First: I’m a complete JavaScript beginner. Truth to be told, I’m kind of beginner in programming generally. I fiddled around with PHP and SQL (and a tFirst: I’m a complete JavaScript beginner. Truth to be told, I’m kind of beginner in programming generally. I fiddled around with PHP and SQL (and a tiny little bit Ruby) and I’m able to create (modest but) functioning programs, but it’s more like fishing in muddy waters via try-and-error than a real understanding about programming ;) I’m now trying - by and by - to gain a real understanding in programming and chose JavaScript� actually, for no particular reason.
The Book I love it!! It’s an easy read and the writer did such a great job in explaining technical information, making the complex simple and give you a fair understanding in the process of programming. It’s like: Here, by the way, this is a scope and this is why it's important to know about it. And now I’ll explain you in a simple sentence something about variables: “You should imagine variables as tentacles, rather than boxes. They do not contain values; they grasp them—two variables can refer to the same value.� And, BAM, things that a (software engineer) friend tried explaining to me in length with samples and drawings and a thousand of words are suddenly clear! The code examples are clear and comprehensible, descriptions are simple yet effective. Hell, it’s even humorous sometimes! :D
Eloquent JavaScript didn’t teach me a bunch of commands and build in functions and it didn’t showered me with details of the language itself - it gave me a deeper understanding of computer programming, concepts and data representation & a good foundation for the further learning process in JavaScript :D
I know, some readers criticize that they are missing the “from theory to praxis� guide, but if I have learned anything through all my unsystematically (yet, in the end more or less successfully) attempts with PHP, it is this: You have to apply your knowledge, you need to make errors and fix them and make it better next time. You need to fail, you need to curse and you need to dance, singing, if you feel like you’ve done something great. To learn how to code you must code. At least, this is how it work’s for me. Particularly the singing part ;)
Note On the you can find a HTML Version of the book, a code sandbox with exercises to each chapter where you can run the used examples. And there is even a with the sources used to build the book website.
(This review refers to "Eloquent JavaScript - Second Edition".)...more