JavaScript Bible

I was overwhelmed by the selection of books on JavaScript, each 1,000+ pages and supposedly "the complete. . ." "the comprehensive. . .", etc. I looked at the various choices in bookstores, and eventually threw in my lot with Goodman's "Bible". I didn't regret it. Not only is the book great for learning JavaScript step by step, but it's well organized enough to use purely as a reference once you have a handle on the language. There may be more complete manuals, but I'm convinced that this is the best compromise between tutorial and reference. At this point, however, the time is definitely ripe for a 4th edition.

I think the title of the book (and of this review) says it all. Danny Goodman has scored a home run with this book. As a JavaScript developer, I am constantly refering to this book, and have never been disappointed.I have to say though, that although it is very comprehensive, I often use it in conjunction with "JavaScript: The Definitive Guide" from O'Reilly."The JavaScript Bible" should give you all the help you will want, but if you get both of these books, you'll definitely have everything you need!

With a couple of hours of HTML, this book (ed 3) is immediately useful. I have now been using it for about a year which speaks for itself. It is good as an HTML supplement too. I liked the examples many of which helped my real world 'on the job' needs. eg. field edits. Compatability notes for each command were useful as were the work arounds for older IE and Netscape browsers. Also introduced me to Javascript debugger - a very useful tool. Good index. Down Side? A little out of date now. I needed other sources for Style Sheets (HTML) and Layers and the IE equivalent. This is still the best book I have on Javascript.

Overall a very good book for beginners. If you are a web designer then it's better to get a thin book like javascript visually or something that gives you the code without explaining much. If you are more involved in web application programming, and need to understand javascript for custom programming, then this book is a perfect fit. Easy to read, good clear examples, and an overall good reference.

I'm a frustrated beginner at Javascript. This book is part of what frustrated me. It's not very clear, with not enough examples and not enough details all at the same time. Much later, after I put down this book in frustration, I picked up WROX press' "Beginning Javascript," which I find much easier to follow. If only I had started with that book instead of this one!

This book is much more than just a Javascript language reference. It covers dynamic HTML and the document object model in-depth and much better than any dynamic HTML books I own. The author explains things very clearly with great examples - he actually explains the code rather than just including it for you to wade through. I could sit down and read the book like a novel. This book is indispensable, I use it constantly. Whenever I can't find an answer anywhere else, I always find it here. If I could own only one book for web development, this would be it.

Anyone who has used Javascript before and has read the information provided on Microsoft's website will find little or no new information in this book.

First off, I worry a bit that Amazon displays 3rd Edition reviews on the page for the unreleased (as of this writing) 4th Edition. The 3rd Edition was a major revision from the 2nd, and Danny Goodman (at his web site, dannyg dot com) reports that the 4th will be a "massive overhaul." Make sure you're reading reviews for the edition you're thinking of buying. It's been three years since JSB3, and like web technology, Danny Goodman does not sit still.With that out of the way: In short, I always recommend Danny Goodman's JavaScript Bible, Third Edition, to everyone with a serious interest in JavaScript. It is the only book I recommend. And, with rare exception, it is the only book I use.JSB3 is the single most valuable book on my programming shelf. I've been developing web applications for years with extremely complex JavaScript code, and I consistently turn to Danny for reference. Perhaps there are better introductory tutorials, but for straight-on encyclopedic data on the JavaScript language, I find JSB3 to be the fastest and clearest information resource. (It's labeled "100% Comprehensive" for a reason.) The book's reference section is unusually well formatted for quick skimming, and Danny's writing highlights many a vital detail.I have, let's see here, five other JavaScript books, mostly gathering dust. Other than (the dust-free) JSB3, the only one I take down from the shelf is O'Reilly's Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference -- written by, yes, Danny Goodman. Mainly I use that one for DHTML issues. It does have a full JavaScript reference, but it's not half as easily skimmed as JSB3 and it's printed in O'Reilly's standard eyestraining ITC Garamond Light font. JSB3 is easy on the eyes.I see many negative reviews here for this book, but to me it's indispensable. Perhaps it's a matter of taste? It's not completely free of errors (I've yet to find a JavaScript book that is), but Danny keeps a list of errata and updates at dannyg dot com, where you can also find the JSB4 Quick Reference and Compatibility Guide (formerly called the Object Roadmap) for PDF download.Speaking of compatibility, JSB3 has the best cross-browser compatibility notation I've seen, which was an immeasurable help to me and my colleagues in the past couple of years. I look forward to seeing current information again -- fleeting though it may be. Even with newer browser versions, JSB3 is one of the rare programming books that have stood the test of time.

I had this book many years ago, and was an excellent source of JS wisdom! (early versions, not current versions),