Web Books

Matthew Russell has captured what makes Dojo the "magic sauce" of the Ajax world. As he indicates in the book's dedication, Dojo can be your friend in combating browser idiosyncrasies. Since Russell has been an active participant in the Dojo development community for a long time, he's in an excellent position to write from an expert's viewpoint. Another Amazon reviewer has covered the book's contents thoroughly. "Dojo: The Definitive Guide" is very well-organized and covers lots of ground. I appreciate the fact that the author doesn't simply rehash online documentation; instead he provides real insight and coherent explanations. Like most O'Reilly books, the table of contents and index are invaluable in rapidly honing in on a particular subtopic.

To get the most out of this book, you do need to have some web development background (JavaScript, CSS, HTML), but then who else would be purchasing this book? While the book might have benefited from a discussion of Dojo use with YUI, Google Gear, or other toolkits, the author points out this is out of scope. I imagine this saved more than a few trees. (Check out the ongoing efforts of the OpenAjax Alliance if you need to combine multiple frameworks.) I would have preferred access to the code examples packaged in a convenient zip file; perhaps the author will add that to his O'Reilly catalog page (URL given in the preface or just search for "Dojo" at oreilly.com). However, these points do not detract from the thoroughness in which Russell has covered a difficult and rapidly changing topic.

This book is certainly worthy of the fine O'Reilly imprint. The fact that it is edited by the always discerning Simon St. Laurent is definitely a plus. If you are a web developer who needs cross-browser support, you need this book in your library.

Dojo is a comprehensive JavaScript toolkit that provides a layer of insulation between you and browser inconsistencies by leveraging JavaScript and other web technologies. Dojo is very good in situations where YUI is already being used. Dojo has a standard JavaScript library with a collection of drop-in replacements for customized HTML controls and CSS layout hacks, build tools, and unit tests.

Part 1 of this book is a standard library reference that exposes you to the various nooks and crannies of Base and Core, the parts of the toolkit that comprise a JavaScript standard library. Base contains rich functionality as diverse as AJAX calls, DOM querying based on CSS selector syntax, standardized event propagation, and functional programming utilities like map and filter. Core includes lots of additional features for operations like animations and drag-and-drop. While this can be incredibly useful, these features just aren't as common to all use cases as the features in Base.

Part 2 explores the rest of the toolkit, including complete coverage of Dijit, the rich layer of drop-in replacements for customized HTML controls. Dijit is designed so that it can be used in the markup with little to no programming required, and makes it possible to build attractive web pages that already look and behave much like user interface controls from desktop applications.

Part 2 concludes with a discussion of the build system and unit testing framework provided by Util. The build system includes a highly configurable entry point to ShrinkSafe, a tool that leverages the Rhino JavaScript engine to compress code by as a third or more. DOH stands for the Dojo Objective Harness, and provides a standalone system for unit testing your JavaScript code. This is also discussed here.

This book assumes that you've done some web development with client-side technologies such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. You by no means, however, need to be an expert in any of these skills and you really don't need to know anything at all about what happens on a web server because Dojo is a client-side technology. Just knowing what they are and how they are used is more than enough. As in most O'Reilly applied programming technology books, there are plenty of code examples. The book just doesn't talk about all of this stuff, it actually shows you the technology in action.

If you are an existing web developer or even a hobbyist who is able to construct a very simple web page and apply a little JavaScript and CSS to brighten things up a bit, then you are qualiified to read this book. If you haven't even heard of HTML, JavaScript, or CSS, and have never written any code that works with any of these languages and technologies, then you might want to consider picking up a good introduction on web development before tackling this book.

The following is a detailed table of contents:

Part 1: Base and Core
Chapter 1. Toolkit Overview
Chapter 2. Language and Browser Utilities
Chapter 3. Event Listeners and Pub/Sub Communication
Chapter 4. AJAX and Server Communication
Chapter 5. Node Manipulation
Chapter 6. Internationalization
Chapter 7. Drag-and-Drop
Chapter 8. Animation and Special Effects
Chapter 9. Data Abstraction
Chapter 10. Simulated Classes and Inheritance
Chapter 11. Dijit Overview
Chapter 12. Dijit Anatomy and Lifecycle
Chapter 13. Form Widgets
Chapter 14. Layout Widgets
Chapter 15. Application Widgets
Chapter 16. Build Tools, Testing, and Production Considerations
Appendix A. A Firebug Primer
Appendix B. A Brief Survey of DojoX

I'm up against a deadline for a web application. The going is slow when you
have to hand-carve the HTML, JavaScript, CSS and PHP. Dojo saves you at least
two-thirds of the work, so I'm very grateful for it. But it takes some getting
used to, and the on-line documentation is, well, succinct.

