Oreilly javascript the definitive guide book

[Patrick]

Hi

I am currently learning JS and have heard a lot of good about that
book even if it's a reference and better suited for intermediate to
experienced users.
My local bookstore has both the 3rd and 4th edition and the 3rd is at
a fraction of the 4th ed. price.
Is it a mistake to grab the 3rd ed. instead of the 4th. in order to
save money ?

Thanks to all

Patrick
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Fox]

Save yourself some money... JS:TDG was basically a rewriting of the
following documentation:

Download:
http://developer.netscape.com/docs/manuals/js/client/jsguide/ClientGuideJS13.zip
http://developer.netscape.com/docs/manuals/js/client/jsref/ClientReferenceJS13.zip

unzip them to a convenient directory and bookmark their index pages.
It's the best guide/reference to core JavaScript.

Then catch up with the rest here (basically, DOM interaction) on the ng
or other online resources... once you get the basics down - the rest is
pretty easy.

I bought JSTDG -- looked at it ... oh, maybe twice -- you can't even
tell the binding has been bent. It may very well be the best book on JS
"out there," (and I wouldn't argue) but it doesn't have anything in it
particularly special to make it worth the money that you don't already
have easy access to for free.

 

[Laurent Bugnion, GalaSoft]

Hi,

Save yourself some money... JS:TDG was basically a rewriting of the
following documentation:

Download:
http://developer.netscape.com/docs/manuals/js/client/jsguide/ClientGuideJS13.zip
http://developer.netscape.com/docs/manuals/js/client/jsref/ClientReferenceJS13.zip

unzip them to a convenient directory and bookmark their index pages.
It's the best guide/reference to core JavaScript.

Then catch up with the rest here (basically, DOM interaction) on the ng
or other online resources... once you get the basics down - the rest is
pretty easy.

I bought JSTDG -- looked at it ... oh, maybe twice -- you can't even
tell the binding has been bent. It may very well be the best book on JS
"out there," (and I wouldn't argue) but it doesn't have anything in it
particularly special to make it worth the money that you don't already
have easy access to for free.

While I use the Netscape doc a lot, I disagree that the definitive guide
is a rewriting of it. Maybe you're talking about the 3rd edition, though
even this one is more complete, IMHO, than the Netscape doc (it's less
Netscape-centered).

Anyway, the 4th edition was fundamentally extended, and includes, for
example, DOM Level 2 functionalities.

Laurent

 

[George M Jempty]

Thanks to all who answered.I guess at my early stage of learning JS,
the links provided should be enough for now.When i get better (And i
will!), the need for that book might justify spending $40 for it.

Actually for just $10 a month you can subscribe to up to 5 books online
at safari.oreilly.com, including Flanagan's definitive guide edition 4.
Plus I think they have a free trial for 10 or 14 days so you can't go
wrong.