JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition

Your Account

Shopping Cart 0 items $0.00

Your shopping cart is empty.

Learning Paths now just $149. Stop hacking your way through the underbrush - we've cleared the way. See the paths

Search Inside and Read

Larger Cover

JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition

Activate Your Web Pages

By David Flanagan

Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Final Release Date: August 2006

Pages: 1032

This Fifth Edition is completely revised and expanded to cover JavaScript as it is used in today's Web 2.0 applications. This book is both an example-driven programmer's guide and a keep-on-your-desk reference, with new chapters that explain everything you need to know to get the most out of JavaScript, including:

Scripted HTTP and Ajax
XML processing
Client-side graphics using the canvas tag
Namespaces in JavaScript--essential when writing complex programs
Classes, closures, persistence, Flash, and JavaScript embedded in Java applications

Part I explains the core JavaScript language in detail. If you are new to JavaScript, it will teach you the language. If you are already a JavaScript programmer, Part I will sharpen your skills and deepen your understanding of the language.

Part II explains the scripting environment provided by web browsers, with a focus on DOM scripting with unobtrusive JavaScript. The broad and deep coverage of client-side JavaScript is illustrated with many sophisticated examples that demonstrate how to:

Generate a table of contents for an HTML document
Display DHTML animations
Automate form validation
Draw dynamic pie charts
Make HTML elements draggable
Define keyboard shortcuts for web applications
Create Ajax-enabled tool tips
Use XPath and XSLT on XML documents loaded with Ajax
And much more

Part III is a complete reference for core JavaScript. It documents every class, object, constructor, method, function, property, and constant defined by JavaScript 1.5 and ECMAScript Version 3.

Part IV is a reference for client-side JavaScript, covering legacy web browser APIs, the standard Level 2 DOM API, and emerging standards such as the XMLHttpRequest object and the canvas tag.

More than 300,000 JavaScript programmers around the world have madethis their indispensable reference book for building JavaScript applications.

"A must-have reference for expert JavaScript programmers...well-organized and detailed."
-- Brendan Eich, creator of JavaScript

