Looking for the best Javascript books to get you up to speed or hone your skills?
This list was first published in 2011, and has been updated yearly since.
JavaScript is the world’s most popular programming language. It is the language for HTML and the web, for servers, PCs, laptops, tablets, smart phones, and more. With the advent of smartphones, applications and HTML5, JavaScript is becoming increasingly popular. It is a relatively easy language to understand and delve into, and this is why the best Javascript books line the shelves (and stay there) of serious web designers and developers, interface experts and web-application developers.
Modern Javascript: Develop and Design
This book is great for beginners, but even intermediate-advanced developers would find value within its pages. It acts as an excellent reference with good examples, is easy to read, and focuses on up-to-date techniques and Javascript best practices. Topics covered include complex conditions, OOP Javascript, AJAX, frameworks, as well as key web development approaches such as progressive, enhancement and unobtrusive scripting. It’s teaching style is especially suited for those who have never programmed before. Read more..
Professional Javascript for Web Developers
This 5-star Javascript book is highly recommended for experienced web developers looking to master Javascript. It is ideal for those comfortable with programming and wanting to enhance their web development skills. It is full of code samples that are easy to understand, as well as packed with plenty of warnings about potential buggy implementations and common traps and pitfalls. Despite a sometimes heavy subject, the writing style remains clear and easily understood, with an overall ‘lets get down to business’ approach. One should note however that is does not work too well as a reference book. Read more..
Secrets of the Javascript Ninja
Secrets of the Javascript Ninja is written for Javascript developers with intermediate-level skills. The book does a very good job of presenting the material in an easy to understand manner. It teaches you how to create a cross-browser Javascript application from the ground up. Topics covered include functions, objects, regular expressions, Javascript applications and libraries, cross-browser development, and modern tips, techniques, and design principles. It is almost guaranteed that you will learn something new from this book. Read more..
Effective JavaScript: 68 Specific Ways to Harness the Power of JavaScript
Effective Javascript will deepen your understanding of this powerful language, so you can build more predictable, reliable, and maintainable programs. It is a highly recommended book for Javascript developers, helping its readers transition from novice to master. Rather than acting like a beginner’s tutorial, it does this by detailing Javascript’s idioms and how to take advantage of its perks. This makes it ideal for those who are already experienced with programming and web development and know what to expect. Topics include prototypes, concurrency and asynchronous functions, operators, and many more. Read more..
JavaScript: The Good Parts
This is another highly recommended Javascript book which acts as an introduction to the language. It is extremely clear and well-written, covering all the basics of Javascript and detailing both relevant techniques as well as best practices. While it serves as a solid introduction and assumes no experience in Javascript, this book does not act too ‘beginner-friendly’, and does assume some programming and web development experience. Topics covered include basic language grammar, objects and functions, data scoping and closure, inheritance, arrays, core API functionality, JSLint and JSON. Read more..
JavaScript: The Definitive Guide: Activate Your Web Pages
The latest edition of this Javascript book includes a massive 125 examples that you can view or download. It is written and acts as a reference; one that will be used many, many times. Pretty much everything Javascript is covered, from subjects such as syntax to popular libraries, localstorage and geolocation, to jQuery and client-side/server-side languages. Javascript: The Definitive Guide is a very handy and valuable book to have in your library. Read more..
JavaScript & jQuery: The Missing Manual
This book is a solid guide and introduction to JavaScript and how jQuery works. Examples throughout the book are explained line by line to ensure the reader completely understands the “ins & outs” of each topic. Because of this, the book really does cover a lot of valuable material while keeping it practical. It keeps a solid balance of jQuery and JavaScript, with the latter taking up approximately a quarter of the content. If you want a sound understanding of jQuery and how it works, as well as an introduction to a few powerful jQuery plugins, you’ll want to grab this book. Read more..
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