Russell's book came along just in time. It's a lifesaver.

The Introduction alone is worth the price. I found out about
some invaluable Web development debugging tools that I'd never seen before.
Russell provides a clear, concise explanation of some very important JavaScript
notions: Closures, Context, and Anonymous Functions. And all of this before
we even get to the toolkit!

The book makes the Dojo easy to use and easy to understand. There's a wealth
of coding examples, as well as complete lists of objects, methods, and so forth.

Nada malo que decir sobre este libro, recomendado desde para quien no tiene idea del manejo del programa, hasta para aquellos que ya nos entendemos con el programa... claros ejemplos, conscisas explicaciones. Realmente un gran libro.

Dreamweaver has quickly become one of the more popular web design toold available. Its concept of web design with minimal coding appeals to many new designers. This is also a downfall, especially with more experienced designers who like to type all their code themselves.

Most of the books available for Dreamweaver have focused on how to use the basic functions of Dreamweaver, ignoring things like database connectivity with ColdFusion.

This book not only covers the basics of HTML, but it goes into some more advanced topics like CF. I would reccomend this book to anyone who is serious about web design with Dreamweaver.

It is very apparent that Joseph Lowery has not only a complete understanding of the many Internet technologies available to developers but also has an understanding for the way in which we most efficiently learn them. This book is not only 100% comprehensive but it also presents the material in an easy-to-understand bottoms-up approach that would give novices and professions alike an excellent understanding for web developement and Dreamweaver's role in that development. This book also provides numerous examples for both simple and advanced ways to enhance sites with Dreamweaver's many built-in behaviors.

An exceptional book on the creative process in the IT sector, and how to make the process productive.
Despite the title and the editorial here on Amazon, it's much more than design or history of multimedia; it gives an excellent view of the priorities of human/artifact interactions (software or doorknobs), and highlights many ways of getting much more out of IT than most systems achieve.
The 'stuffed dog' analogy is one of the most serious criticisms of the current attitude toward human-computer interactions that I've heard.

I am an art director for an ad agency, and I design web sites. I discovered this brilliant book at the perfect time. It has made me a better designer and re-awakened my passion for what I do. This small volume is not simply a great design resource: it delves remarkably deeply into the philosophical, spiritual and even political dimensions of design, showing how and why we must infuse the work we do with heart and soul. And lest I make it sound airy-fairy, it's not; It's rigorous, practical and muscular, with not a wasted sentence. And fun to read, too. Bravo.

I know a bit of the history of interactive media, but the more I learn the more I see I don't know nothing. Well this book is helpful on the historical side, because it is talking about the people who do the things. It is helpful also when the third part of the book talk about the creative process, and how to defend yourself against people like bad managers, annoying customers and other supicious bosses.. By giving you some hints on what to replay, when somebody tells you "what ? you're doing nothing but thinking for about an hour and you still have no idea ! hurry up!" And finally, I liked reading the book, because you don't have to be in front of a computer to test examples or whatever, this book is CD-free and is proper to go on vacation, or to offer a friend or to read in the bath... I forgot, but there are also lots of internet links to deeper informations on every topics discussed in the book, well if you like reading a book in front of your computer, you also can. Like the bible, it is a book that you can read more than once..

it's a brilliant book - the author is extremely knowledgeable and, although the subject is presented in detail, it's easy-to-follow and the book is attractively laid out. It's a masterwork!

Recently I had the opportunity to hear Bob Connolly speak in person. After hearing Mr. Connolly's presentation, I immediately ordered his book.

The book is impressive in layout as well as content. Mr. Connolly backs up his skill and puts it into real time production with this book. The accompanying CD (in Adobe PDF) is identical to the books layout, but includes the interactive Rich-Media presentations.

I have not found another book with the most up to date information on interactive PDFs. Mr. Connolly uses the interactive Rich-Media CD to reinforce the subject matter of the book. A must read for those working with or planning interactive Rich-Media technology presentations.

This is a great book to take you from the start of PDf right to what Bob thinks is the end out come of the next generation of the internet. What a vision it is and he explains it all along the way showing you the true powers of Adobe and its master piece PDF. This book will truly drive your mind wild with all the things that one can do with the right tools at their fingers. It has wonderful examples that if you use the inserted CD, come to life right in front of your eyes.
The only down side to the book is that all he does is talk about all the wonderful, great things PDF do but he tends to leave you hanging on how one can go about getting all these tricks done. Really, this book is for an advanced user of Creative Suite and someone that is looking for the "WOW" factor when it comes to sales, marketing and website design. If this book does not inspire you to create rich dynamic interactive PDF nothing will. I really enjoyed the book but I also learned that when it comes to PDF I am a novice.
If you are into design this your book but also search for other books that teach you all the things that Bob talks about and I do mean OTHERS. You will not find any of this information in one book unless Bob wrote a HOW TOO as well. Come on BOB, I will be waiting.

