6

What is a good javascript (book or site) that is not just focused on syntax but does a good job explaining how javascript works behind the scenes? Thanks!

nicael
  • 18,550
  • 13
  • 57
  • 90
Sliceoftime
  • 2,225
  • 3
  • 17
  • 13
  • 1
    Thread from a while back about JS books: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/74884/good-javascript-books#74927 – Dana Jan 19 '09 at 17:43
  • So what do you want? A reference, as stated in your title? Or some book to really learn javascript, as stated in your text? – Rene Saarsoo Jan 19 '09 at 18:57
  • I was using the terms interchangeably .. as in a book is also a reference. I am going to check out the Rhino and Crockford books. As I requested, I mainly want something to provide more behind the scenes insight as opposed to a compendium of syntax. – Sliceoftime Jan 19 '09 at 19:11

9 Answers9

9

The JavaScript resources at the Mozilla Developer Center are pretty nice. They have a guide to JavaScript as well as a a reference.

The guide isn't really that great, but the reference is awesome. If I'm looking for something, I just use google with 'mdc' (or 'mdc javascript' in ambiguous cases) + keyword as search terms.

It might also be a good idea to read the 3 1/2 page long sections 4.2 and 4.3 of ECMA-262. Also, consider reading chapter 10.

Christoph
  • 164,997
  • 36
  • 182
  • 240
  • MDC really works good as a reference, have been using it for quite some time already. Can't imagine anything offline as a reference. – Rene Saarsoo Jan 19 '09 at 18:58
7

The rhino book is an excellent book to have on your desk.

krosenvold
  • 75,535
  • 32
  • 152
  • 208
  • This is THE book. But be sure to get the most recent version (for what I hope are obvious reasons - it's a shape-shifting topic.) – dkretz Jan 19 '09 at 17:50
6

If you don't want a book that starts with explaining JavaScript syntax, then:

Rene Saarsoo
  • 13,580
  • 8
  • 57
  • 85
1

Eloquent Javascript is a pretty great resource, and it also includes an in-browser environment to test out javascript.

Dan Monego
  • 9,637
  • 6
  • 37
  • 72
1

In order of precedence,

  1. Flanagan's Definitive Guide ("The Rhino Book", which I upvoted above), followed by
  2. anything written or googled for by Douglas Crockford.
  3. W3 stuff is great for their try-it-yourself sandboxes.
dkretz
  • 37,399
  • 13
  • 80
  • 138
1

Others have made some great suggestions (The Rhino Books, Mozilla Developer Center, and references such as W3 Schools). Once you get a good grasp on the language, I highly recommend JavaScript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford.

Tom
  • 15,527
  • 5
  • 48
  • 62
0

I've always found the w3 schools site excellent for not just for javascript but css and much else web related too. Has a nice combination of quick syntax reference with example code and tutorials for more depth when required.

Cruachan
  • 15,733
  • 5
  • 59
  • 112
  • 1
    This received a mark down! Havn't the faintest idea why – Cruachan Feb 28 '11 at 17:34
  • Because it's the wosrt place to learn the web technologies. http://w3fools.com/ – Alex Turpin Aug 03 '11 at 20:39
  • I have seen A LOT worse than w3schools... I think w3schools is pretty decent for beginners, despite what the criticism at w3fools may say – Mike Nov 15 '11 at 00:53
  • hmmm, yes the criticism at w3fools has a fair bit of validity. However as a quick resource for functions and syntax I'd still say that w3schools is fine. Maybe the educational aspects could do with improving, but I don't think I've ever looked at it for that. – Cruachan Nov 16 '11 at 09:43
0

Eras ago, I used WebMonkey to edumacate me some. Nowadays I usually just Google around for specifics - most of it is just finding remembering syntax I find anyhow.

Eddie Parker
  • 4,770
  • 3
  • 35
  • 43
0

crockford does a good job of explaining JS. check out the articles on his website and his new book:

oberhamsi
  • 1,303
  • 8
  • 18