Learning jQuery and Getting Better at Javascript

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+17 Q:

Learning jQuery and Getting Better at Javascript

over the last couple of years I've seen jquery grow leaps and bounds. And every time I look at some jquery code I feel there is something I am missing which I need to learn. I've given their documentation a try, and it seems to be ok for basic stuff.

Can you guys suggest a good jquery book that might help? I'm looking for something that doesnt go much in depth into the theory part of jquery but actually does and shows examples of how to do all the cool stuff.

Back in the days when I was in school, I never cared for JS, CSS, HTML ...but now that after 3 years after school I see myself doing a lot of server side web development. I want to learn these technologies.

+2 A:

Here are two good articles for getting started:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/dd453033.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/dd569752.aspx

Lukasz 2009-04-24 19:42:57

+3 A:

One of the best places to start is the jQuery Tutorials:

Tutorials - jQuery

Justin Niessner 2009-04-24 19:44:05

+1 A:

Read the documentation - jQuery has really good support as well as lots of examples on jquery.com itself.

barfoon 2009-04-24 19:46:09

+12 A:

I think you would be better at learning javascript first and from there you can learn its libraries like jQuery. Book I would recommend would be JQuery in Action, its the best IMO and recently I found a link that makes the first chapter free online just to give you a little taste. Trust me worth the buy

TStamper 2009-04-24 19:46:52

link? makes it free online? could you share??? (looked for it but was rather unlucky... found just the first chapter or so...)

Peter Perháč 2009-04-24 21:09:21

it only gives the first chapter free

TStamper 2009-04-30 00:19:10

+10 A:

I think you'd be best off by learning JavaScript first. Learning a library without the background knowledge is going to leave you high and dry at the worst possible times.

Besides, you'll appreciate jQuery that much more when you realize you can accomplish in 1 line what used to take 50. :)

Mark Hurd 2009-04-24 19:49:09

This advice is going to be common, and while I agree with it on some level, it's basically asking you to learn low level stuff first which makes no sense. Nobody starts out learning C++ low level file IO anymore. It's just not practical or recommended. Learn jQuery, then, as needed, learn the nuances. It's a progression. You can't learn to run until you've learned to crawl.

altCognito 2009-04-24 19:56:11

Not really, sometimes it is good to learn the basics so that you know which comes from the library and which does not. That way, in cases where jQuery might be just a tad too much, you can fall back on good old knowledge.

Dhana 2009-04-24 20:07:29

@altCognito - I use jQuery every time I need to any sort of client-side scripting these days. As powerful as it is, there are still many times when knowing how things like splice() and getTimezoneOffset() will save me a ton of headache.Too many people today rely on jQuery + plugins to accomplish very simple things. For example, why add 250kb of overhead with jQuery UI when you accomplish the same thing with jQuery + a few lines of custom code?

Mark Hurd 2009-04-24 20:19:53

@Mark Yeah, jQuery UI is ridiculously heavy for certain simple effects and elements. jQuery by itself, though, I feel is extremely light for what it does. I dont have to worry about any cross-browser nuances anymore. That, in an of itself is worth the extra, what, 50kb?

KyleFarris 2009-04-24 20:31:44

@KyleFarris - Like I said, I use jQuery on all my projects. It's DEFINITELY worth the extra 18kb IMHO. I wouldn't develop a project without it anymore. As a time-saver it's absolutely priceless. Coding via direct DOM manipulation is just inefficient now - as altCognito mentioned - but it's still important to know for those "oh, crap" moments.

Mark Hurd 2009-04-24 20:38:39

+1 on learning the basics first. "altCognito" makes a bad analogy; since jquery is a framework, the analogy would be closer to saying you should learn how to program in c# before learning how to use the Microsoft MVC framework, which most people would say makes sense. Understanding javascript is vital to really understanding jquery.I'd recommend reading this thread[1]; it's not jquery, but the principals are the same.http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg03058.html

jvenema 2009-04-24 21:01:26

jQuery is *not* a framework, the primary purpose of jQuery is to replace faulty and inconsistent DOM and AJAX methods. jQuery itself provides _very_ little in the way of additional capabilities other than what is provided by plugins. @Mark Hurd does make a good point that there are simple functions and syntaxes which you really ought to be familiar with before you do much JS programming....

