Synopses & Reviews
JavaScript lets you supercharge your web pages with animation, interactivity, and visual effects, but learning the language isnt easy. This fully updated and expanded guide takes you step-by-step through JavaScript basics, then shows you how to save time and effort with jQuery—the library of prewritten JavaScript code—and the newest innovations from the jQuery UI plug-in.
The important stuff you need to know:
- Make your pages come alive. Use jQuery to create interactive elements that respond to visitor input.
- Get acquainted with jQuery UI. Expand your interface with tabbed panels, dialog boxes, date pickers, and other widgets.
- Display good forms. Get information from visitors, help shoppers buy goods, and let members post their thoughts.
- Go beyond the browser with Ajax. Communicate with the web server to update your pages without reloading.
- Put your new skills right to work. Create a simple application step-by-step, using jQuery and jQuery UI widgets.
- Dive into advanced concepts. Use ThemeRoller to customize your widgets; avoid common errors that new programmers often make.
Synopsis
You don't need programming experience to add interactive and visual effects to your web pages with JavaScript. This Missing Manual shows you how the jQuery library makes JavaScript programming fun, easy, and accessible to web designers at every level of experience. You'll quickly learn how to use jQuery to help your site run smoothly and look great across multiple web browsers.
jQuery is the most popular JavaScript library, used on more than 30% of existing websites -- a strong testament to both its power and ease of use. In this entertaining, jargon-free book, bestselling author David McFarland teaches you how to create dynamic web pages without typing a lot of code. Why wait? Order a copy of JavaScript and jQuery: The Missing Manual today.
- Use jQuery to simplify complex JavaScript tasks
- Get extensive tutorials for various JavaScript techniques
- Learn jQuery from the author of popular Missing Manuals on Dreamweaver and CSS
- Take your web development skills to the next level with little or no programming experience
Synopsis
JavaScript lets you supercharge your HTML with animation, interactivity, and visual effects—but many web designers find the language hard to learn. This jargon-free guide covers JavaScript basics and shows you how to save time and effort with the jQuery library of prewritten JavaScript code. Youll soon be building web pages that feel and act like desktop programs, without having to do much programming.
The important stuff you need to know:
- Make your pages interactive. Create JavaScript events that react to visitor actions.
- Use animations and effects. Build drop-down navigation menus, pop-ups, automated slideshows, and more.
- Improve your user interface. Learn how the pros make websites fun and easy to use.
- Collect data with web forms. Create easy-to-use forms that ensure more accurate visitor responses.
- Add a dash of Ajax. Enable your web pages to communicate with a web server without a page reload.
- Practice with living examples. Get step-by-step tutorials for web projects you can build yourself.
About the Author
David Sawyer McFarland is president of Sawyer McFarland Media, Inc., a Web development and training company in Portland, Oregon. He's been building websites since 1995, when he designed an online magazine for communication professionals. He's served as webmaster at the University of California at Berkeley and the Berkeley Multimedia Research Center, and oversaw a complete CSS-driven redesign of Macworld.com. David is also a writer and trainer, and teaches in the Portland State University multimedia program. He wrote the bestselling Missing Manual titles on Adobe Dreamweaver, CSS, and JavaScript.
