind. They sell both A big disappointment (14/14 votes)I bought this book with a basic knowledge of HTML but very little knowledge of Javascript. Being a fan of other "Dummies" books, I thought this would be a great place to start learning Javascript. Do I feel ripped off! In the Introduction, the author states the book is for those with little or no knowledge of Javascript, which I don't think at all to be the case. She claims to use "real-world examples", most of which I find to be fairly abstract and very poorly explained. She also claims that all the sample codes are contained on the CD-ROM, which is a flat out lie, the applications are similar but the coding is very different from the book, which combined with the author's hard-to-follow explanations leaves the reader very confused and frustrated. On top of all that there are several typos, one of which refering to Microsoft Windows as a word processing program, and poorly written HTML, missing several tags. The author definately knows Javascript, but how good she is as an author is questionable.  5 stars, but minus 1 for being misleading (12/12 votes)This book is a fantastic book, IF YOU ARE AN EXPERIENCED PROGRAMMER. Don't be mislead by the "For Dummies" title. This book is packed with some serious heavy programming concepts. I'm a Computer Science student at Rowan University and have a background in C, C++, and Java, so diving into this book was like a breath of fresh air. However, I encourage others that aren't experienced with programming to look elsewhere and come back to this book later. The book offers rather a free way of learning the code. I basically picked through and took what I wanted, since learning the syntax was not a very steep curve. Most of the examples are useful for examples only, but I felt they were a great reference. The book doesn't slow down, and it gets to the point fast. It's code, page after page of it, and it's great! The more I picked up on the language the more ideas came up with to create. I have a lot of coding to do! Again, for those of you who aren't experienced with much programming, I suggest picking up a more basic book on the subject. Also if it helps, the JavaScript language is extremely similar to C and C++. It might be a good idea to try and learn that too, and kill 3 birds with one stone. The concepts are the same: objects, functions, passing parameters, Top Down Design, OOP, etc.... even the syntax is almost identical. Hope I helped. Best of luck to everyone. ___James 5 stars, but minus 1 for being misleading  Not a bad reference; not the best book to learn from (12/12 votes)Once upon a time the "For Dummies" series stood alone as the only name brand instructional company in the world. However, like most great ideas, variations of the same concept were adopted. In the case of internet lingo, O'Reilly's and The Complete Idiot's guides were created. I have read both the O'Reilly and the For Dummies book, and after completing both of them (I am an advanced J-Script user), I found the O'Reilly book, although not geared specifically towards beginners, as the more instructional book. It gives typical O'Reilly plans and lessons that will guide you to being an earnest Java Script writer. The main problem with the For Dummies book is its lack of direction for the overall web constructor. The author advertises Java Script as the ideal programming language, and in doing so has written chapters on how to do things in this language which I, and many other professional web designers feel should not be done. Therefore, keep yourself away from this book until you have read a truly introductory book, as well as a book like O'Reillys... after that you should DEFINETLY buy this book as a reference because of the vast amount of intermeddiate knowledge it has. Not all bad. (10/10 votes)I agree with the folks who say this isn't really a bad book, but it is misleadingly titled. If you have experience with object oriented programming languages like Visual Basic you will be able to learn some things about javascript with it. If not, you will be lost. Very little time is spent on the basics, and what there is isn't very good. An example: at the start of the chapter introducing objects, the author begins with a somewhat complicated example(for a beginner) involving "this" referances without explaining how "this" works, several objects that are contained within other objects, and two functions. The code used to illustrate these ideas consists of a few brief lines, without much context or explanation. Further confusing things is the author's habit of refering to everything as an object, from functions to properties, and this after an analogy comparing an object to a noun. Very confusing. You just have all these terms and concepts dumped on you at once, and all of it barely explained in a few brief pages. A more experienced programmer will be able to sort through it all and figure out what is happening. Anyone else will be absolutely lost. Decent reference, but definitely not for "dummies" (9/9 votes)My general rule of the thumb is to avoid books that blatantly insult my intelligence in the title. However, I decided to give "JavaScript for Dummies" a try. The thought of teaching an object oriented programming language to a "dummie" is laughable. However, JS for Dum-Dums certainly tries, but Ms.Vander Veer needs some help in the "dummies" part. Much of what the book is based on assumes that you understand programming terms (parsing, methods, global variables, the purpose of curly braces } ).The book itself starts off good, but it just doesn't pull through. It introduces everything you'll need to write good *SIMPLE* JavaScripts. There's nothing really to say that hasn't been said in previous reviews. Despite what you may have heard, you need more than just HTML under your belt to get the full benefit from this book. Repeat, knowing HTML is not enough. Many "advanced topics" are left out in the cold, such as JavaScript's excellent implementation