If there is an essential online JavaScript/Client-Development resource, it could quite possbly be the QuirksMode site. If there is an essential JavaScript book for developers, this would have to be it. Having had a taste of the fourth edition from a reference book lying around at my workplace, I had to get my hands on this one. JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, with its roots that date back to 1996, is pushing out its fifth edition after a four year hiatus from the previous release. And it is joining the crowd in the Ajax and Web 2.0 wave. A couple new chapters pertain to Ajax development. But what I find great about this book is the natural tendency to point out "gotchas" in everyday client-side development. The CSS section in Chapter 16 allows non web designers to get by. Something I valued from my university days is a good index which this book has. (Now, if only some academic texts could follow suit) And the Core JavaScript Reference is useful even though you can get similar results from the MSDN reference and online searches. Perhaps subscribing online to the Safari eBooks site and accessing this book there will allow you to run searches through the references quickly? A question I do have is regarding a release of a pocket reference version to coincide with this current release. The latest version of the pocket reference by David Flanagan is back in 2002. That may just be me being greedy. When you see a good thing, you can't help but want more of it. It may very well be in their works or it may not be justified for them to do another release yet. While on the topic of JavaScript books, another great title I would recommend is Wrox's Professional JavaScript for Web Developers.
Rating: Ub3r 71gh7
September 10, 2006