I've had this book for several years now and I refer to it constantly to keep me fresh. It is undoubtedly one of the must-have guides for all html newcomers! It is precise and concise with plenty of on-screen illus. to help you along. Buy it!

One day my uncle bought me this for my birthday. I was completely new to webpublishing and had never built a (good) website before in my life. Jonah Neugass explains the material so well a complete beginner like myself could become a master website builder in days. Thanks Jonah and keep up the goodwork!

I bought this book because I flipped through it in the bookstore and found it to have illustrations unlike all of the other HTML books. It explains step-by-step, picture-by-picture how to design and publish web pages. A must buy for beginners. It is very clear and very easy to understand.

This book is different that a lot of the other eBay stuff available. It's more like a value guide. There's a lot of insight into finding cheap prices and bidding to keep prices low in here. I especially like the insight on finding travel bargains and cheap business wear, two of my favorite things to buy on eBay.

This book gave me tons of new ideas about how to shop on ebay. I didn't know that I could buy such interesting items - Pizza? It's written in an easy to read style, and I actually laughed out loud while I was reading it. Some of the stuff I knew, but I really learned a lot about the different areas of ebay that I hadn't visited before. I also found some new ideas on how to get deals. It's a fun book at a great price, I'm giving it as a holiday gift to all my friends who are always asking me about ebay.

I've been shopping on eBay (as well as Amazon :-) for years. But my mother and mother-in-law are both novices. They're always bugging me with, "What's this eBay thing? What can I get on there? My friend completed her discontinued china set on eBay.." All with the gist of "How can I do this too." As soon as I saw this book was coming out, I picked up two copies of it (mother in laws are rarely great sharers) and gave it to them. Finally! They get what eBay is all about. They know how to set up their user accounts, how the "store" is laid out, how to uncover the best deals and, most importantly for them, how to stay safe when buying on eBay. Now, they're ready to get off and running. In fact, they picked up so much great information, they even taught me a few things (no more staying up late waiting for an auction to end in order to swoop in with the best bid!) This book is great! It's an easy read, and you can jump around to find the points that are most relevant to you. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to become an eBay power shopper.

To give a brief background about myself. I have been one of the primary contributor and committer of the Web Tools Platform (WTP) eclipse tools project since its inception through WTP 1.5 release. I contributed the Validation Framework component for this project. I read a large portion of this book and can say that this most comprehensive book that explains the complete WTP in a step by step fashion that can be help you easily understand the whole WTP project, its sub projects, its components and features through several real world examples. I strongly recommend this book to all users and contributors of WTP.

Vijay Bhadriraju, IBM

Eclipse Web Tools Platform: Developing Java(TM) Web Applications

This is an excellent book; I specially liked the iterative approach (for example, for presentation tier, iteration 1: HTML, iteration 2: add CSS, iteration 3: add Javascripts, iteration 4: XML and XSLT, iteration 5: DTD)authors have taken. I have used examples from this book, with Eclipse and NetBeans, of course for Eclipse user this book has added value, since it goes through configuration of Eclipse and recommended practices. Please ignore the gripe about errors in the code; there are two minor errors which are detailed in the errata on book's companion site, it doesn't take more than a minute to fix those two issues.

Authors discuss All three tiers in great detail. How about this, by page 85 you would be deploying a simple web service (and you would be amazed how simple it is).

Though I have had some experience in Java, Eclipse, and WTP, a recent project required me to get more into depth. This book got me through the whole development process. It explained to me clean coding techniques when writing web apps in Java, how to get my web server up and running for use with WTP, to get my apps to talk to the server, debugging using different tools, and unit testing in a web environment.

This book was an invaluable addition to my collection, and is also a great reference now that I have mastered these concepts.

Trying to explain magic in rational terms has rather fallen out of fashion, and sometimes you have to turn to the classics.

Half philosophy, half science, Troward's little volume builds a rational and plausible basis for controlling events in what most people would deem "supernatural" ways. His premise, condensed down to three words, is "faith changes reality" -- it's what comes up in exploring that hypothesis that makes the book interesting. The book is as well-organized and well-presented as you would expect any college textbook to be, although the flowery 100-year-old language might be a turn-off to some.

