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I don't think that HN would be in the market for a beginners book. Anything in here that differentiates it from O'Reilly's Rhino book or Mozilla Developer Cente

I don't think that HN would be in the market for a beginners book. Anything in here that differentiates it from O'Reilly's Rhino book or Mozilla Developer Center?

angrycoder 16y ago
You can read the whole book online here and decide for yourself: http://eloquentjavascript.net/ http://eloquentjavascript.net/ My opinion: It is a book that anyone of any skill level can get something out of. It is one of the few books that is technically a beginners book, but it does not talk to you like you are stupid. Most importantly, it is focused just as much on software craftsmanship as it is teaching you javascript. It is a great introduction to functional programming and the 'good parts' of object oriented programming. Why should you buy the book if it is online for free? Well, I have extreme respect for people who try to teach others and give away their work for free. I like to support them in any way possible. Crockford's book is great, but I don't really subscribe to the 'if I could only buy one book on x' mentality. I prefer to get my information from as many sources as possible and Haverbeke should definitely be one of of those sources.
- pauljonas 16y ago
  On buying a hardcopy book that's available for free? Well, if it is a good read, I eagerly will shell out money for a printed copy that I do not have to read off a screen. In a way, it's incentivizing, wishing to reward such an act of open collaboration. Also, I believe if online feedback is used properly, definitely will result in a superior book product.
- btipling 16y ago
  Hrm I guess after a quick scan I did see some interesting things in there. I'll buy it if it's available on the nook or kindle or as an ebook. I don't really want a print book. (I've downloaded the PDF, but I'm willing to pay for an ebook format).
  - marijn 16y ago
    A wide ebook formats will be available from http://nostarch.com/ejs.htm http://nostarch.com/ejs.htm in a week or so. (They have an external party doing the conversions, which is apparently taking his time.)
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
cookiecaper 16y ago
I'm sure everyone on HN is a beginner in some language. Someone here may be considering starting some serious JavaScript development and there's no reason to prevent them from seeing this based on the assumption that using HN means one is an expert in all major programming languages.

I don't think that HN would be in the market for a beginners book. Anything in here that differentiates it from O'Reilly's Rhino book or Mozilla Developer Center?

angrycoder 16y ago

You can read the whole book online here and decide for yourself: http://eloquentjavascript.net/ http://eloquentjavascript.net/ My opinion: It is a book that anyone of any skill level can get something out of. It is one of the few books that is technically a beginners book, but it does not talk to you like you are stupid. Most importantly, it is focused just as much on software craftsmanship as it is teaching you javascript. It is a great introduction to functional programming and the 'good parts' of object oriented programming. Why should you buy the book if it is online for free? Well, I have extreme respect for people who try to teach others and give away their work for free. I like to support them in any way possible. Crockford's book is great, but I don't really subscribe to the 'if I could only buy one book on x' mentality. I prefer to get my information from as many sources as possible and Haverbeke should definitely be one of of those sources.

pauljonas 16y ago
On buying a hardcopy book that's available for free? Well, if it is a good read, I eagerly will shell out money for a printed copy that I do not have to read off a screen. In a way, it's incentivizing, wishing to reward such an act of open collaboration. Also, I believe if online feedback is used properly, definitely will result in a superior book product.
btipling 16y ago
Hrm I guess after a quick scan I did see some interesting things in there. I'll buy it if it's available on the nook or kindle or as an ebook. I don't really want a print book. (I've downloaded the PDF, but I'm willing to pay for an ebook format).
- marijn 16y ago
  A wide ebook formats will be available from http://nostarch.com/ejs.htm http://nostarch.com/ejs.htm in a week or so. (They have an external party doing the conversions, which is apparently taking his time.)
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

cookiecaper 16y ago

I'm sure everyone on HN is a beginner in some language. Someone here may be considering starting some serious JavaScript development and there's no reason to prevent them from seeing this based on the assumption that using HN means one is an expert in all major programming languages.