Learning jQuery

Learn JavaScript is essential for anyone who wants to become a creative webpage designer.  It is one of the most powerful and dynamic programming languages which has been most commonly used alongside HTML and CSS.

JavaScript is used by most web browsers and supports object oriented programming, which also has an application programming interface for working with texts, dates, etc.

There are a wealth of materials available online or to download to guide students through the different levels and aspects of JavaScript.  Here are a few books which can be very useful in providing quick tips and pointers. They are designed  to engage beginners and advanced programmer alike.

1. The JavaScript Tutorial by Illya Kantor

The JavaScript Tutorial by Illya Kantor is a free book available online that has been designed for beginners. This book provides readers with an introduction to basic elements, syntax of JavaScript and the important tips like setting up the environment, testing script with different browsers etc. It also introduces advanced concepts which is a good starter to improve knowledge of JavaScript.

2. Eloquent JavaScript by Marijn Haverbake

Eloquent JavaScript by Marijn Haverbake is available online for free or in paperback form. This book provides a good introduction to JavaScript and the basic programming concepts needed in order to master the language. This book starts from values, types and operators used and takes readers through the program structure, basic and advanced functions which are available in JavaScript.   It also gives an introduction about how JavaScript works in tandem with other design languages such as HTML, CSS.

3. Addy Osmani’s Learning JavaScript Design Patterns

Learning JavaScript design Patterns is a very short and sweet book available for free online and also downloadable for a minimal charge, which discusses design patterns in JavaScript. This book starts with an introduction to design patterns, discussing their importance and optimum ways of implementing them. The main target audience for this book is professional web developers who want to improve their knowledge of design patterns and how they caeffectively implement them with JavaScript.

4. Gerd Wagner’s Building Front-End Web Apps with Plain JavaScript

This book by Gerd Wagner is a complete tutorial on how to develop a front end web application by only using JavaScript without using any third party framework or library. This book has been designed for JavaScript programmers and also software developers who have experience in OOPS based programming languages. The book provides readers with a complete code of example applications which can be run from the web server to help users with the nuances of building a front end application.

5. DOM Enlightenment by Cody Lindley

For those who want to become experts in JavaScript, a knowledge of Data Object Modeling is important. This book is a gem available online that is one of the most exhaustive books written about DOM Scripting. The book is designed for advanced programmers to understand the nuances of JavaScript and taking to the next level.

6. Mikito Takada ‘s Single Page Apps in Depth

One of the best ways to learn to use a programming language is to study where and how it is implemented. This book by MIkito Takada focuses on how to develop web applications and provide practical solutions to common issues that arise at different stages of development.