Head First JavaScript Programming

I do not indulge in writing reviews here on Amazon or anywhere, but I am compelled to come here and share my experiences. This book is so d*** good, it has actually helped me understand another programming language (C#) better. Although I do have a copy of Head First C#, but the style, manner of delivery, patience and humour in this book (Head First Javascript) make it an awesome read. It is by far the best value for money book I have bought in a LONG time (and trust me, I buy loads of books) - including or especially programming books. I have been reading this book like a Robert Ludlum thriller...quickly digesting and turning the pages in a hurry to see what I would learn next. The way some programming concepts were explained by the authors (in the context of Javascript of course) has made me smile and pause so many times in wonderment, as to why other programming books could not be written this way. I know it has been the style and philosophy of the Head First movement to combine hand-scribbled annotations with cartoons, 1940's images and jokes, but never has it all come together so well as in this book. As I write this review, I have just passed the half-way mark in the book, but Javascript is already demystified and simplified for me. In fact, I feel so confident now that I am tempted to not finish the book (LOL). Such is the amount of confidence and understanding of Javascript that I have obtained already. If I could give 6 stars to any book, this would be it. Despite starting my programming/coding journey from C#, I have come to appreciate why many experienced programmers recommend that newbies (or noobs) start learning from Javascript. The language may not be a proper OOP (like C++, Java or C#) but this book has made me see why an aspiring programmer should invest time learning Javascript first. It would be easier to grow a thick skin and clear head for other languages. And although I am picking up some lax syntaxing habits from Javascript that could embarrass me later in C# (which is a strongly typed, no nonsense language), I am happy that I last month I decided to paus my coding journey in order to grasp Javascript first. In short, this book (being one of three that bought on Javascript) is way more valuable than what I paid for it. Anyway, I have always suspected that some authors of programming books while being good programmers are often awful teachers or just people who would rather make programming seem like rocket science or something for an exclusive bunch of people. Kudos to these authors: You ROCK. I will probably buy anything else that you publish henceforth, with the expectation that you'd keep up the good work.

I am almost done reading this book! And I am thinking: "HEAD FIRST", where have you been before?! I love how everything is explained in an easy way and I've started understanding JavaScript better (it's something I've been struggling with for a while). The text isn't just plain and boring as a lot of sources are. I never expected that learning JavaScript would so much fun :) For those who are starting JavaScript and never even written a program - it's a must have book! Seriously!

This is a good book for beginners.... All important concepts are explained clearly with relevant examples. Having said that, I prefer, or I will rather recommend 'Head First HTML5 Programming'. It is well written and gives students an overall idea of what is needed, and where/ how Javascript can be used. Thanks

A very easy to read book - I rattled through from front to back in two weeks and think I've managed to retain much of the information from the one pass. I found the conversational style, whilst apparently not to everyone's taste, to be very conducive to taking on board the information in the book. I bought this as a "getting to grips with Javascript" for work (hence being able to get through it without skipping anything in two weeks) and I've felt comfortable to at least prototype in Javascript for active development tasks. Highly recommended as an introduction to Javascript.

Love the designs on each page, wouldn’t be a boring read

It is really good. Clear, a bit verbose but I guess it was intentional - cuz it does help me retain the information better. The exercises were a bit weird. I guess they could improve them by introducing some small JavaScript projects that we can undertake or just exercises that can actually allow us to practise our programming skills. But overall, great book, good price.

Likes Easy to read and follow Great descriptions Easy pace to follow Dislikes Big book but only brings you up to intermediate level

So I was hoping that I would eventually like this book but it is written in a structure that I personally find difficult to understand. For example, they will state something which has not been discussed in a manner of which you believe that it has already been discussed and it can throw you off. I then spent time researching that specific thing only to find that they will be discussing it later on. As well as this, this book try's way too hard to be engaging. Reading it sometimes makes me feel like I am in a lecture hall with an eccentric professor who try's so hard to be 'hip' that it is off putting. It might be my learning style (although I have read several JS books now and I am getting confident) but I find this book very hard to engage with. I'd also like to state that the activities (such as building a battleships application) are preached rather than taught. I would prefer it if they went line by line and discussed why every aspect is created and why we create properties etc. Instead, they decided to go with writing full blocks of code with mad arrows pointing towards different aspects with explanations. Despite this, the book does well to explain various areas of the coding language very well. It is just the structure of how to put theory into practice which throws me off completely but that might just be me and my particular methods of learning.

