Comments on: Simply JavaScript

By: nateklaiber

nateklaiber — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 03:46:34 +0000

Just received my copy yesterday, halfway finished with it. It is tough to put down. The book, so far, is very well written and the code samples are awesome. You guys did a great job with the book - congrats on getting it out.

By: spinmaster

spinmaster — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 11:45:54 +0000

Great job Kev! I ordered already my copy… ;-)

By: Kevin Yank

Kevin Yank — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 00:55:29 +0000

Question for ya, Kevin. […] I’m one of those people who hates working in JS because it’s such an awkward language […]. Will this book help me become quite fluent in JS, do you think […]?

Cameron and I thought long and hard about how we would present the JavaScript language in this book. Many other beginner’s JavaScript books present it as a hodge-podge of unrelated features, which leads to that impression of it being “such an awkward language”.

As longtime JavaScript developers, Cameron and I have discovered that JavaScript can be a really beautiful and elegant language if you structure your code properly, so we set out to present the language in a cohesive, structured way that would get beginners writing the kind of code we love to read.

In short, yes, I believe Simply JavaScript will not only give you the fluency with the language that you’re craving, but it will also (we hope) give you new appreciation for how nice a language JavaScript can be.

By: Adam A Flynn

Adam A Flynn — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:03:47 +0000

Thanks for the tip; I’ll be sure to check those videos out!

By: lubos

lubos — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:26:34 +0000

Adam, JS is not an awkward language, it’s the world’s most misunderstood programming language. I recommend you to look at Douglas Crockford’s training session videos at Yahoo Video

By: Adam A Flynn

Adam A Flynn — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:35:02 +0000

Question for ya, Kevin. I consider myself to be decent JS programmer (been working with it lightly for years, have enough of an understanding of it that with Google and a good reference guide in hand I can usually piece things together), but I’m one of those people who hates working in JS because it’s such an awkward language when compared to something like PHP (in which I am quite fluent). Will this book help me become quite fluent in JS, do you think, or is it too basic to be of great use to someone who is familiar with the language already?

By: Sojan80

Sojan80 — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:19:21 +0000

Kevin and Cameron,
Just got my PDF Version this past weekend and am awaiting the arrival of my printed copy any day now. So far so good, and by the way, 2 points for the Dr. Who joke in the intro… and 3 points the Star Trek examples =)

From what I’ve read so far I like the approach the book is taking and the tone isn’t as stodgy (read formal) as some books I’ve read. As of right now, on a scale of 1 to 5 where 5 is excellent I’d give the book a solid 4, but I’ll reserve judgement until after I’ve finished it.