Table of Contents
The Missing Credits; About the Author; About the Creative Team; Acknowledgements; The Missing Manual Series; Introduction; What Is JavaScript?; What Is jQuery?; HTML: The Barebones Structure; CSS: Adding Style to Web Pages; Software for JavaScript Programming; About This Book; The Very Basics; About the Online Resources; Part One: Getting Started with JavaScript; Chapter 1: Writing Your First JavaScript Program; 1.1 Introducing Programming; 1.2 How to Add JavaScript to a Page; 1.3 Your First JavaScript Program; 1.4 Writing Text on a Web Page; 1.5 Attaching an External JavaScript File; 1.6 Tracking Down Errors; Chapter 2: The Grammar of JavaScript; 2.1 Statements; 2.2 Built-In Functions; 2.3 Types of Data; 2.4 Variables; 2.5 Working with Data Types and Variables; 2.6 Tutorial: Using Variables to Create Messages; 2.7 Tutorial: Asking for Information; 2.8 Arrays; 2.9 Tutorial: Writing to a Web Page Using Arrays; 2.10 A Quick Object Lesson; 2.11 Comments; Chapter 3: Adding Logic and Control to Your Programs; 3.1 Making Programs React Intelligently; 3.2 Tutorial: Using Conditional Statements; 3.3 Handling Repetitive Tasks with Loops; 3.4 Functions: Turn Useful Code Into Reusable Commands; 3.5 Tutorial: A Simple Quiz; Part Two: Getting Started with jQuery; Chapter 4: Introducing jQuery; 4.1 About JavaScript Libraries; 4.2 Getting jQuery; 4.3 Adding jQuery to a Page; 4.4 Modifying Web Pages: An Overview; 4.5 Understanding the Document Object Model; 4.6 Selecting Page Elements: The jQuery Way; 4.7 Adding Content to a Page; 4.8 Setting and Reading Tag Attributes; 4.9 Reading, Setting, and Removing HTML Attributes; 4.10 Acting on Each Element in a Selection; 4.11 Automatic Pull Quotes; Chapter 5: Action/Reaction: Making Pages Come Alive with Events; 5.1 What Are Events?; 5.2 Using Events the jQuery Way; 5.3 Tutorial: Introducing Events; 5.4 More jQuery Event Concepts; 5.5 Advanced Event Management; 5.6 Tutorial: A One-Page FAQ; Chapter 6: Animations and Effects; 6.1 jQuery Effects; 6.2 Tutorial: Login Slider; 6.3 Animations; 6.4 Performing an Action After an Effect Is Completed; 6.5 Tutorial: Animated Dashboard; Part Three: Building Web Page Features; Chapter 7: Improving Your Images; 7.1 Swapping Images; 7.2 Tutorial: Adding Rollover Images; 7.3 Tutorial: Photo Gallery with Effects; 7.4 Advanced Gallery with jQuery FancyBox; 7.5 Tutorial: FancyBox Photo Gallery; Chapter 8: Improving Navigation; 8.1 Some Link Basics; 8.2 Opening External Links in a New Window; 8.3 Creating New Windows; 8.4 Opening Pages in a Window on the Page; 8.5 Basic, Animated Navigation Bar; Chapter 9: Enhancing Web Forms; 9.1 Understanding Forms; 9.2 Adding Smarts to Your Forms; 9.3 Tutorial: Basic Form Enhancements; 9.4 Form Validation; 9.5 Validation Tutorial; Chapter 10: Expanding Your Interface; 10.1 Organizing Information in Tabbed Panels; 10.2 Adding a Content Slider to Your Site; 10.3 Determining the Size and Position of Page Elements; 10.4 Adding Tooltips; Part Four: Ajax: Communication with the Web Server; Chapter 11: Introducing Ajax; 11.1 What Is Ajax?; 11.2 Ajax: The Basics; 11.3 Ajax the jQuery Way; 11.4 JSON; Chapter 12: Flickr and Google Maps; 12.1 Introducing JSONP; 12.2 Adding a Flickr Feed to Your Site; 12.3 Tutorial: Adding Flickr Images to Your Site; 12.4 Adding Google Maps to Your Site; Part Five: Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting; Chapter 13: Getting the Most from jQuery; 13.1 Useful jQuery Tips and Information; 13.2 Using the jQuery Docs; 13.3 Traversing the DOM; 13.4 More Functions For Manipulating HTML; 13.5 Advanced Event Handling; Chapter 14: Going Further with JavaScript; 14.1 Working with Strings; 14.2 Finding Patterns in Strings; 14.3 Working with Numbers; 14.4 Dates and Times; 14.5 Putting It All Together; 14.6 Writing More Efficient JavaScript; 14.7 Creating Fast-Loading JavaScript; Chapter 15: Troubleshooting and Debugging; 15.1 Top JavaScript Programming Mistakes; 15.2 Debugging with Firebug; 15.3 Debugging Tutorial; JavaScript Resources; References; Basic JavaScript; jQuery; Ajax; Advanced JavaScript; CSS; Colophon;