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Considering the date, it seems as if it might've been pushed out the door to satisfy contractual obligations. I'm not sure just how relevant it will be, now th

by k3n 14y ago

Considering the date, it seems as if it might've been pushed out the door to satisfy contractual obligations. I'm not sure just how relevant it will be, now that the JS ecosystem has exploded -- seriously, 4 years is _eons_ in the JS world, I think the Jaxer server was still the new tech and NodeJS wasn't even heard of at the time -- and there are 10x's as many JS devs now than there was in 2008 (not to mention that the average competency seems to have greatly improved as well). And I could be wrong, but I think he's mostly disconnected from jQuery itself now, too; I'm clumsy with git/github, but I can't even find his last commit to jQuery, and I know that all of the blog posts on jQuery.com have long since been done by other team members. While he's a really talented dev, his name is pretty rare when it comes to JS news and topics these days.

mcantelon 14y ago
They've probably been revising it as JS has progressed.
- k3n 14y ago
  Perhaps, but lacking a formal ToC and using the "review" that's listed on Amazon, I'm not seeing any indication of: * ES5 * CommonJS * promises/deferreds * AMD/UMD/etc. * NodeJS * asynchronous concerns such as callback hell (and other focus areas as addressed by Async.js[1]) * packages * HTML5 * the MV* hysteria Granted, many of those aren't central to "JS" proper, they should at least bear a mention....but perhaps not. Just seems like what's covered is mostly run-of-the-mill JS fodder... 1. https://github.com/caolan/async#readme https://github.com/caolan/async#readme
  - jimhart3000 14y ago
    A couple of those items show up in the index that's available on the Manning site, and the preface that's available there addresses them a bit too. Also implies that most of the revisions weren't made by Resig but by the coauthor...
  - zenocon 14y ago
    I can confirm that there is very little coverage of these topics -- perhaps a bit about ES5, but I've read the MEAP, and I don't recall reading anything about the rest of them.
  - cpleppert 14y ago
    There is no coverage of any of these at all. I really think the book is an overview of cross platform javascript issues from 3-4 years ago that someone who wanted to clone jquery would need to know. That is about it. I am really disappointed at the lack of progress throughout the MEAP stage. I hoped it would develop into more advanced areas but it must have been hard for the authors to change focus especially after years of writing the book.
    - k3n 14y ago
      > [...] an overview of cross platform javascript issues from 3-4 years ago that someone who wanted to clone jquery would need to know. Ugh! I have his prior book, Pro JavaScript Techniques (Apress, 2006), and that's basically how I've always described it. I refer to it as 'The jQuery Memoirs'.
      - jeresig 14y ago
        I wouldn't consider Pro JavaScript Techniques to be "The jQuery Memoirs" really at all. It only mentions libraries in passing. Whereas this book is much more in-depth and really breaks apart the fundamental aspects of a JavaScript DOM library in a way that developers can put into common use.
        k3n 14y ago
        It may only mention libraries in passing, but I seemed to remember that many of the techniques were used in jQuery (where applicable). I don't mean any offense by relating that to memoirs; rather, it was very helpful to see many of your examples in real-life code that I was using every day -- and finally understanding both the how and the why. Thanks for the reply, and good luck with the book! I do plan to check it out.
        jeresig 14y ago
        Oh, no worries - hope you'll enjoy it!
    - 14y ago
  - camus 14y ago
    asides from ES5 and promises , none of these are core javascript issues. NodeJS is not javascript , CommonJS what the hell is that ? nobody cares about that stuff , HTML5 is a set of apis , nothing to do with javascript , If i want a book on javascript i want a book on the language itself , not on canvas , webgl, requireJS or Express or Backbone ...
