Review: jQuery Pocket Reference by David Flanagan

Feb 8, 2011 in BLOG • REVIEWS
reviews
3 min read
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      jQuery is the "write less, do more" JavaScript library. Its powerful features and ease of use have made it the most popular client-side JavaScript framework for the Web. This book is jQuery's trusty companion: the definitive "read less, learn more" guide to the library. <...
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      <a href="http://oreilly.com/catalog/0636920016182" style="display: none;" class="url fn"><span class="fn">jQuery Pocket Reference</span></a></div> 
      
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        <strong class="summary">One of the best Pocket References!</strong>
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        By <strong>Jim Schubert</strong> from <strong>Seattle, WA</strong> on <strong><abbr title="201127T1200-0800" class="dtreviewed" style="border: none; text-decoration: none;">2/7/2011</abbr></strong>
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        <span class="rating">5</span>out of 5
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        <strong>Pros: </strong>Helpful examples, Well-written, Concise, Accurate, Easy to understand
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        <strong>Best Uses: </strong>Intermediate, Student, Expert, Novice
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        <strong>Describe Yourself: </strong>Developer
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        I&#8217;ve enjoyed previous books by David Flanagan and decided to read jQuery Pocket Reference. I thought I would quickly skim through the chapters because I considered myself fairly proficient in jQuery. After the first chapter and Flanagan&#8217;s explanations of jQuery&#8217;s method, object, and function (&#8216;a&#8217; versus &#8216;the&#8217;), I decided to read more in-depth. I&#8217;m glad, because this is one of the best books I&#8217;ve read in O&#8217;Reilly&#8217;s Pocket Reference library. I was surprised to have found a one which has a perfect balance between API, examples, and explanation.<br xmlns:pr="xalan://com.pufferfish.core.beans.xmlbuilders.xsl.Functions" /><br />For developers who want to learn jQuery, you will be able to learn nearly all you need to get started from this book. When I first heard about jQuery, I purchased a much larger book, which ended up being about 80% reprinting the API on jquery.com. If you&#8217;re like me, and you prefer insight, hints, and gotchas which encourage you to write some code, then this book is perfect for you.
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        For developers familiar with jQuery, you may learn a little from this book. Flanagan covers a lot of overloads to common jQuery functions. Some of them, I never knew existed. The recent release of jQuery 1.5 has actually added more functionality than what is covered in this book.
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        The only thing I found a little odd about this book is how the jQuery Selectors chapter was at the end of the book. Considering jQuery is a framework for querying the DOM, using selectors, I would expect that content to be the first covered. On the other hand, as a reference, you may expect the most used content at the end of the book. Luckily, Flanagan knows what he&#8217;s doing and tells you to review the Selectors chapter if you&#8217;re rusty or unfamiliar.
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