of regular expressions, arrays and zIndexing for dynamic effects. The explanation of Netscape and IE DOMs are shoddy at best, and the object-method reference in the back of the book needs to go back in the oven for a few more minutes. Throughout the book, you'll learn a handful of principles and see them applied through "real life" scripts. Often these examples are cute "look-what-I-can-do" scripts circa 1996. This, of course, is utterly useless. No one wants to know how to construct a poem generator in JS, save for maybe the weekend hobbyist. Ms.Vander-Veer's style of "nevermind if you don't understand / the example will reveal all" is cumbersome. Often, the example scripts are archane and overcomplicated. This will only further frustrate the newbie. Ms.Vander-Veer's literary atrocity is the case of a weekend hobbyist gone bad. Whoever told her to write a book on something she obviously has little experience in should be shot. While she explains that this is not a book for hardcore programmers (who should check out O'reilly's "JavaScript : The Definitive Guide") she does say that you will be writing professional-grade scripts by the end of the book. Only covering a handful of the avalaible objects to JScript developers only adds insult to injury. Yet, this book still has some redeeming qualities. If you've got some experience with BASIC or another relatively simple programming language, this book might be of some use as an intro. However, it is supremely insufficient as a stand-alone reference and will have you scrambling to online references frequently. In the end, "JavaScript For Dummies" is a book that chokes on it's own mediocrity, which is glaringly obvious from the hind-side perspective of a semi-seasoned JavaScript programmmer. Missed it (7/7 votes)Not to sound trite, but this book was written by Dummies.... the examples are not true to life, there are too many mistakes and the explaination of JavaScript is too complicated and overblown. I agree (It blows chunks) (7/7 votes)When I first encountered JavaScript as part of a CIW certification course I was intrigued - programming all the nifty things you can do on websites. I had an excellent learning experience with A+ Certification for Dummies (which is all you really need for A+), so I had high hopes of learning Javascript from the same publishers. Doh. This book promises to teach you all the tricks of doing the important interactive things on a contemporary website: form validation, rollovers, frames, etc. What it delivers is page upon page of unintelligible code (for the newbie)interspersed with vague hints about programming ideas. Core concepts and syntax of programming are treated as an afterthought. There are no exercises to work through, even if the concepts were there, so it's very, very difficult to learn anything in depth. In addition, there's very little reference material; this book isn't worth the time. As an alternative, I suggest Pollock's book (on this site somewhere) The topics he covers are not flashy (rollovers don;t get covered until 2/3rds through the book) but it teaches concepts thoroughly using simple illustrative exercises. I'm about half way through this book and it's already helping me learn ActionScript (the OOP language built into Flash 5.0. Highly recommended. JavaScript, NOT FOR DUMMIES (6/7 votes)Uhh, i've been writing javaScript for money for years now. When i saw that my usually intelligent roomate was having trouble learning this easy language, i decided to look into it. I picked up this book, that he had been using and i found his problem immediatley. I looked over the first few chapters, and even i became confused. The beginning (most important) chapters are horribly laid out and poorly explained. The author's attempt at humor is pathetic as well. A DISGRACE TO THE SERIES (5/5 votes)This book falls far below the standard of other Dummies books I have. All those reviewers who say it is badly explained without due thought for beginnners are right. The writer suffers from the disgusting disease of explaining to people who already know what is going on. This is the disease Dummies books claim to cure. Ha!! I wrote to IDG, the publishers of the Dummies books, with details and examples of bad, unclear explanations. A form letter said they would reply later. They never did. I want my money back!! I should have checked Amazon first.... (5/7 votes)I just purchased "JavaScript for Dummies" and immediately became lost after Chapter 2. The author is horrible at teaching this language. Fortunately, I have a friend who is a VBasic programmer and helped me through parts of it. But I give up - I'm going to search for another JavaScript manual. This one is the pits and I am very, very, VERY disappointed that "For Dummies" even published this book! I have a deep urge to slap the tar out of the author. Run, dont walk, as far away from this book as possible! (4/5 votes)I have never publicly criticized someone's writing ever before. However, a book this bad deserves special attention. The harm done to the literary world by publishing this book cannot be fully calculated. Over the past couple of years, I have been slowly upgrading my computer skills. I decided to tackle what should be an easy topic for someone who can program in Basic, Pascal, Fortran, and who writes html and designs Access databases. Not that I'm a rocket scientist, but then again, JavaScript isn't rocket science. Java Script For Dummies is so poorly written, that even when I already knew what the author was TRYING to say, I could not understand what she actually was saying. The first examples of code do not tell you anything about how come you need to do certain things in certain places, of how the syntax functions and so on. And when the book does get into basics, they aren't basic. The first examples are difficult to follow along unless you already know Java Script, which of course, if you did already know Java Script, you wouldn't be reading a dummies book