What's are some good JavaScript/Ajax books?

Question

I'm a programmer and I've had some experience in web development through personal projects - but nothing really fancy. I want to learn JavaScript, particularly in relation to using Ajax, and hope to incorporate it into my professional repertoire. It seems to be a lot more complex than the basic JavaScript I'm used to seeing.

I'd like to find some good books that are clear and practical - not aimed at a programming noobie, but also not requiring a Ph. D. to understand. I would also appreciate some good web resources if anyone has any.

I'm not asking about Java...Java & JavaScript are 2 different things. :(

Answer 1

As a professional programmer I highly recommend 'Javascript - the definitive guide' by David Flanagan. Make sure you get the most recent edition of this book. Though this book does not have AJAX specific information it is a great book to learn how to program in Javascript the right way. It is also hands down the best reference that you will refer to over and over again. As far as AJAX itself, it is really just using Javascript to request and parse XML documents. You can learn much of what you need to know about this by searching online. I do a lot of AJAX programming but have not wasted my money on an AJAX book. The book I recommended is all you need.

Answer 2

i'm biased*, yet i propose "JavaScript & Ajax for the web: seen QuickStart education guide, seventh version" by technique of Tom Negrino and Dori Smith. you should manage to get it from WHSmith because that is listed on their internet web site (linked to below). * i'm the co-author :-)

Answer 3

want to get fancy???? http://ejohn.org/, and order his book!

John works for mozilla these days, and is a major expert in the field!

Answer 4

Java for Dummies. Go to your local bookstore. I used it and it was great.