JavaScript and jQuery: Interactive Front-End Web Development

I suppose I got lucky and received a book that wasn't badly built. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, read the other reviews. I'm on the 2nd to last chapter and the book has held up just fine. Contrary to what others have mentioned, I only found 1 significant error in the book that caused sample code not to work. Not a big issue.I read Duckett's other book "HTML & CSS" and had hoped this book would have a similar format. I was not disappointed. The book is loaded with visuals, diagrams, and you have access to the code used in every example.The book also goes a step further by introducing you to JSON, AJAX, Regex, and using and creating jQuery plugins. I wasn't expecting to be introduced to all this extra material, but I am glad I was. I've heard the terms JSON and AJAX before, but could not really figure out what they meant. The book helped to make these topics clear. I've also known about jQuery plugins, but never knew how to actually use them. The book shows you exactly how to do that.My advice to anybody going through this book: go through each of the examples he provides, typing out the code exactly as it appears in the book. Do your best to understand Duckett's logic. Afterwards, delete it and re-create the script on your own and try not to look at his sample code for help. You'll find yourself flipping through older sections of the book a lot to reference methods you'll need to use. You'll also find yourself doing a lot of google searches to be reminded of the methods that are available in jQuery. You'll also find yourself "stuck", wondering why your code isn't working. Then you'll have an "ah ha" moment and adjust your code. When you are done, you'll notice your code might look different than Duckett's. That's okay: no two people code the same. By doing this, it will take much longer to complete the book, but you will have more Javascript experience than somebody who read the book and followed the examples, but never stepped out on their own to really test their knowledge.This is another book by Duckett that is well worth the money. My only disappointment is that he didn't write a book that covers XML and its related languages. I read a book on it and much of it went over my head, meaning I now must find a second XML book and read it, hoping that the second perspective fills in any gaps.

I have this book and the other (HTML&CSS). I can say without doubt that these books are well-written in the style most conducive to my learning these topics. You simply begin at the beginning, and work your way through page by page, or go to the chapter that you need to review and voilà: you have a good grasp of the topic. At a reasonable pace (for me), about two weeks would allow completion of the book. Exercises are on every topic page, and there is a file online of source code to speedup completing the exercises. I recommend this book. I can see that the binding might be a problem so I am handling this with care. I would pay more to have this bound in an open-flat spiral binding, or I might destroy the book and put in a 3 ring binder using a 3 hole punch. I even wonder about a Kindle edition as well.

I teach a 300-level JavaScript/jQuery class with this book, and I find that students have a much better understanding of the topics than with previous more "traditional" coding textbooks. This book is gorgeous - great print quality, and the pages feel great in the hand. I know that's superfluous to the content, but it really is a nice touch. The color matching throughout to highlight content and its code is very helpful, and the chunking of topics is very effective. The example code is very well written and thoroughly commented, and examples are relevant and useful. I stalked Amazon for an entire year waiting for this book to come out, and I was not disappointed. This book has lived up to the very high expectations I had for it after adopting Duckett's HTML/CSS book. I wish it was around back when I was learning JavaScript.

Wow. If you haven't picked up Duckett's HTML & CSS resource, you're behind. That book was superb and still serves as an excellent reference. JavaScript & jQuery go above and beyond your typical resource.One problem I have with most coding books is that give super specific examples, have boring and outdated illustrations, and have either too much code or too much text to sift through. Duckett's book provides you with various examples (often using one throughout the chapter and showing the whole thing in the end) and walks you through various ways of achieving something, while offering the best practices for given situations. It takes hard-to-grasp concepts for novices (and even veterans) and defines and illustrates them in their truest fashion.Combine this with a hands-on tool like Code Academy, and you'll be a master of JavaScript and jQuery in no time!

Amazing book for beginners just starting out with JavaScript and jQuery. This coupled with the HTML & CSS book will give you an absolutely amazing foundation for learning front-end web development. I highly recommend both. Each page is filled with great pictures and diagrams to show you how to do things with JavaScript. It even provides a website so that you can copy the code used in the book. Highly highly recommend this book for beginners. Plus it teaches jQuery which is a JavaScript library, which essentially, makes JavaScript easier to use hands down. Fantastic purchase.

This book is well structured with great examples. I first read the HTML/CSS book by Jon Duckett and then started reading the JavaScript/J Query book by Jon Duckett. This book answers questions that you have magically. The answers just come from continuing to read. The book is about 600 pages so it’s thorough. If you‘re already a developer, then it will be a great reference.