about Java Script, now would you..!? Far to much ink is used wining about the differences between IE and Navigator than is needed, and only serves to put the reader off, scaring them at the prospective nightmare which looms ahead in the tangled world of a Java Script war which will only lay waste to those foolish enough to try. I only read half the book before sending it back. If they give me a refund, wonderful. If not, who cares. At least it isn't on my bookshelf wasting space. Go to the movie, toss your money to a stranger on the bus, do anything you like, but please don't buy this book! Good Question and Answer Book , Bad If your just starting (4/7 votes)I got JavaScript for Dummies and I didn't learn a thing. If you need a ref. book for JavaScript it might be a good idea to get , but if your just starting to learn try something else. There are definitely better books out there. (3/3 votes)I've been learning and using JavaScript for quite some time, and of all of the books I've used, this one has by far been the worst. The examples that the author uses are not very helpful, and often concepts are poorly explained. A lot of the code you will need to write will require you to creatively use the skills you've acquired to solve a problem; this book, however, likely won't equip you with the tools you need to be able to do this. If you're looking for a good place to start, I'd start with JavaScript: The Definitive Guide by David Flanagan. It does have flaws of its own, but it is a good place to start. Helpful, but not excellent (3/3 votes)When I bought this book, I had only a smattering of JavaScript awareness. I purchased it primarily so that I could understand what the JavaScript I saw in Web page sources was doing; for that purpose, this book was quite adequate. Even though the ...for Dummies books aren't intended to be read serially from front to back, I found doing so a big help in getting the most I could out of this book. Since I got out of it what I wanted, my main complaint is the description and use of non-standard HTML elements (such as the 'layer' tag) without noting their non-standardness, and failing to tag documents using advanced (i.e., HTML 4) features with the appropriate DOCTYPE tag. This can lead to documents that don't comply with the HTML specifications. Complete Waste of Money (3/3 votes)I've been using JavaScript for a couple of years and bought this book only because the summary led me to believe it covers Netscape 6 browsers. I'm trying to get some of my JavaScript and DHTML features to work in Netscape 6 and this is the only JavaScript book that is currently out that even mentioned Netscape 6. Well the coverage of Netscape 6 is minimal and many of the examples don't even work with Netscape 6. All the examples use SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript" which is deprecated in favor of SCRIPT type="text/javascript"! The author clearly just rushed this book out using scripts from the older edition without even testing them on Netscape 6. I definitely would not recommend this book to anyone for this reason. It is a complete waste of money for both beginners and experienced users. Not a good book (3/4 votes)I bought the book but I found the flow of the material difficult to follow. I didn't feel that the concepts were well explained or that the examples were very helpful. Since I've programmed in several other languages, I was able to get things working in spite of the book's drawbacks. I wouldn't want to be a novice working from this book. For anyone, I'd recommend looking for a different beginner book. Should be "JavaScript BY Dummies" (2/2 votes)I just bought the 3rd edition of this book, copyrighted in 2000. I wish I'd shopped here and read the reviews first. It's painfully obvious that neither the author of the folks at IDG are reading customer reviews, because they repeated all of the mistakes in this version that people here have been complaining about for two years. In the opening pages the author keeps claiming she doesn't assume you know anything about JavaScript or HTML, yet she starts the book off by listing JavaScript and HTML code that can't possibly mean anything to you unless you already know something about the languages, and she refers to those code listings as thought they are self-explaining. She introduces abstract concepts in the very early stages, then refers you to the Appendixes for explanations, which in many cases don't exist! All said, a waste of money and time. How does Vanderveer communicate with her readers? (2/2 votes)I am an M.D. physician (lots of time spent with professors who can't communicate). I have built a very nice website after reading the excellent HTML book from the "Idiot" series by Paul Mc Fedries. Sadly, this "Dummies" book by Vanderveer does a poor job of communicating the theory and technique of Javascript. I was drawn to the book, because the "Dummies" series seemed to be geared to real neophytes. After having gotten as far as Chapter 5 and understanding bits and pieces of the concepts, I have to give up. I don't miss the money spent on the book. The time wasted on the book, I can never buy back. I wish I had read the reviews on this website before I purchased the book. Now, onward, to find a good Javascript manual. Good basics (2/2 votes)I think this book does a good job of explaining the basics of JavaScript for anyone who needs to get started using it. As the "tag, you're it!" webmaster of a small company with no prior programming experience I was able to figure out how to do mouse-overs and message alerts using the examples given in this book. I also thought that the author's explanation of HTML was complete enough to give a novice an idea of how web pages work. My only complaint is that the book is now a few years old, and I'm wondering when and if they are going to publish an updated edition. Dis Ain't de Book (2/3 votes)This is not a book for beginners, or even experienced programmers. You'll hate it. I don't