jQuery in Action

Second edition review: "jQuery in Action" (second edition) was a great book. It kept almost everything I liked in the first edition while adding new stuff I liked and updating the content for the latest version of jQuery. Cool stuff that's new in the second edition: 1)More exercises than the first edition to try in the labs 2)The second half of the book on jQuery UI 3)This is the first print book I saw with references to HTML 5 4)Mine came with a paper giving free access to the first and second edition PDF - not sure if that was because I got a review copy or they all do 5)The last sentence made me smile - "We wish you health and happiness, and may all your bugs be easily solvable! What I continued to like: 1)Screenshots of labs and reminders to do labs 2)Emphasis on common idioms, gotchas, etc 3)Casual style and cultural references - this time caught a reference to a Jimmy Buffett song 4)The PDF is in color 5)Showing the non-jQuery way first for things like AJAX What I didn't like: 1)Ripping out the paper with free book codes damaged the binding a bit 2)Could really use a list of tables - they are such great references 3)The function syntax boxes look the same for custom written plugins and built in. Awkward for later when flip through for reference. 4)Would have liked more on how to use plugins and which are available 5)Could really use a list of tables - wait, I said this. Maybe I should make my own. I read this book largely on the train and didn't get the full benefit from it. I need to go back and do the labs and exercises. These aren't optional! --- Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for writing this review on behalf of JavaRanch. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- First edition review: "jQuery in Action" grabbed my interest and kept it. This was a great contrast to the previous book I read - "Learning jQuery 1.3" which made me want to pull my hair out at the copious HTML code. By contrast, the longest "jQuery in Action" code example was 3.5 pages and there were only a few approaching this length. The vast majority were significantly shorter and all were easily digestible. Note that this review is for jQuery in Action 1st edition which covers jQuery 1.3. If you go to the publisher's website [...]), you can buy the second edition which covers jQuery 1.4. While only three chapters of the second edition are available, you can see them as they get written. Plus it includes the e-book for the current edition. If I were buying the book now, I'd choose this arrangement. It's a great idea on the part of the publisher as it solves the "I want to read a good book about jQuery now but don't want the latest edition ASAP." The book comes with some "labs" that you can download to try out concepts. I really liked following along and trying out the selectors/effects interactively. There was an emphasis on good coding concepts such as Unobtrusive JavaScript an

I have solid JavaScript skills and plenty of experience, but at first I wasn't feeling 100% comfortable using jQuery; I was able to be productive very quickly, but failed to feel at home using it. This book was exactly what I was looking for. jQuery has its own way to approach many problems and, in my case, I almost had to "unlearn" certain habits and embrace the idiomatic alternatives offered by the library. jQuery in Action helped me a lot in the process, saved me some time and made the whole learning process much more enjoyable. I wish there was more space dedicated to ui.jQuery, but I understand that's a topic worth a dedicated book.

This is just an excellent book all around. It's well-written. No BS to wade through (just the stuff you need to get going with jQuery). It has excellent online tools to download so you can really get into jQuery and how it works (they call it a Lab page -- it's a set of HTML pages that you download and use to test tasks or theories in jQuery). I haven't read too many books solely on Ajax frameworks but I cannot recommend this one enough. You'll be up and running with jQuery faster than you can imagine.

jQuery is a Javascript framework that aims to let you think structurally and conceptually, rather than worrying about syntax and other details. In that largely succeeds, and so does this remarkable book. Every technical book should be like this one; having written a few myself, I know that's a tall order. "jQuery in Action" is concise but clear, humorous but not silly, and answers all the questions it raises, quickly. The reader is never left wondering "But what about..." for more than a sentence or two. The authors clearly gave a lot of thought to pedagogy, because things are explained in a clear way which progresses naturally from chapter to chapter. Factor in the extremely readable style and the handsome diagrams, and it's easy to see why reading this book is a sheer joy. For each major feature of jQuery, this book provides a "Laboratory page", a kind of interactive HTML playground where you can try the feature out using different options. The remarkable flexibility of these pages is a testament to both the power of jQuery and to the imagination and creativity of the authors. Perhaps the most commendable feature of "jQuery in Action" is, however, its unflinching honesty. All too often authors are interested in selling you on an approach or a product, and they tend to gloss over the rough spots to win you over. These authors refuse to do that. They present their topic just as it is, describe its merits, and let the reader decide. You should, of course, decide to buy this book!

I usually don't write reviews, but I read tons of them. However, after starting "jQuery in Action" I just have to write about this book. After reading the first two chapters I could tell that this book is a "keeper". The interactive "lab" exercises (starting in Chapter 2) help explain jQuery's capabilities and features quickly and conveniently, using your computer browser. This method of teaching is terrific; very intelligent, yet simple. I started out by reading the Appendix: "Javascript that you need to know but might not!". This helped to fill in my understanding of Javascript and was a good way to ease into the book. I am not a Javascript expert but I am a seasoned programmer and I have read dozens upon dozens of technical books over the years, and I know a well developed technical guide when I see it. Kudos to the authors and the publisher for a fine book about jQuery.