Sebastopol, CA--Perhaps trepidation is too strong a word to describe how one feels when approaching the recipes of a master chef for the first time. Will the techniques be too sophisticated to attempt? Will the ingredients be too exotic? Will you even understand what it is you're supposed to do? Then, upon reading the recipes, you realize that you're in good hands--the language is clear, the techniques fully within your grasp, and, in fact, you already have most of the ingredients on hand. Worthwhile recipes are those that will draw on your existing skills, gently push you to try new techniques, and show you how to do the things you've always wondered about. Those are the sorts of recipes that web developers will find in Danny Goodman's JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook (O'Reilly, US $39.95). This unique collection of practical code recipes for everyday problems will help web developers of all levels of expertise bring their web pages to life.
Over the years, bestselling author and scripting pioneer Danny Goodman has read thousands of forum threads and compiled lists of the problems that scripters of various experience levels frequently encounter. "I wanted to create a library of modern routines that scripters could use as-is in client-side scripting without having to reinvent the wheel each time the need arises for typical JavaScript and Dynamic HTML tasks," Goodman explains. "The majority of the questions I encounter on the numerous online forums begin with 'How do I?' For the Cookbook, I wrote fresh code to solve the problems with emphasis on support for web standards to facilitate forward compatibility with the latest--and next--generation of browsers."
The "JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook" is all about adding value to the content of a web page. It contains a comprehensive collection of problems, solutions, and practical examples for anyone using JavaScript and Dynamic HTML to enhance web pages. For every problem addressed in the book, there's a solution or "recipe"--a focused piece of code that web developers can insert directly into their applications. But the book offers more than cut-and-paste code. Readers will get explanations of how and why the code works, so they can learn to adapt the problem solving techniques to their own designs.
"I'm a strong believer in using client-side scripting to add value to the content of a web page," says Goodman. "In other words, don't penalize visitors who have underpowered browsers or who have scripting turned off; instead, reward those who arrive with modern browsers and scripting turned on with an enhanced experience, such as much easier navigation through a site or instantaneous form entry validation. Therefore, the book focuses on practical and sensible applications of scripting, rather than flying images and nauseating color changes. The best scripting is that which users aren't even aware of: things just work 'the right way.'"
Recipes in the "JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook" range from simple tasks, such as manipulating strings and validating dates in JavaScript, to entire libraries that demonstrate complex tasks, such as cross-browser positioning of HTML elements and sorting tables. There are more than 150 recipes on the following topics:
- Working with interactive forms and stylesheets
- Presenting user-friendly page navigation
- Creating dynamic content
- Producing visual effects for stationary content
- Positioning HTML elements
- Managing browser windows and multiple frames
This book is an ideal companion to O'Reilly's "JavaScript: The Definitive Guide" or "Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference." Readers who own either book will find the "JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook" a must-have.
Additional Resources:
- Chapter 10, "Page Navigation Techniques"
- More information about the book, including Table of Contents, index, author bio, and samples
- A cover graphic in JPEG format
JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook
Danny Goodman
ISBN 0-596-00467-2, 520 pages, $39.95 (US), $61.95 (CAN), 28.50 (UK)
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