know why computer authors can't write a book for the real world and give real world examples. Defending this book (2/3 votes)I recently purchased this book before having read any on-line reviews. After getting through the first 47 pages I believe it to be a great book and don't understand all the negative criticism. I have only been around javascript about three months now and have been using two other books (one of which is a totally useless visual quickstart book that is only good if you wish to copy the code and not learn a darned thing!!!)and believe this book is easy to digest. Any javascipt book takes some time to absorb (however, still avoid the quickstart book!!!) Take it slow and read carefully and do the exercises. Good luck. I must be a total idiot (2/3 votes)I'm a novice and I admit that if this is "JavaScript for Dummies" than I'm a bloomin' idiot!! If you are confident in your HTML skills, then you'll feel like you don't know anything after 5 chapters of this book. I kept waiting for the book to give "assignments" instead of high-level examples I'm not quite ready to decipher, yet. I'm returning this confidence-shatterer for David Flannagan's "JavaScript: The Definitive Guide", as it received good reviews. Waste of money (2/3 votes)This is one of the worst Javascript books in my office. I threw it away to free up more space in our bookshelf. The author seems more concerned with throwing in allusions to Christianity than with actually giving any helpful information about Javascript. Don't waste your money Felt like a dummie for buying it! (2/3 votes)Man! Any of you JavaScript newbies out there beware! This book totally lacks cohesion, doesn't relate any of the so-called 'scripts' to the real world and is annoying in its 'humorous' approach. In a word, JavaScript For Dummies blows! Avoid this wasteland at all costs. Its tough enough learning JavaScript - this books only adds to the confusion.  The Source of My Programming Knowledge (2/4 votes)This book is not only what taught me JavaScript, but computer programming as well. I continue to refer to this book today, years after I first read it. It has an amazing compilation of information, really simple to understand as are all dummies books that I've read. Do NOT buy this book. (1/1 votes)I am starting to teach myself web design, and picked this book up from the library along with some other books on html and CSS to get myself started. Unfortunately, this JavaScript for Dummies book happens to be one the worst-ever teach-it-yourself textbooks I've ever read. By the third chapter the author dives into creating your own JavaScript functions with almost no background information about what any of the terms she's using mean: function, variable, etc. In one line she'll define these terms without explaining why you'd ever use them or how to use them in the code. There are no systematic explanations anywhere -- she jumps from complex topic to complex topic in pages without providing any context or real information you could actually use to write code for your own webpages. The worst part is that most of her technical explanations are in joke form, and try to be funny rather than informative. Unfortunately, it's anything but funny when you're getting more and more confused and the examples in the book contain terms you've never seen and aren't explained anywhere. (Some of the examples on the CD are even missing.) Ideally as you read through a computer language book you should be able to reproduce the examples and understand them before you move on. I taught myself basic C++, but i could hardly make heads or tails of any of the examples in the book even though it seems that there are some similarities between JavaScript and C++. Her examples are impossible to reproduce as all of them contain terms and coding you've never seen before. They are so complicated as to be pointless to learn from. And going back and looking over her explanations doesn't help because they don't contain any substantial content. So you have no way to gauge what you're learning, and at this moment I'm assuming I haven't learned anything that can help me write my own JavaScript code. I'm at the end of chapter four and the end of my rope with this book. Not very good (1/1 votes)This book doesn't teach you, it just tells you. I bought this book thinking I would learn something. All I learned was some of things Javascript can do. Also, another negative note, she adds a lot of unnecessary (unappreciated; for that matter) blah! Not recommended. JavaScript BY Dummies: Terrible Reference / Worst Guide (1/1 votes)This is clearly the worst reference book I've ever purchased. I should've done something more productive with the money I spent, like light a small fire. The book is written backwards the examples of Javascript are incomplete and confusing. A load of rubbish that is impossible to follow (1/1 votes)I bought this book thinking that it would explain the ins and outs of javascript in easy to follow language for beginners. I was disappointed on all counts. The "explanations" are impossible to follow and the examples used have no practical application that I can see. Even the style it is written in is annoying. A total waste of ink and paper. very good stuff! (1/1 votes)I just got an advance copy of this book, and I have to say that I think it's very, very good. The examples used in the book are simple to code and easy to understand, and the chapter topics are things that you can actually use - identifying a repeat visitor to a web site, image swapping for a simple animation or slide show, creating an order form that validates user data, and the popular mouseovers for nav bars and other images. What's more, all the code examples are on the CD, so you can load them and begin using them right away for your own site by swapping the variables. I'd recommend this book to anyone just getting their feet wet with JavaScript, or anyone who has to get things up and running quickly in the real