Even though this book is now outdated since ES6 has come out and prototypes have long been left out by developers, it still is a fantastic introduction to JavaScript. After reading it, I was able to write my first programming project - a snake game. Whenever you're reading this review, check if there hasn't come out a new edition. And even if it hasn't yet - buy this one. You won't regret it. Once you build the foundation, the rest comes easily. And this here provides a solid foundation, no doubt.

Learning code is like learning the alphabet. There cannot be a book or another resource which can teach you something new or different than there is. It is in this mind-numbing genre that Head First Javascript Programming makes a splash. Skillfully written with an intent to evoke interest, stoke thought, tickle your ribs, and enable retention, this is a special book you just won't put down easily. Elisabeth Robson and Eric Freeman seem to have mastered the art of 'programming fiction'. This is my second Head First book, the first one being Head First HTML, CSS and XHTML. I remember being thoroughly immersed in it, and even today, I have kept it in a place where I can see it every day! More importantly, be warned, this book is not a definitive guide to Javascript. As is the norm, you may need to turn to more resources before you eventually become an expert. But, this book is the best starting point. Believe me, you won't be disappointed you invested in it.

Livre très très intéressant, bien écrit, agréable à lire et très détaillé avec de nombreux exercices à faire pas à pas ! Pour toute personne souhaitant un support fiable pour débuter dans l'univers du Javascript.

Recomiendo este libro para aprender de una manera entretenida y divertida los fundamentos de JavaScript

This book keeps you engaged, and keep you moving - even if you don't have a good reading practice of Technical books. I have read about closures in Java 8 and groovy articles, but I completely understood it only from this book. The coining of the word 'free variables' - variables which are neither local nor global, but declared in the enclosing functions is very good. The definition and explanation that - functions returned from other functions which has also free variables attached to it (in its environment), and those free variables are live variables and not a copy is a very good explanation. For experienced programmers in other languages (say 5 to 9, which I am ) , you will find this book interesting only if you write answers to the problems and have a pencil with you all the time. Else, it will be a book containing very basic programming constructs which you might know it already. but, if you write the answers, you may find that you made some mistakes and you will wonder why For experienced javascript programmers, I am not sure whether you will find it more exiciting, but certain chapters on - Objects, Prototypes, event handling will help you to keep your basics strong. Few instances are 1. In a chapter - "they build a War Ship Game", the whole code will be divided into Controller, Model and View. This is well explained and would let you think that, even a small peice of code should not hang on the JS file, but go inside a object as a method or a property. The control should start and end like this : EventHandlers triggered by windows.onload --> Controller -> Model ->View 2. The transition from each topic was very good. They described about variables and functions (global and local), and then they explained why it has to be inside a Object Literal. and later described why they have to be inside a Contructor (Object object rather than Object Literal), and then they explain why all the commonly used functions and variables should be inside a Prototype, and finally, they explained Prototypical inheritance. 3. All the hanging functions (alert, prompt etc.,,) and objects (console) are properties of window object. Also, all the user defined global variables and functions would be attached to the window object 4. Also, by default "this" would be pointing to window object. Whenever you call a function on a Object Literal or object, the "this" will point to that object instance(that is why you refer the variable with this inside a member method). also, whenever you can a constructor with new, an object will be created, and "this" will point to that object inside the constructor. 5. Also, when a instance is returned by the constuctor, a Constructor.prototype object (an empty object) will be also be attached the object instance. this will help you to understand prototypical inheritance a lot better in the later chapter. 6. Math is an Javascript supplied object. Date, RegExp are constructors. That is why you would always write Math.random(), and new Date(), new RegExp(/^\d{3}-?\d{4}/). This book is NOT for javasript programmers who are very good in their basics. I cant comment on this a lot, because I just now started to work on my first javascript project, but aspiring to be a good one by end of this year. For aspiring programmers (who were never programmers), I think, this is a very good book to start your career.