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Murach’s JavaScript and DOM scripting
Harris R., Mike Murach&Associates, Fresno, CA, 2009. 760 pp. Type: Book (9781890774554)
Date Reviewed: Jun 4 2010

We live in a connected world, and we are spending more and more time looking at screens, receiving and sending information, and interacting virtually. The increase in digital interaction is due in significant part to the extraordinary evolution of Web pages, from stationary sources of information to customized environments that are updated dynamically, based on users’ preferences and actions. This dynamicity is often ensured through server-side modules, but client-side processing, as is the case with JavaScript, continues to play an important role--most Web pages use this script programming language in some fashion. For additional flexibility, JavaScript relies on interaction with objects in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML), and Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents, through the use of the cross-platform and language-independent document object model (DOM).

At over 700 pages, the book is a heavy addition to the long shelf of books that deal with JavaScript and DOM programming. Instead of employing significant cover graphics to make this book stand out, the publisher lists various claimed advantages as to why this book should be chosen over the competition. The most intriguing one is the claim that readers will be able to develop and test a JavaScript application relatively fast, after reading only the first three chapters. While most programming textbooks allow you to develop simplistic “Hello World!”-type applications early on, this book goes further--it suggests that you build a relatively complex application, by offering a crash course in JavaScript in chapter 2, preceded by an introduction, and followed by a chapter on how to debug. In a world where frugality is always appreciated, this approach makes sense and will probably lead to many readers stopping at the end of the third chapter, satisfied with the knowledge acquired. The choice to deal with debugging early is also appreciated, although it would have been better to continue tackling approaches for testing, as new constructs are introduced later on.

Apart from the three chapters discussed above, the book has 17 more, structured in four major sections: “Introduction to JavaScript Programming,” “JavaScript Essentials,” “DOM Programming,” and “Other JavaScript Skills.” The introduction section adds to the two crash course-style chapters on XHTML and cascading style sheets (CSS), required topics for any basic Web programmer. The essentials section covers main programming concepts beyond simple Web form processing, including data types, input/output and file access, string manipulation, conditional and loop constructs, arrays, objects, functions, and regular expressions. The DOM programming section focuses on basic and advanced scripting, including tables, animations, and events. The other skills section focuses on browser manipulation and library creation. The book’s organization does have some issues. As I was reading the text, I realized that I lacked a sense of direction and the ability to find bypasses and connections. While each chapter is carefully crafted with examples and explanations, the reason for the current sequence is not clear. It would have helped to have a chapter-sequence diagram in the introduction.

The book is identified as both a training and a reference manual. I would place it somewhere in the middle. For a training text, I would have expected to see more exercises, as well as some additional materials such as viewgraphs and test questions. For reference material, the order of the topics does not always follow a systematic approach; readers are directed to the index for guidance. But overall, the content covered by the book is quite comprehensive and allows the reader to acquire valuable skills for tackling client-side Web programming. What I did miss was a discussion of other similar programming efforts, such as ActiveScript or Flash, and a more significant subsection on security issues and JavaScript’s vulnerabilities.

The book uses an interesting page layout--page pairing--where the syntax, summaries, and images are always on the right page, and the bulk of the text and the explanations are on the left. While this often makes understanding the material easier, it also leads to awkward gaps, with almost-empty pages straddling long code examples. No significant enhancing graphics are used, and no color is employed in the printing, which might explain the relatively low cost of the book. Harris offers his industrial and teaching experience by providing excellent examples and writing directly to you, the reader, which makes for an engaging learning experience.

Reviewer:  Stefan Robila Review #: CR138073 (1105-0467)
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