world. not a book for beginners (1/1 votes)I agree with most of the other reviewers who found this book very frustrating. The only ones who found any value already know some Javascript. It was about as interesting as a dictionary. The information might all be there, but I certainly could mot make any sense out of it. This book really did make me feel like a dummy. I wish I had read these reviews before I wish I read this before I purchased the book (1/1 votes)It is painful. I'm an X programmer and wanted to catch up on the newest programming craze, Java. After reading Javascript for dummies I felt like a dummy for buying this junk. No, I felt like a sucker. Not up to the reputation of the collection (1/1 votes)Javascript for dummies, by Emily Van der Veer, is not up to the reputation of clarity, simplicity and usefulness of the books in the "For Dummies" collection. The explanations of the basic concepts of the language (primary datatypes, objects, arrays, functions, properties, methods, etc.) are garbled and confusing. The examples are badly selected, they don't go step by step, they mix trite and complex elements, and do not really explain things. This book will delay by several years, as it did for me, your understanding of Javascript. I finally understood and began to be able to use the language after having read "Javascript, the definitive guide" by David Flanagan. Should be "JavaScript BY Dummies" (1/1 votes)I just bought the 3rd edition of this book, copyrighted in 2000. I wish I'd shopped here and read the reviews first. It's painfully obvious that neither the author of the folks at IDG are reading customer reviews, because they repeated all of the mistakes in this version that people here have been complaining about for two years. In the opening pages the author keeps claiming she doesn't assume you know anything about JavaScript or HTML, yet she starts the book off by listing JavaScript and HTML code that can't possibly mean anything to you unless you already know something about the languages, and she refers to those code listings as thought they are self-explaining. She introduces abstract concepts in the very early stages, then refers you to the Appendixes for explanations, which in many cases don't exist! All said, a waste of money and time. For Dummies...? (1/2 votes)The CD was missing all of the examples from Chapters 1 - 5! The book itself was not too terribly difficult to follow, however, I had taken a class in JavaScript before, so I had some advantage. It gets into the more obtuse aspects too soon and doesn't give users a chance to "play" with the very basics first. Dont get this book...... (1/2 votes)This book needs some....organization.......i learned more about javascript by copying other scripts and changing em a bit and see wat is different....This book would only be used as a reference and its not so great there either.... A most dissapointing book (1/2 votes)I have read many Dummies books and this one is the worst one. It is confusing and lacks complete information. It only shows you how to do stuff that most people will never do. I am usually very good at figuring out stuff, but this book baffles me. I am very dissapointed that this is a "for Dummies" title. I expected much better. Excellent QuickReference .. a Must for JavaScript Programmer (1/4 votes)This is a very good quick reference for readers who have just learned JavaScript and want a reference under their belts. The author does an excellent job in organizing the chapters. Finding subjects and information is easy. The book includes just the right amoutn fo information a quick reference should have. You wanted a scrollbar didn't you? (0/1 votes)About 9 months ago, I decided I wanted to become familiar and maybe even develop a career in web site design. I first purchased a great book on how to design HTML. From that book I learned a lot of things, but when I had mastered the language, I wanted to know more. I searched and searched for a book that would help me learn Javascript in an introductory level. I figured a title like "Javascript for Dummies" would be great for a beginner like me. I was wrong. This book is useless. After the first time I read the book I was confused, so in a second effort I read it again. I was even more confused than the first time. This book gives no useful examples on how to use javascript except for HTML forms and jscript scrollbars. I have found no use or applicibility for the information provided by the author. I now know to stay clear of any "dummy" books. Not for learning (0/0 votes)I bought this book and I found out that this is not for learning. The first 130 pages focus on making JavaScript forms. And rest of it is reference section. Do not buy this book if you will use it as a main book for learning JavaScript, but I recommend this book if you will use it as a companion of another book or two. This book rocks! (0/2 votes)This book is the best JavaScript reference I have ever read! It's easy-to-understand and has given me great opportunities. If you are into advanced web programming, buy this book! This book deserves 0 stars (0/0 votes)I created a website for a friend with Dreamweaver (and a lot of help from searching on Google), enjoyed it and decided to start teaching myself how to design from scratch. I quickly learned HTML and CSS, and attempted to start learning Javascript with this book. After reading the first three chapters, I thought I was may be in over my head in teaching myself. Now, I am no dummy when it comes to technical learning, as I am an engineer and work in a mechanical field, yet I just could not get this book. I came on here to check other reviews and realized that it was not me, but the way the book is written. First and foremost, there are typos and errors that occur not just in text, but also in somee charts that convey wrong information. I think this is unacceptable in a book intended to teach. The author jumps into technical terms and code right away without giving