While "Edinburgh" is of use to people trying to understand (or accept) magic, its greatest value is by far for those who are already exploring the subject. I wish that this book came in clue bat form, so I could hit a number of would-be "mages" over the head with it, and have them absorb it instantly. While one may not necessarily agree with everything Troward says (I found the insistence on a Christian perspective rather extreneous, for example), his ability to build a rich and cohesive system is an inspiration -- and a solid foundation. Ultimately, those who wish to change the world must understand it, and this book can be a great first step on that path. It's one of the must-read books on my bookshelf.

I have been a student of quantum theory as it applies to our ability to create form from thougtht. "The Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science" by Thomas Troward were published in 1909. They contain all of the same principles being set forth by today's gurus of quantam theory such as Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer. Very interesting book. Also recommend, "Your Invisible Power" by Genevieve Behrend. Ms. Behrend was the only student of Thomas Troward. Her book is a more basic way to apply the same principles.

A classic by one of the pioneers of New Thought; these lectures deal with the questions of spirit and matter, the nature of intelligence, the unity of spirit, and the relationship between the conscious and subconscious mind. Troward had a knack for conveying profound philosophical matters in a most understandable way and for formulating ancient truths so that a child could understand. He explains the difference between form (matter) and being - that the one is the mode of the relative and the mark of subjection to conditions, while the other is the truth of the absolute and that which controls conditions. Because spirit is infinite, it is everywhere and must be present at every point in space at the same moment. This is a fundamental fact of all being. The relation between spirit and being as idea (from which the elements of time and space are absent) and form (the relative which is dependent on those elements) leads to the fact that pure spirit continually subsists in the absolute and from it all the phenomena of being flow. In proportion to our level of recognition of this fact, our power for producing visible outward results by the action of our thought will grow. The book concludes with the practical application of this knowledge in our lives and affairs. I highly recommend the Edinburgh lectures as well as the Dore Lectures and Troward's masterpiece "The Creative Process in the Individual."

This book covers a myriad of therapies. The format and scope was very appealing to me. It was not dry like most books I have read on ethics. A must for Complementary and Alternative practitioners.

This is a very useful tool for any therapist, whether a mainstream counselor or doctor, or practitioners of complementary modalities such as massage. It discusses in plain language the ethical dilemmas we are all confronted by in our daily practice. I particularly appreciated the explanation of a client's vulnerability while in an altered state such as hypnosis or the deep relaxation produced by massage. The author also addresses the vulnerability of the therapist when faced with a client's issues that hook into the therapist's issues, creating a very murky situation indeed. The author assists us to provide appropriate loving care to our clients without violating boundaries.

Too often, ethical questions are considered dreary subjects best left to a committee. This book helps us see ethics as integrally related to how we do our work, and to our own personal growth. It also embraces a wide spectrum of consciousness, in a systematic way. It is particularly remarkable for its emphasis on non-ordinary states of consciousness, and how to handle these intense experiences when they occur in our work with clients (whether deliberately induced or occurring spontaneously). The Ethics of Caring will be especially valuable for trainee caregivers, supervisors, clients looking for the appropriate therapist, and any professionals who finds themselves, as we all do from time to time, out of our depth.

The author has developed a comprehensive framework for describing the evolution of the World Wide Web and its implications for effective application development. Each of the four main chapters succinctly investigates a particular stage of Web technology and its key characteristics. By introducing an evolutionary perspective, the book offers readers the guidance they need to develop Web-based information systems that are feasible to manage, effective to navigate, and easy to expand as rapidly changing business environments require. The author presents automated methods to obtain and process feedback from users and competitors alike. The focus on evolutionary principles and the regular monitoring of Web content distinguishes this book from similar publications and makes it a highly valuable resource for researchers and students alike.

A great source if you are interested or engaged in the improvement of a Website's quality (as it is my job at the moment). This book provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of methods and criteria to evaluate the quality of a company's Web presence. The author refers to a tool that seems to be quite practical, because it enables to gain data about websites in an automated, scalable way, thus reducing subjectivity in the evaluation process. I can highly recommend this book to professionals and also newcomers, because both of them will find valuable information. Well, believe me, it took me a lot of time to find really good stuff on this topic ...

A great source if you are interested or engaged in the improvement of a Website's quality (as it is my job at the moment). This book provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of methods and criteria to evaluate the quality of a company's Web presence. The author refers to a tool that seems to be quite practical, because it enables to gain data about websites in an automated, scalable way, the tool seems to be well-elaborated and rather high-sophisticated. I can highly recommend this book to professionals and persons who want to become specialists in the field of Web assessment.