    - jQueryIsAwesome 14y ago
      False, you want a book plus its applications; if you buy a book about woodworking you probably want to see some examples of furniture creation and other practical challenges to apply your new found knowledge. That is why this book deals with DOM and BOM from chapter 11 to 15 even if those are not purely JavaScript.
    - k3n 14y ago
      > asides from ES5 and promises [...] CommonJS what the hell is that ? Perhaps you should learn what you're criticizing before you criticize it; CommonJS has put forth a lot of effort to try and standardize API's across platforms (browser, server). API's for things like...promises[1]. And modules, plus many more[2]. Ironically, several of these could very well end up in ES Harmony, and so to discuss them now wouldn't be too much of a risk because the problems they solve exist today. 1. http://wiki.commonjs.org/wiki/Promises http://wiki.commonjs.org/wiki/Promises 2. http://www.commonjs.org/specs/ http://www.commonjs.org/specs/ > NodeJS is not javascript [...]nobody cares about that stuff , HTML5 is a set of apis , nothing to do with javascript Yes, but if you work with JS in any capacity today, then there's a good chance you'll be working with either or both of those technologies. > not on canvas , webgl, requireJS or Express or Backbone I didn't mention any of those...
      - deleted 14y ago
        [deleted]
    - lnanek2 14y ago
      Core or not, I'd prefer coverage of those issues myself. I can't really think of core problems I run into myself, I've been writing core JavaScript for a decade or something, but there's lots of intricacies with those other things where I wouldn't mind tips. Different audiences, I suppose. I browsed the TOC one kind reviewer was nice enough to list, saw there wasn't anything I was interested in or had trouble with lately, and moved on.
jeresig 14y ago
I definitely agree that there are a ton more JavaScript users now, compared to 4 years ago - I disagree that they're more competent, it's a pretty massive bell curve. The tech bubble can be pretty insular here at Hacker News but I still run across TONS of people who've never 1) Used any JavaScript whatsoever or 2) Have used a JavaScript library but have no concept of how it relates to JavaScript, the DOM, or what the library does under the hood. The book attempts to serve #2 primarily and that's still a MASSIVE audience. As to being involved in the JavaScript world, my focus has shifted - I'm no longer trying to build tools for people who already have tools, I'm trying to teach the next generation of developers and JavaScript users: http://ejohn.org/blog/introducing-khan-cs/ http://ejohn.org/blog/introducing-khan-cs/ I also feel extremely confident that the technical work that I've done with the Khan Academy CS platform continues to be unlike anything else done by other development platforms.
- ddon 14y ago
  Thank you for your Computer Science work on Khan Academy! I tech my kids using your system for several months now, and I am very happy! :) Would be great to be able to change the rendering size from 400x400 to something bigger, may be even having a splitter in the middle, and deciding how much you want to use for the editor and for the program :) Happy New Year!
- k3n 14y ago
  Aye, perhaps it's my perception then, because I've been seeing lots of awesome code out there recently. There used to be a few exciting JS projects, though many of them were redundant in some ways, and they were still fairly basic by today's standards. Today, though, it seems like a fun new project pops up monthly. I won't argue that there isn't still a ton of education that needs to happen! I've been battling this at work, as few candidates have much JS experience at all (I think all of the good ones are involved in the hot projects). I'd also concede that educating future coders is possibly not only more important, but more fulfilling. I've been following your blog for awhile, and though I do miss the geeky JS topics such as the precision (or lack thereof) of setInterval/setTimeout, how great documentFragment's are, etc. I've also enjoyed the posts about Kahn.