Chapter 1 Introduction to JavaScript
1. What Is JavaScript?
2. Versions of JavaScript
3. Client-Side JavaScript
4. JavaScript in Other Contexts
5. Exploring JavaScript
Core JavaScript
1. Chapter 2 Lexical Structure
  1. Character Set
  2. Case Sensitivity
  3. Whitespace and Line Breaks
  4. Optional Semicolons
  5. Comments
  6. Literals
  7. Identifiers
  8. Reserved Words
2. Chapter 3 Datatypes and Values
  1. Numbers
  2. Strings
  3. Boolean Values
  4. Functions
  5. Objects
  6. Arrays
  7. null
  8. undefined
  9. The Date Object
  10. Regular Expressions
  11. Error Objects
  12. Type Conversion Summary
  13. Primitive Datatype Wrapper Objects
  14. Object-to-Primitive Conversion
  15. By Value Versus by Reference
3. Chapter 4 Variables
  1. Variable Typing
  2. Variable Declaration
  3. Variable Scope
  4. Primitive Types and Reference Types
  5. Garbage Collection
  6. Variables as Properties
  7. Variable Scope Revisited
4. Chapter 5 Expressions and Operators
  1. Expressions
  2. Operator Overview
  3. Arithmetic Operators
  4. Equality Operators
  5. Relational Operators
  6. String Operators
  7. Logical Operators
  8. Bitwise Operators
  9. Assignment Operators
  10. Miscellaneous Operators
5. Chapter 6 Statements
  1. Expression Statements
  2. Compound Statements
  3. if
  4. else if
  5. switch
  6. while
  7. do/while
  8. for
  9. for/in
  10. Labels
  11. break
  12. continue
  13. var
  14. function
  15. return
  16. throw
  17. try/catch/finally
  18. with
  19. The Empty Statement
  20. Summary of JavaScript Statements
6. Chapter 7 Objects and Arrays
  1. Creating Objects
  2. Object Properties
  3. Objects as Associative Arrays
  4. Universal Object Properties and Methods
  5. Arrays
  6. Reading and Writing Array Elements
  7. Array Methods
  8. Array-Like Objects
7. Chapter 8 Functions
  1. Defining and Invoking Functions
  2. Function Arguments
  3. Functions as Data
  4. Functions as Methods
  5. Constructor Functions
  6. Function Properties and Methods
  7. Utility Function Examples
  8. Function Scope and Closures
  9. The Function() Constructor
8. Chapter 9 Classes, Constructors, and Prototypes
  1. Constructors
  2. Prototypes and Inheritance
  3. Simulating Classes in JavaScript
  4. Common Object Methods
  5. Superclasses and Subclasses
  6. Extending Without Inheriting
  7. Determining Object Type
  8. Example: A defineClass( ) Utility Method
9. Chapter 10 Modules and Namespaces
  1. Creating Modules and Namespaces
  2. Importing Symbols from Namespaces
  3. Module Utilities
10. Chapter 11 Pattern Matching with Regular Expressions
  1. Defining Regular Expressions
  2. String Methods for Pattern Matching
  3. The RegExp Object
11. Chapter 12 Scripting Java
  1. Embedding JavaScript
  2. Scripting Java
Client-Side JavaScript
1. Chapter 13 JavaScript in Web Browsers
  1. The Web Browser Environment
  2. Embedding Scripts in HTML
  3. Event Handlers in HTML
  4. JavaScript in URLs
  5. Execution of JavaScript Programs
  6. Client-Side Compatibility
  7. Accessibility
  8. JavaScript Security
  9. Other Web-Related JavaScript Embeddings
2. Chapter 14 Scripting Browser Windows
  1. Timers
  2. Browser Location and History
  3. Obtaining Window, Screen, and Browser Information
  4. Opening and Manipulating Windows
  5. Simple Dialog Boxes
  6. Scripting the Status Line
  7. Error Handling
  8. Multiple Windows and Frames
  9. Example: A Navigation Bar in a Frame
3. Chapter 15 Scripting Documents
  1. Dynamic Document Content
  2. Document Properties
  3. Legacy DOM: Document Object Collections
  4. Overview of the W3C DOM
  5. Traversing a Document
  6. Finding Elements in a Document
  7. Modifying a Document
  8. Adding Content to a Document
  9. Example: A Dynamically Created Table of Contents
  10. Querying Selected Text
  11. The IE 4 DOM
4. Chapter 16 Cascading Style Sheets and Dynamic HTML
  1. Overview of CSS
  2. CSS for DHTML
  3. Scripting Inline Styles
  4. Scripting Computed Styles
  5. Scripting CSS Classes
  6. Scripting Stylesheets
5. Chapter 17 Events and Event Handling
  1. Basic Event Handling
  2. Advanced Event Handling with DOM Level 2
  3. The Internet Explorer Event Model
  4. Mouse Events
  5. Key Events
  6. The onload Event
  7. Synthetic Events
6. Chapter 18 Forms and Form Elements
  1. The Form Object
  2. Defining Form Elements
  3. Scripting Form Elements
  4. Form Verification Example
7. Chapter 19 Cookies and Client-Side Persistence
  1. An Overview of Cookies
  2. Storing Cookies
  3. Reading Cookies
  4. Cookie Example
  5. Cookie Alternatives
  6. Persistent Data and Security
8. Chapter 20 Scripting HTTP
  1. Using XMLHttpRequest
  2. XMLHttpRequest Examples and Utilities
  3. Ajax and Dynamic Scripting
  4. Scripting HTTP with <script> Tags
9. Chapter 21 JavaScript and XML
  1. Obtaining XML Documents
  2. Manipulating XML with the DOM API
  3. Transforming XML with XSLT
  4. Querying XML with XPath
  5. Serializing XML
  6. Expanding HTML Templates with XML Data
  7. XML and Web Services
  8. E4X: ECMAScript for XML
10. Chapter 22 Scripted Client-Side Graphics
  1. Scripting Images
  2. Graphics with CSS
  3. SVG: Scalable Vector Graphics
  4. VML: Vector Markup Language
  5. Graphics in a <canvas>
  6. Graphics with Flash
  7. Graphics with Java
11. Chapter 23 Scripting Java Applets and Flash Movies
  1. Scripting Applets
  2. Scripting the Java Plug-in
  3. Scripting with Java
  4. Scripting Flash
  5. Scripting Flash 8
Core JavaScript Reference
1. Chapter 24 Core JavaScript Reference
Client-Side JavaScript Reference
1. Chapter 25 Client-Side JavaScript Reference

Colophon

Title:

JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition

By:

David Flanagan

Publisher:

O'Reilly Media

Formats:

Print
Ebook
Safari Books Online

Print:

August 2006

Ebook:

December 2008

Pages:

1032

Print ISBN:

978-0-596-10199-2

| ISBN 10:

0-596-10199-6

Ebook ISBN:

978-0-596-15819-4

| ISBN 10:

0-596-15819-X

Colophon

The animal on the cover of JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, Fifth Edition, is a Javan rhinoceros. All five species of rhinoceros are distinguished by their large size, thick armor-like skin, three-toed feet, and single or double snout horn. The Javan rhinoceros, along with the Sumatran rhinoceros, is one of two forest-dwelling species. The Javan rhinoceros is similar in appearance to the Indian rhinoceros, but smaller and with certain distinguishing characteristics (primarily skin texture).Rhinoceroses are often depicted standing up to their snouts in water or mud. In fact, they can frequently be found just like that. When not resting in a river, rhinos will dig deep pits in which to wallow. Both of these resting places provide a couple of advantages. First, they give the animal relief from the tropical heat and protection from blood-sucking flies. (The mud that the wallow leaves on the skin of the rhinoceros provides some protection from flies, also.) Second, mud wallows and river water help support the considerable weight of these huge animals, thereby relieving the strain on their legs and backs.Folklore has long held that the horn of the rhinoceros possesses magical and aphrodisiacal powers, and that humans who gain possession of the horns will gain those powers, also. This is one of the reasons why rhinos are a prime target of poachers. All species of rhinoceros are in danger, and the Javan rhino population is the most precarious. Fewer than 100 of these animals are still living. At one time, Javan rhinos could be found throughout southeastern Asia, but they are now believed to exist only in Indonesia and Vietnam.The cover image is is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. The cover font is Adobe ITC Garamond. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed.

Table of Contents

Product Details

About the Author

Colophon

Recommended for You

Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

oreillyJavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition

3.9

(based on 16 reviews)

100%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

No Pros

Cons

No Cons

Best Uses

No Best Uses

- Reviewer Profile:
- Designer (3)

Reviewed by 16 customers

Sort by

Displaying reviews 1-10

Previous | Next »

11/13/2010

(6 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

How a beginner should use this book!

By BegginersDoApply!!!

from Grand Rapids, MI

About Me Designer, Developer

Pros

Cons

Best Uses

Expert
Intermediate
Novice
Student

Comments about oreilly JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition:

I started using this book as a beginner and there is a certain way you have to do that if you are just starting out.

What I did was, I started with my college text (New Perspectives HTML, XHTML & DHTML) that covers JavaScript and felt that they were leaving out alot of the indepth information. So, what I did was, I would read a concept from my college text, do the exercises and then go to this book and also read about it.

By doing this, I was able to get an introduction to JavaScript at first and then learn the deeper concepts right after. I suggest that beginners get this book and a introduction to JavaScript book and read them both together. It will make the learning process much more enjoyable and you will save yourself a lot of confusion and grief because the introduction books tend to leave out information. This book will fill in the gaps!

This book will help you see the logic in this language!

1/7/2010

(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Excellent book for Intermediate level

By JazKat

from Logan, UT

About Me Designer, Developer, Maker

Pros

Accurate
Comprehensive
Helpful examples
Well-written

Cons

Difficult to understand

Best Uses

Expert
Intermediate
Student

Comments about oreilly JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition:

I tried to use this book as an introduction but the language and terminology was way too advanced to be helpful. I bought another book that was geared to absolute beginners, and now this book is my primary reference guide to JavaScript. It really has raised my scripting ability to a completely new level. This book is a must-have for all intermediate level JavaScripters who want to know the power of JavaScript and manipulate the DOM. It also has a good introduction to Ajax--which is another step to maximizing the power of JavaScript.

Great book, but I can't recommend it for beginners.

9/29/2009

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

JavaScript review

By BobG

from Bradenton FL

About Me Designer

Pros

Accurate
Helpful examples

Cons

Difficult to understand

Best Uses

Novice

Comments about oreilly JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition:

I used the book to add javascript to my website. The reference section is very helpfull.
I found some of the examples impossible to use because I am not advanced enough figure out how to call the code, still working on it.

6/8/2009

(6 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Excellent JavaScript Reference

By jdruin

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition:

I have been programming for some time and I do use JavaScript reasonably often. I am glad to see a book that packs in almost everything about JavaScript in one manual.

The book is really 3 references bound together. The first part is about JavaScript, its background, how it is used (with examples), and its relationship to the web page, DOM, CSS, and HTML. This part focuses on using JS to make web pages dynamic on the client side.

Part 2 is a guide to the object, methods, and properties that are built into JS. This section is an excellent reference to programmers since it is difficult to remember the hundreds of built in methods and properties for each object. JS does not have an extremely large number of objects but does have a large number of properties and methods.

The last part provides a reference about the client side environment. For example the "document" object is detailed.

