Can anyone recommend a good JavaScript tutorial?

[John E]

Beginner level would be best. I'm taking my first steps into JavaScript programming which (up to now) I've been doing just by adapting bits of code that I've found in web pages etc. I find the basics easy enough to follow but already, it seems clear that there's a lot going on "under the hood". For example 'document' appears to be some sort of predefined variable and I'm sure there must be others too, as well as predefined functions. A good book would probably be the best place for me to start.

[PeejAvery]

A simple Google search (http://www.google.com/search?q=javascript+tutorial) would have easily given you what you needed. The first search result...W3School's JavaScript section (http://www.w3schools.com/JS/default.asp) should be every beginner's first stop for JavaScript.

[John E]

Thanks, but technical books have never been cheap - and I've done enough programming to realise that not every book on the shelves is necessarily a good one (in fact, this is especially true of beginner level tutorials). A good recommendation can be worth its weight in gold. :)

[John E]

This morning I spent some time looking at the W3School's tutorial and it is indeed a good starting point and simple to follow. But I'm still unsure about these predefined objects, such as document The W3School tutorial doesn't explain this very well (in fact, I couldn't find any explanation at all).

Is document an object that already exists for every HTML page? Or does it only exists if a HTML page contains JavaScript? And is it the only predefined object or are there others? And if a page contains a form, is the form a document in its own right or can each page only contain one document?

I don't think I'll have much trouble learning the language itself but it's that kind of thing (the 'underpinning') that I'm interested in finding out about.

[PeejAvery]

Oh...it's definitely there. It's just not directly covered under the tutorials.

http://w3schools.com/htmldom/dom_obj_document.asp

[John E]

That's great PeejAvery - just what I was looking for..! :thumb:

[tossy]

Hey, I just came across 2 tutorials try it out. Hope these could help you.

http://www.cs.brown.edu/courses/bridge/1998/res/javascript/javascript-tutorial.html
http://www.webmonkey.com/tutorial/JavaScript_Tutorial

[HanneSThEGreaT]

Here's some more info on the Document Oject Model :
http://www.w3.org/DOM/
http://www.w3schools.com/js/js_obj_htmldom.asp
http://www.quirksmode.org/dom/intro.html

Once you get the hang of it, you then realise how powerful JavaScript actually is. :)

Good luck!

[Xeel]

IMHO one the best javascript reference resources with good visual explanations and schemes. Nice for mid-level js coders.
http://www.howtocreate.co.uk/

[John E]

Thanks for all the tips. I called in at my local Waterstones yesterday and these 2 books caught my eye:-

JavaScript and DHTML Cookbook (http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=5894975) by Danny Goodman

Beginning Javascript with DOM Scripting and Ajax (http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=4148859) by C. Heilmann

I don't know what kind of reputation they've got but I might buy one if it's suitable.

[0xC0000005]

Thanks, but technical books have never been cheap - and I've done enough programming to realise that not every book on the shelves is necessarily a good one (in fact, this is especially true of beginner level tutorials). A good recommendation can be worth its weight in gold. :)
I've been posting in these forums for years (primarily C++) but I've just recently begun to do web programming. I can't recall ever recommending a book before but in this case I do have a clear favorite - and it's also the cheapest of the approximately10 or so books I've bought on web programming. The Borders price tag is still on it and it says $21.95 (may be a few years old though).

The book is "JavaScript For The World Wide Web" by Tom Negrino and Dori Smith. It's published by Peachpit Press in the "Visual Quickstart Guide" series.

It's exactly the kind of book I like - short, simple, practical and to the point - rather than reference-like - very dense and extremely technical. It helped get me up and running very quickly.

[Xeel]

IMHO Javascript language is not the Arcane Arts of the Higher and Lower Planes available only for the chosen magi. It's used every day by almost every web designer and web programmer, so there are tons of free tutorials, articles, examples, threads and even books in the web. So probably to buy a book on JS in a store would be a waste of money. Exept the case you really would show some support to the respected and beloved author, of course.