Rating: 
Summary: Not what I was expecting either
Review: I, too, would have preferred a 'Perl Cookbook' or 'Numerical Recipes' style book. Granted, this would have put it out of reach of beginners, but it would have filled a hole in the current selection of advanced Javascript texts. The book covers a number of sample applications with snippets of general explaination sprinkled throughout. Most of the commentary is specific to the applications, though. And it concentrates on how the code works not why particular choices were made in the coding. The general explainations are kinda basic - how nested loops work, how to use eval(), avoiding multiple document.write() calls using variables. And they avoid important issues related to those topics - that the eval() function requires a lot of overhead so using array notation to access members of collections should be used whenever possible and single document.write() calls aren't only pretty but can prevent applications from crashing in particular circumstances.Chapter 6 covers javascript source files (external .js files). I would have liked to see more coverage because they allow code to be cached and reused and they allow greater maintainability of existing applications. The presented libraries themselves leave a bit to be desired. cookies.js is a standard but others such as frames.js and arrays.js are a bit skimpy - I've seen better on the web at places like WebMonkey.com. The dhtml.js library is almost useless - show() and hide() functions only. And using the images.js library would result in the same bloated pages created by using the builtin image functions in authoring environments like Dreamweaver or GoLive. At least they could have provided a scalable, portable, easily customizable and maintainable image rollover function. Another concern is that there is no mention of the Mozilla project (the long-awaited Netscape 5) or even of Document Object Model support in IE5. The one DHTML application sticks to 4.x functionality. If you find the leap between a beginner book like 'Visual QuickStart: JavaScript 1.2 for the World Wide Web' and a robust reference like 'JavaScript: The Definitive Guide' too much, this book might be helpful but the few lessons in it will be quickly learned and you will soon be looking for more.
Rating: 
Summary: Solutions in Search of Problems
Review: If you liked O'Reilly's PERL Cookbook, AVOID this book. Instead of helping you to code, this book dishes up complete applications which are better handled using PERL (or any other language) for CGIs. Somehow, the editor(s) at O'Reilly missed the basic issue: JavaScript isn't a language, but a shoehorn attempt at providing browser-side programming capabilities that may blow up easily, save for simple edit checks (including math operations). JS requires enabled and capable browsers, and even then scripts can be problematical between browser versions and browser vendors. If you've worked in JS, you know the frustration when a property or method in one object isn't available in a seemingly similar object. More often calls between programmers mucking about in JS are along the lines of "How do you do 'x' in JS?" and not "How do you develop a website in JS?" (The answer to the later would be "Are you out of your @#!*$ mind! ") Save your $$ and maybe O'Reilly may soon provide a robust JS cookbook.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for me!
Review: Let me preface this by saying that I know squat (a little less than squat, actually) about Perl. Period. As a matter of fact, I'm a Java newbie. BUT, Jerry's book HAS given me the ability to quickly integrate Java Script into websites, while explaining me the basic / essential underlying functionality. It's a great tutorial for someone at my level, and for my uses, this book is GREAT! The only thing that kept me from going to 5 stars is that I WANT MORE (yes, I am greedy). If there were a vol. 2, I'd buy it in a heartbeat!
Rating:
Summary: promotes bad coding practices
Review: Not a cookbook, not well-organized, not very helpful.
He recommends syntax that is harder to read and understand because it saves a few bytes of memory--he may have experience with javascript, but is he an experienced programmer? He's overly-concerned with speed of execution, and not concerned enough regarding readability and maintainability.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange review
Review: The prior reviewer didn't review the book so much as Javascript itself. While I can appreciate that he/she likes Perl better, saying that while reviewing a Javascript book is silly. This is a decent book, on the order of the Perl Cookbook. 'Nuff said.
Rating:
Summary: Virtually Useless Text
Review: The text is focused on providing ready built constructs that can be applied to any website. In summary this book contains 11 application constructs. 3 are possibly applicable in todays world, albeit their relevancy is questioned, the other 9 topics such as text ciphers in JavaScript and Shopping Carts in JavaScript, etc. are completely unacceptable in today's world. Adding text cipher or Shopping cart logic in the browser completely exposes that logic to the hacking public leaving your site completely vulnerable to attack. Even in 1999, when this book was written, this would have been a ridiculous way of implementing these things. I must say I gathered no useful information from this text. And as for the author, anyone who had their site implemented by this person should hire a professional to correct the security holes he has most likely left behind.