much reason as to why you would use such code. My favorite is when the author gives 4 pages of code, and than promises to explain this 'very easily'. Yeah right. When learning something like this, you will always be writing code that is a little different than the last bit that you wrote. It's not like a history book that you can just memorize. You must learn HOW to use the different objects and methods for what you need to create. The author throws terms at you left and right in hopes of you memorizing them. I am glad I only rented this book from the local library. I will check out other books recommended in previous reviews. NOT RECOMMENDED. Something for the rookies (0/0 votes)This book is intended for javascript beginners. Although basic javascript is examined, javascript1.2 is explained in detail with a complete list of objects together with their properties and methods(very useful). I learned a small trick i have never seen before. if you are on your first steps go for it! Excellent for beginners! (0/2 votes)This book explained some concepts of HTML and JavaScript. Definitely a good book to teach the fundamentals of JavaScript and how it can interact with HTML documents. Joke (0/0 votes)Join the group and become a dummy after wasting money on this book! Waste of money (0/0 votes)This is one of the worst Javascript books in my office. I threw it away to free up more space in our bookshelf. The author seems more concerned with throwing in allusions to Christianity than with actually giving any helpful information about Javascript. Don't waste your money This is a Fairly Good Book for Beginners (0/1 votes)I am just starting on Web Publishing, and this book has helped me a lot. It was really easy to understand, and it had some fairly easy examples that could be understood by the beginner. It also makes a good reference book. Excellent for beginning programmers (0/0 votes)I have read three books on JavaScript. This one is by far the easiest to understand. If you are at least an intermediate programmer using HTML, and a beginner using some kind of object-oriented language (Java or C++) you will find learning JavaScript as taught by Emily Vander Veer very easy. Pretty good (0/0 votes)I have a few books on JavaScript, but if I ever have a question on JavaScript, I turn to this book first. My only complaint is that the book doesn't tell you whether something falls under JavaScript 1.0, 1.1 or 1.2. So you have to test your JavaScript in several different browsers to see which ones it works in. Very helpful starter for learning JavaScript (0/1 votes)JavaScript for Dummies is a very useful book for GETTING STARTED. Although its purpose is to teach you the language, it really doesn't. That is, it doesn't do an outstanding job of it. I felt it focused way too much on form validation and JavaScript dealing with forms. In addition, the author made a few too many personal references. On the other hand, as all Dummies books go, it was fun to read and I did end up walking way with Save your money. Read the Netscape Reference instead. (0/0 votes)What a bunch of hype. If you want to make javasript forms, this book may help. Otherwise, it's a total waste of time. The examples suck. It's illogically constructed and useless to graphic designers already using Dreamweaver or CyberStudio. It reads like the Netscape reference manual. In fact, you'd be better of going there. END This is a terrible book! (0/0 votes)I'm relatively computer literate and enjoy hands-on learning. JS for Dummies is a total failure. I was on page 70 before I realized that I hadn't even been asked to try anything on the computer. The examples are lame and the author does nothing to check for reader understanding, nor does she provide any useful exercises. I'm an educator and I think the author could benefit from some education classes! Now I have a $28 coaster! This book is not for dummies (0/0 votes)I bought this book thinking I would be up and programming by the time finished it. Fat chance. It has refernces to files that are not on the cd. It explains things in bits and does not show complete application use. I had to go on-line to figure out what they were talking about and I am still not sure. The book should have taken a live active website using javascript and explain from the simplest to the most complex. Since I don't understand most of the uses, it is hard to apply the knowledge and it is impossible to do just a few simple things to start. If this book is for dummies then I need the version for the deaf, blind and dumb. Worthless (0/0 votes)Open your wallet, purse, ect. take out $25 and throw it in the street, trash, out window whatever but don't buy this book. This book is terrible, it is poorly organized, example code does not work, and the cd-rom is missing half the items that it lists. It is the last Dummies book I will ever purchase. In fact I'm thinking of starting a support group for stupid people like myself that have purchased books like this. Bad for beginers (0/0 votes)Hi I'm 14 and I live in Ireland I just thought myself HTML and wanted to learn something more challenging. So I thought Javascript "For Dummies" would be great Bad choice! They just put down a load of jargon on the page and expected people to pick it up straight away. They can stop thinking I'm going to buy any more IDG books again This book really came up short. (0/0 votes)Somewhere in the first few pages, the author tips her hand in saying how quickly the book was prepared. Translation: Dummies needed a title on JavaScript so we rushed this thing out the door. It lacks any focus, jumping around from point-to-point without really building a solid foundation for the reader. It finally offers three or four "substantive" chapters on objects, properties, methods, and events, but these are little more than definition lists lifted straight out of the Netscape guide...which is free on-line. Furthermore, the cutesy-wootsey, tounge-in-cheek tone of the narrative is only