When I need a JS reference, it is generally to look up an example, to get a listing of the offerings for a particular object, or to see the names and/or spellings of various methods and properties. This is the most complete manual I have seen and one of the easiest to use to locate the information, which is good since the book is long.

The book is organized like a reference as well; especially in parts 2 and 3. The material is generally in alphabetic order with methods and properties also listed alphabetically under each object.

For web programmers, this is a must-have.

5/28/2009

(2 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

It's a real definitive guide!

By midooh

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition:

It's a real definitive guide!.The book "almost" got everything you have to know when you learn the language.

2/18/2009

(10 of 10 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Re: Too much chaos

By DCUNITED

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition:

I believe you got the wrong book. This book is really written as a reference guide, not a beginner programming guide. I would suggest that you look at Learning JavaScript (http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596521875/) . O'Reilly has a system to their books where in a particular language series there is a Learning, Programming, Cookbook and the Definitive Guide. The Learning book is pretty much for the first-time programmer. The Programming, I have found, is for person who has used extensively one or two other languages and would like to add this language to their list. The Cookbook is how to solve some rather complex and common problems and the Definitive Guide is well, the reference guide. There are many other learning JavaScript books out there. I would suggest going to a good bookstore and browsing the first few chapters of each one until you find one that fits you best. I keep this book on my desk and find myself constantly looking at it.

12/23/2008

(3 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Too much chaos

By Anonymous

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition:

I bought this book in order to start learning JavaScript. I have only had XHTML/CSS, and I thought of JavaScript as a decent introduction to light programming.

I had heard a lot of good things about this book, but there's one problem: the way its chapters are arranged causes a big chaos into a begginer's mind. There are way too many examples in the first three chapters which involve arrays and objects, making it hard for you to understand the given examples.

There's also too much text which involves knowledge that you'll later achieve, so even the text will make it hard to understand.

These are its main problems. It's a definitive introduction, presenting too much information in an intimidating way, thus requiring the reader to adapt to the author's chaotic style.

6/25/2008

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Great Book Everything I Needed Included

By hsue3

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition:

Very cool book I learned alot from it and now almost everything it is to know about Javascript.

5/20/2008

(1 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

2.0

Not as Definitive as it could be

By CJ Taylor

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition:

I bought this book to replace the previous edition and get a little more up to speed on DOM and document scripting.

This book needs less talk and more definition. I was somewhat dissapointed to find that proprietary properties like innerHTML can be found but a simple method like setSelectionRange() isn't. I had to discover it via google and not my book :(

The upside is the layout. There's a lot to cover with Javascript and this book at least makes an attempt to do so. The client and Core objects/functions are separated nicely for reference. But it needs to be more complete.

2/20/2008

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Re: Disappointing

By Anonymous

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition:

I'm not sure which book on JavaScript he read, but I found this book incredibly useful and overall pretty good in relationship to other books on the subject matter.

Displaying reviews 1-10

Previous | Next »

Immediate Access - Go Digital what's this?

Ebook: $39.99

Formats: DAISY, ePub, Mobi, PDF

Safari Books Online - Read now >

Chapter 1 Introduction to JavaScript

What Is JavaScript?

Versions of JavaScript

Client-Side JavaScript

JavaScript in Other Contexts

Exploring JavaScript

Core JavaScript

Chapter 2 Lexical Structure

Chapter 3 Datatypes and Values

Chapter 4 Variables

Chapter 5 Expressions and Operators

Chapter 6 Statements

Chapter 7 Objects and Arrays

Chapter 8 Functions

Chapter 9 Classes, Constructors, and Prototypes

Chapter 10 Modules and Namespaces

Chapter 11 Pattern Matching with Regular Expressions

Chapter 12 Scripting Java

Client-Side JavaScript

Chapter 13 JavaScript in Web Browsers

Chapter 14 Scripting Browser Windows

Chapter 15 Scripting Documents

Chapter 16 Cascading Style Sheets and Dynamic HTML

Chapter 17 Events and Event Handling

Chapter 18 Forms and Form Elements

Chapter 19 Cookies and Client-Side Persistence

Chapter 20 Scripting HTTP

Chapter 21 JavaScript and XML

Chapter 22 Scripted Client-Side Graphics

Chapter 23 Scripting Java Applets and Flash Movies

Core JavaScript Reference

Chapter 24 Core JavaScript Reference

Client-Side JavaScript Reference

Chapter 25 Client-Side JavaScript Reference

Colophon

David Flanagan

About O'Reilly

Community

Partner Sites

Shop O'Reilly