Rating:
Summary: Examples do not work
Review: The title is 'JavaScript Application Cookbook'. The author says he aimed to provide complete applications in JavaScript to demonstrate its power and in my opinion, he has done this extremely well. If you don't quite have the time to try and build entire applications, or would like to use cross-browser JavaScript to its fullest extent, then this book is highly recommended - kudos to the author. If you're looking for a JScript reference, stick with JavaScript : The Definitive Reference by David Flanagan or the JavaScript Bible by Danny Goodman.
Rating: 
Summary: It is exactly what it says in the title!
Review: The title is 'JavaScript Application Cookbook'. The author says he aimed to provide complete applications in JavaScript to demonstrate its power and in my opinion, he has done this extremely well. If you don't quite have the time to try and build entire applications, or would like to use cross-browser JavaScript to its fullest extent, then this book is highly recommended - kudos to the author. If you're looking for a JScript reference, stick with JavaScript : The Definitive Reference by David Flanagan or the JavaScript Bible by Danny Goodman.
Rating:
Summary: Good book if you're past the fundamentals
Review: This book fills a very nice gap in the world of JavaScript books. Most of the books either are basic "how to" learning guides or exhaustive reference manuals. Both of those types of books are necessary for a good developer, but there comes a time when you want to cross over from the theoretical to the practical. As in, "how would I do a function like this in JavaScript?" The "cookbook" approach is designed to take a common web site feature, like a search engine, and code a common JavaScript routine that would do that. You can then take the code in the book and use it with very little modification. In most cases, you would learn from the code as you are implementing it, and from there you can enhance the function to better suit your particular needs. You get the best of both worlds... You are quickly able to implement a function you are getting paid to build, and you are learning at the same time. I liked the piece on context-sensitive help files. Nothing is really complex or visually impressive. But it's core functionality that you can implement quickly, it's useful for the end user, and you can build on that technique both in your current and future applications. For Notes/Domino developers, you'll find a lot you can use here. Being that Domino functionality often translates to the web, you may find that a pure JavaScript implementation of a feature may not be the fastest or easiest way to build something for your application. You'll need to examine the functionality you need for your application and determine the best way to do it. But even if you choose to use Domino to accomplish some task, seeing the way to do it in JavaScript can help you expand your horizons and consider different approaches. Conclusion
I would recommend this book as a practical supplement to a good "how to" and a good reference book. If you're just starting to learn JavaScript, you may want to leave this one alone for awhile.
Rating:
Summary: Good book if you're past the fundamentals
Review: This book fills a very nice gap in the world of JavaScript books. Most of the books either are basic "how to" learning guides or exhaustive reference manuals. Both of those types of books are necessary for a good developer, but there comes a time when you want to cross over from the theoretical to the practical. As in, "how would I do a function like this in JavaScript?" The "cookbook" approach is designed to take a common web site feature, like a search engine, and code a common JavaScript routine that would do that. You can then take the code in the book and use it with very little modification. In most cases, you would learn from the code as you are implementing it, and from there you can enhance the function to better suit your particular needs. You get the best of both worlds... You are quickly able to implement a function you are getting paid to build, and you are learning at the same time. I liked the piece on context-sensitive help files. Nothing is really complex or visually impressive. But it's core functionality that you can implement quickly, it's useful for the end user, and you can build on that technique both in your current and future applications. For Notes/Domino developers, you'll find a lot you can use here. Being that Domino functionality often translates to the web, you may find that a pure JavaScript implementation of a feature may not be the fastest or easiest way to build something for your application. You'll need to examine the functionality you need for your application and determine the best way to do it. But even if you choose to use Domino to accomplish some task, seeing the way to do it in JavaScript can help you expand your horizons and consider different approaches. Conclusion
I would recommend this book as a practical supplement to a good "how to" and a good reference book. If you're just starting to learn JavaScript, you may want to leave this one alone for awhile.
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