entertaining when it's used to help deliver real content. In this case it goes beyond annoying to become insulting once you realize you're getting nearly nothing from the text, fighting to try and synthisize some understanding of JavaScript from this piece, which is no more than a first draft and in real need of revision. Shame on you IDG Books. I'll Stick With the Moron's Edition (0/0 votes)I have several complaints about this book. Firstly, the author assumes you don't even know how to turn on a computer. Who would be bothering to learn about JavaScript if they don't even know how to power up a PC? Come on! The author should spend less time detailing the basic boot up process on the PC and how to open your text editor, and more time explaining the way JavaScript works, and how it depends on the browser that the person visiting your website is using to work correctly. Also, a lot of the examples given in this book don't work. (Unfortunately, I've found that is common with JavaScript books.) Also, the book seems to waste a lot of time going on and on about useless nonsense. I know it's a "dummies" book, but this book expects its readers to truly be morons. I'm only thankful I purchased the book at a discount bookstore for only $3.99. Not for the novice! (0/0 votes)I bought this book thinking it was for newbies, not so. I was lost in the middle of chapter 5. I was wondering if anyone felt the same way and looked here. I was right, there are others here who don't think this is a book for beginners. If you have some programming experience, I think this book may be good for you. If not, I wouldn't recommend it. GREAT FOR BEGINNERS!!!! (0/4 votes)I loved it!!! I have been programming with HTML,Perl,C, JAVA, JavaScript, ASP,VB Script and visual basic and I said " Hey, let me pick up one of these JavaScript books!" I already know JavaScript but, I teach it and wanted a simple outline for my course, its great for the one who just start but not for someone who already knows it. Should be "JavaScript BY Dummies" (0/0 votes)I just bought the 3rd edition of this book, copyrighted in 2000. I wish I'd shopped here and read the reviews first. It's painfully obvious that neither the author of the folks at IDG are reading customer reviews, because they repeated all of the mistakes in this version that people here have been complaining about for two years. In the opening pages the author keeps claiming she doesn't assume you know anything about JavaScript or HTML, yet she starts the book off by listing JavaScript and HTML code that can't possibly mean anything to you unless you already know something about the languages, and she refers to those code listings as thought they are self-explaining. She introduces abstract concepts in the very early stages, then refers you to the Appendixes for explanations, which in many cases don't exist! All said, a waste of money and time. Got a bit confusing... (0/3 votes)The book is pretty good for people who want to get an idea of how to use javascript, but it definitely won't make you an expert. Obviously Obsolete (0/0 votes)The intentions of this book are good, and it is reasonably well written (hence two stars instead of one). However, I have two strong objections to the book. First, it is way overdue for a new edition. Much of the book deals with detecting and accomodating differences between Internet Explorer and Netscape. Internet Explorer has changed a great deal in the latest release or two, so some of the IE information is obsolete, and Netscape doesn't even exist anymore. All of the major IE competition (Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and perhaps Opera) is Mozilla based, with significantly different behavior from that documented for Netscape, even though Mozilla is an offshoot of Netscape. Just one example is MARQUEE support, which the book documents as IE only, but which all the Mozilla based browsers support. So, a significant portion of the book is of questionable value. You will spend a lot of time figuring out why something isn't working as expected, or rewriting code to see if mozilla indeed has to bypass code that the examples bypass for non-IE browsers. The author attempts to anticipate changes to some extent by giving links to documentation for updated information on such things as the document models for IE and Netscape, but all of the links I tried were non-existent (including the IE ones). Second, several of the examples will not run as documented, and as they exist on the included CD. Most of these are text errors, though it is possible browser changes might explain some. For example, one sample has an included java applet (JavaClock.class), but the path name is different from the path on the CD, so it would not load the applet until that was corrected, which obviously is a textual error. Also, I had to remove ".class" from the end of the name of the class before it would load. Since I have seen other documentation which included the ".class" extention in the name specification, I don't know if this is a browser change or what. I just know that until I removed the extension from the code, all of the browsers (i tested all listed above except Opera) refused to load the applet. I would strongly suggest to Wiley (the publishers) that they get on the ball with an updated edition. I would suggest potential buyers find a more up-to-date book. Reads like scrap notes slapped together (0/0 votes)This book reads like it was slapped together from a small handful of quick notes. Actually, I would think someone could make better notes than that. The disc does not contain the example codes the book says it does. It's a rather expensive way to waste your time in an attempt to learn something. The explanations are weak and much too brief for a beginner or even someone with programming experience. I thought it would be a fun way to get started before I moved on to more advanced books, but it is incomprehensible and a great frustration to read. Buyer beware, and notice