WebPages are becoming more interactive every day, and this is mostly due in part to powerful programming languages such as JavaScript. For the average individual attempting to incorporate a more dynamic element into their site, or for the advanced coder trying to remember the correct statement to execute some code there are some pretty impressive resources that are now available. One of those is this handy tool, Learning JavaScript, which promises to provide a comprehensive guide into a large array of JavaScript elements.

Learning JavaScript gives a very thorough walk-through of the JavaScript language. It doesn't just teach you how to use the language features that are the most convenient or popular. The content covers JavaScript from its early inception days, right the way through to the powerful scripts available today. This is a book that does require a background in HTML/XHTML and CSS programming, hence is not recommended for beginner users. But for those that do have experience in this area, the content provided is a great start for those wishing to delve into Java, incorporate Java into their own personal websites or anyone using content-management tools that wishes to better understand the scripting components involved in Java.

My skills with JavaScript are basic at best, but it was interesting going through the chapters, becoming accustomed to the way the language worked, and trying out the exercises and incorporating some examples into my websites. Some of the functions I was able to code were really cool and reasonable simple to pick up and integrate into web pages. I especially liked the little tip and caution pictures throughout the chapters that provide additional information or advice to make the transition into this language a little easier.

Some of the topics covered include:

• Operators and statements
• Javascrpit objects
• Event handlers
• Cookies and connectivity
• Creating custom javascript models
• Building dynamic webpages

The book is not designed to be a reference manual as it is not filled with tables that contain the properties of every object or function you may run across. In this way it was a bit of a let down for me, due to difficulty of finding relevant attributes and properties. It does, however, provide you with more in-depth information than you would probably be able to get from a reference manual. For example, it details the three different ways you can construct a function and provides information on when and why you may want to use each. Again this reinforces the experience required in this type of programming as you really need to understand the basics to fully grasp the content being described here. There are some quite heavy pieces involved too, such as Ajax script that requires a decent knowledge in JavaScript to be properly understood.

From a person who is not particularly strong in JavaScript, it was quite difficult to pick up and follow. Unless you have at least a basic understanding in this type of script, you may find yourself re-reading sections, just to be able to get certain functions to work correctly. For a moderate to advanced user however, this edition provides a very solid resource that covers some of the more powerful features that Java can provide. For this reasoning, I believe this edition deserves the thumbs up.