by k3n 14y ago

mcantelon 14y ago

They've probably been revising it as JS has progressed.

k3n 14y ago
Perhaps, but lacking a formal ToC and using the "review" that's listed on Amazon, I'm not seeing any indication of: * ES5 * CommonJS * promises/deferreds * AMD/UMD/etc. * NodeJS * asynchronous concerns such as callback hell (and other focus areas as addressed by Async.js[1]) * packages * HTML5 * the MV* hysteria Granted, many of those aren't central to "JS" proper, they should at least bear a mention....but perhaps not. Just seems like what's covered is mostly run-of-the-mill JS fodder... 1. https://github.com/caolan/async#readme https://github.com/caolan/async#readme
- jimhart3000 14y ago
  A couple of those items show up in the index that's available on the Manning site, and the preface that's available there addresses them a bit too. Also implies that most of the revisions weren't made by Resig but by the coauthor...
- zenocon 14y ago
  I can confirm that there is very little coverage of these topics -- perhaps a bit about ES5, but I've read the MEAP, and I don't recall reading anything about the rest of them.
- cpleppert 14y ago
  There is no coverage of any of these at all. I really think the book is an overview of cross platform javascript issues from 3-4 years ago that someone who wanted to clone jquery would need to know. That is about it. I am really disappointed at the lack of progress throughout the MEAP stage. I hoped it would develop into more advanced areas but it must have been hard for the authors to change focus especially after years of writing the book.
  - k3n 14y ago
    > [...] an overview of cross platform javascript issues from 3-4 years ago that someone who wanted to clone jquery would need to know. Ugh! I have his prior book, Pro JavaScript Techniques (Apress, 2006), and that's basically how I've always described it. I refer to it as 'The jQuery Memoirs'.
    - jeresig 14y ago
      I wouldn't consider Pro JavaScript Techniques to be "The jQuery Memoirs" really at all. It only mentions libraries in passing. Whereas this book is much more in-depth and really breaks apart the fundamental aspects of a JavaScript DOM library in a way that developers can put into common use.
      - k3n 14y ago
        It may only mention libraries in passing, but I seemed to remember that many of the techniques were used in jQuery (where applicable). I don't mean any offense by relating that to memoirs; rather, it was very helpful to see many of your examples in real-life code that I was using every day -- and finally understanding both the how and the why. Thanks for the reply, and good luck with the book! I do plan to check it out.
        jeresig 14y ago
        Oh, no worries - hope you'll enjoy it!
  - 14y ago
- camus 14y ago
  asides from ES5 and promises , none of these are core javascript issues. NodeJS is not javascript , CommonJS what the hell is that ? nobody cares about that stuff , HTML5 is a set of apis , nothing to do with javascript , If i want a book on javascript i want a book on the language itself , not on canvas , webgl, requireJS or Express or Backbone ...
  - jQueryIsAwesome 14y ago
    False, you want a book plus its applications; if you buy a book about woodworking you probably want to see some examples of furniture creation and other practical challenges to apply your new found knowledge. That is why this book deals with DOM and BOM from chapter 11 to 15 even if those are not purely JavaScript.
  - k3n 14y ago
    > asides from ES5 and promises [...] CommonJS what the hell is that ? Perhaps you should learn what you're criticizing before you criticize it; CommonJS has put forth a lot of effort to try and standardize API's across platforms (browser, server). API's for things like...promises[1]. And modules, plus many more[2]. Ironically, several of these could very well end up in ES Harmony, and so to discuss them now wouldn't be too much of a risk because the problems they solve exist today. 1. http://wiki.commonjs.org/wiki/Promises http://wiki.commonjs.org/wiki/Promises 2. http://www.commonjs.org/specs/ http://www.commonjs.org/specs/ > NodeJS is not javascript [...]nobody cares about that stuff , HTML5 is a set of apis , nothing to do with javascript Yes, but if you work with JS in any capacity today, then there's a good chance you'll be working with either or both of those technologies. > not on canvas , webgl, requireJS or Express or Backbone I didn't mention any of those...
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
  - lnanek2 14y ago
    Core or not, I'd prefer coverage of those issues myself. I can't really think of core problems I run into myself, I've been writing core JavaScript for a decade or something, but there's lots of intricacies with those other things where I wouldn't mind tips. Different audiences, I suppose. I browsed the TOC one kind reviewer was nice enough to list, saw there wasn't anything I was interested in or had trouble with lately, and moved on.

jeresig 14y ago

I definitely agree that there are a ton more JavaScript users now, compared to 4 years ago - I disagree that they're more competent, it's a pretty massive bell curve. The tech bubble can be pretty insular here at Hacker News but I still run across TONS of people who've never 1) Used any JavaScript whatsoever or 2) Have used a JavaScript library but have no concept of how it relates to JavaScript, the DOM, or what the library does under the hood. The book attempts to serve #2 primarily and that's still a MASSIVE audience. As to being involved in the JavaScript world, my focus has shifted - I'm no longer trying to build tools for people who already have tools, I'm trying to teach the next generation of developers and JavaScript users: http://ejohn.org/blog/introducing-khan-cs/ http://ejohn.org/blog/introducing-khan-cs/ I also feel extremely confident that the technical work that I've done with the Khan Academy CS platform continues to be unlike anything else done by other development platforms.

ddon 14y ago
Thank you for your Computer Science work on Khan Academy! I tech my kids using your system for several months now, and I am very happy! :) Would be great to be able to change the rendering size from 400x400 to something bigger, may be even having a splitter in the middle, and deciding how much you want to use for the editor and for the program :) Happy New Year!
k3n 14y ago
Aye, perhaps it's my perception then, because I've been seeing lots of awesome code out there recently. There used to be a few exciting JS projects, though many of them were redundant in some ways, and they were still fairly basic by today's standards. Today, though, it seems like a fun new project pops up monthly. I won't argue that there isn't still a ton of education that needs to happen! I've been battling this at work, as few candidates have much JS experience at all (I think all of the good ones are involved in the hot projects). I'd also concede that educating future coders is possibly not only more important, but more fulfilling. I've been following your blog for awhile, and though I do miss the geeky JS topics such as the precision (or lack thereof) of setInterval/setTimeout, how great documentFragment's are, etc. I've also enjoyed the posts about Kahn.