how poorly this book has been rated. A terrible book! (0/0 votes)Do not buy this book, it's too old. It's actually using HTML that's outdated and not recommended anymore. Also, it's full of faults. Even in the very first code snippet there are major faults (even though it's the shortest code snippet available). Also, it's really boring and using too many words to explain the same things over and over again. I can't understand why I bought it, I should've checked the reviews. I won't trust the "for dummies" brand again. Don't try to learn from this book (0/0 votes)While all of the information is in there somewhere, I found this book to be poorly organized and hard to follow. The author repeatedly introduces in-depth concepts without having yet explained the base concepts. Even though I have other programming language experience, I couldn't follow this book. Read this and you'll feel like the title (0/0 votes)I can't believe some of the available reading that professes to assist newcomers. Read this book and by page 40 you will feel just like a dummy. Try Netsacpe Javascript 1.2 for an excellent learning experience. Their DevEdge site is also a wonderful experience for learning. Before buying any book, look here for customer previews. I wish I did. never recieved the book (0/1 votes)I did not received this book, but they after I contacted them, I received a credit for my purcharse. Beginners will struggle, but persistence pays off! (0/0 votes)I am a complete beginner when it comes to programming. I found the flippant style half amusing and half irritating but I guess it helped maintain my interest. Most of the book is quite clear, but there are concepts which are not well explained. For example, if you are not familiar with Functions and Arguments, you're left wondering how exactly this all works and why all of a sudden a function call is using arguments with names different to those the function was initially declared with. It all becomes very confusing. Contrast the examples in Javascript - Annotated Archives, (ISBN 0078823641) where each single line is carefully explained. Now I am not suggesting this is the right book to start trying to understand Javascript with, but the two together did it for me. Vander Veer's basic problem is that she can't be bothered to fully explain; and this is not helped by examples which are just fragments. There comes a point when you need to explain the whole thing, in one go and not just make promises (and there are plenty of them) that you will explain later in the book. Are readers supposed to put pen to paper and keep a list of things which will be explained later? By the time later comes round, you've forgotten what it was the authro promised to explain 'later'. Even more disappointing, is when the author does not keep her promise and explain... especially because when she can be bothered, she is quite good. If this is Javascript for Dummies I probably needed Javascript for Amoebas... "Dummy" title is extremely misleading (0/0 votes)I was very excited when I saw that the "dummy" series had tackled Javascript. I bought it w/o really much thought. BAD MOVE! This is not a book for beginners with JavaScript! The book does not have good explanations and I have not learned anything useful. (I have learned more useful things about JAVASCRIPT from a book I purchased last year about HTML!) The supposed-to-be-funny titles and subheadings in the book are really annoying because it seems that they are put in there to warrant the "Dummy" moniker. Extremely disappointing! It was ok. Not enough discription. (0/0 votes)It was ok. Not enough discription. There was a lot of example scripts, I like that, but there was not enough info to explain what the script was about. Great book! (0/1 votes)If you have experience in web programming you'll love this book. I've been programming in HTML and JavaScript for a long time and I've never seen a better book on the subject. Good intro book! (0/1 votes)This book is good for a quick introduction to JavaScript. There's lots of general tricks and techniques, plenty of ideas, and code snippets to reuse (on the CD). However, the descriptions of HOW the code worked I found lacking. There were various details about exactly WHAT the Js interpreter was doing to parse the code. The book left me feeling that I had lots of great ideas, but that when I sat down to apply them and make something original--there'd be lots of bugs based on details that I wasn't told about. Good starter, good reference--definitely not "text-book" quality--but it was fun to play with. Not for novices, but lots of examples (0/0 votes)Despite the "for Dummies" moniker, this book is not for "...the Rest of Us!". It is for those who already know some of the basics of object programming and want to add Javascipts to their arsenal of skills. The book is full of useful examples of popular features that can be easily customized. A CD is included that saves time in writing and building scripts. There may be better books for beginners out there, but this one does an adequate job of surveying the subject. The first Dummies book that made me feel like a dummy. (0/0 votes)The only reason I got this book was because the authors of Netscape Composer for Dummies (great book by the way) recommended it. Now I wish I had read ALL the reviews by the other customers. I understood everything perfectly fine up until chapter 3, then I became totally lost, and I'm not exactly what you would call a beginner. Vander Veer dives directly into the hard stuff, saying everything will be explained in later chapters. Well, I read the later chapters and I was still confused. The worst parts were the examples. Not only were they not explained thoroughly enough, but I had no idea how they related to anything. She defines what a method, event, and object are, but what do we do with them? Really disappointing. (Page code from the SEO Tools, Toys, and Packages site) |
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