altCognito 2009-04-24 21:15:56

... but my point was really about the nuances (prototyping, closures) that you can get away with not knowing for quite some time before you _really_ need to understand them. (ran out of space) (I like the list you linked to with exception of their 9th item -- Javascript is prototype based, Java and C# programmers are constantly trying to force Javascript into a class based language, which really defeats the purpose) I would have added closures somewhere in there.

altCognito 2009-04-24 21:17:57

I'd agree jquery UI is a bit pants. I'm no JS expert, but purely looking at the html and CSS it is a) way too much code for what needs to be achieved b) as a result actually harder to understand and customise

wheresrhys 2009-04-25 10:26:35

+7 A:

Hey! Check out Jquery for absolute beginners video series . I love the blogs at this page. Check em out, and you'll learn what you need for JQuery and some additional Javascript. I believe that link will show you the fundations you need to understand the JQuery functions you want too.

ChrisAD 2009-04-24 19:51:17

Yes, I agree Mark, first start with Javascript itself by w3schools. If you need to learn HTML and CSS w3schools is the best place to learn. then try to solve your problems with JQuery. It will be more effective I think.

Canavar 2009-04-24 19:52:54

I agree with Mark Hurd below. Learn Javascript first.

The first book that gave me "aha- this is amazing" is DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model

Once you get the basics of that, what jQuery does will come more naturally to you and it will seem easy.

Dhana 2009-04-24 19:55:44

+2 A:

I started using jQuery in a project and was learning from jquery website and my colleagues. After reading jQuery in Action I've learned many things that I was missing. I really enjoyed reading this book. And still is a very good reference. Jquery in Action also introduces to some jquery's plugin.

Daniel Moura 2009-04-24 20:13:21

http://www.quirksmode.org/

and his book ppk on JavaScript

Bob 2009-04-24 20:15:59

+1 A:

Learn the language first: Javascript The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition
Learn jQuery: jQuery in Action

Imran 2009-04-24 20:25:05

+2 A:

When this book comes out, you will learn a lot about how to write good javascript from the guy who wrote jQuery. Personally, I can't wait for it come out.

Seriously... this one is worth getting when it comes out...

Secrets of the JavaScript Ninja

KyleFarris 2009-04-24 20:27:55

I've been reading the meap version, I must say its pretty good ( although not stellar).

Surya 2009-04-26 21:38:24

Wow... I've never heard of meap before. That's pretty cool. But, in this case, maybe I CAN wait for it to come out. I'd rather see the finished product than the in-production version, haha. Maybe that's why it's not 'stellar' yet? Glad someone agrees with me though. ;)

KyleFarris 2009-04-26 21:52:47

+2 A:

These books are all (co) authored by John Resig who also wrote jQuery itself.

For JS in general, I've also heard very good things about this: JavaScript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford who works for Yahoo!.

Crockford and Resig both have free and comprehensive videos at the YUI theater. These three are good for a broad overview of general JS:

Douglas Crockford — The JavaScript Programming Language
Douglas Crockford — Advanced JavaScript
Douglas Crockford — An Inconvenient API: The Theory of the DOM

steamer25 2009-04-24 20:41:32

A great start point is the its online documentation.

JQuery gives you a great chance to "Write Less, Do More". But javascript is not quite comfortable to write and to debug. I do not think it makes much sense to dive into javascript. I suggest you as take a look at GWT. You can write code in java, which will be generated to valid javascript automatically.

stanleyxu2005 2009-04-24 20:48:38

Have a look at these video series they are awesome !! link

Yassir 2009-04-24 20:57:18

This link has a massive collection of almost everything you want to know about JQuery

JQuery cheat sheet

There's a getting started tutorial here - Getting started with JQuery in ASP.NET

DotnetDude 2009-04-25 13:36:37

Another good book (along with "jQuery in Action") is "Learning JQuery 1.3", the updated version of (I think) the very first jQuery book.

From the Amazon product description: "Basic JavaScript programming knowledge is required. You will need to know the basics of HTML and CSS, and should be comfortable with the syntax of JavaScript".

pelms 2009-04-26 21:35:26

+1 A:

I recommend the articles and videos (screencasts) available at:

http://www.jqueryfordesigners.com/

because the author, Remy Sharp, describes how and why he makes the choices he does and you can see the progress from start to finish.

David Lantner 2009-05-06 13:42:42

Rebecca Murphey (of Yayquery Podcast fame) has released a book of her jQuery training materials. It is available here.

graham.reeds 2010-07-08 13:33:40

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