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Eloquent JavaScript, Second Edition

632 points| ingve | 11 years ago |eloquentjavascript.net | reply

107 comments

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[+] UnfalseDesign|11 years ago|reply
In regards to the book's online version, I like how it has code examples that one can edit and run inline among the book's text. I often find myself, while reading a book on a particular language, opening up a new project in an IDE or a REPL in order to fiddle around with what the book it trying to teach. This makes it much more fluid.

It was a pleasant surprise. It is a nice concept I have not previously seen done. (I'm sure someone can come up with examples of where it has previously been done before but this is the first I personally have seen it.)

[+] elwell|11 years ago|reply
I just wish we had hi-res, color, e-ink monitors with quick refresh rate. I can't bring myself to read an entire book online; even if it's free.
[+] isaacdl|11 years ago|reply
If you like Python, check out How To Think Like A Computer Scientist (http://interactivepython.org). It's aimed at introductory CS classes, but the inline interactivity is pretty cool! (Shameless plug: a couple of my professors developed this, and I spent last summer contributing to it).
[+] nkron|11 years ago|reply
That's neat, generally I like physical books better but that really shows the potential of ebooks. I've been working on something similar for the JavaScript/browser APIs (http://www.javascripture.com) since I learn a lot better when running code myself.
[+] poxrud|11 years ago|reply
Good read. After you finish this book I'd suggest the free Javascript Allonge https://leanpub.com/javascript-allonge/read An excellent intermediate/advanced javascript book.
[+] HolyHaddock|11 years ago|reply
Seconded.

I'm currently using it as a beginners Javascript book and find it extremely accessible.

[+] RevolverOce|11 years ago|reply
I've been following this book for a while now and I'm pretty thrilled to see its reception here on HN. This book is an excellent introduction to front-end development (and even a little backend since it does include a chapter on Node.js)

It has an excellent balance of design patterns and introductory knowledge to attract the new and also seasoned developers who are beginning to look at javascript more seriously.

(This book is also a great primer for anyone who did not understand Javascript the Good Parts)

[+] etherealG|11 years ago|reply
Any idea if this book would be a waste of time if the good parts sunk in easily?
[+] aboutaaron|11 years ago|reply
This was a great reference when I started learning JavaScript. It just didn't go over the language, but also gave a great history of programming in general and why JavaScript is structured how it is. A lot has changed in JS land since the first version came out so I look forward to have the author tackles it/
[+] chazu|11 years ago|reply
Agreed. This book's conversational style and carefully-worded explanations of core concepts from multiple paradigms helped me begin to grok javascript beyond just $('.that-thing-there').doStuff();
[+] TelusX|11 years ago|reply
This is the best Javascript tutorial out there, and I was eagerly looking forward to this update. From glancing at the text, however, it seems that it doesn't cover the very significant upgrades introduced by ECMAScript 6 "Harmony".

Seeing that the standard is already being finalized towards a release in 4 months[1], this seems like an unfortunate omission in an otherwise top-notch text.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECMAScript#ECMAScript_Harmony_....

[+] marijn|11 years ago|reply
I considered (and actually started writing) an extra chapter on ES6, but the current state of the standard is poorly documented and still in flux. Also, it's a huge standard, so it'd have taken two or three chapters at least to cover it properly.

For something that won't be supported for a while yet (without using a transpiler), that seemed too much bother. I might add such chapters in the future.

[+] rmrfrmrf|11 years ago|reply
Kind of a cheap shot, don't you think? Standards and browser adoption are two completely different things. It will be years before anyone tries using ES6 features in JavaScript and expects most browsers to understand them.
[+] thewarrior|11 years ago|reply
Inspite of all the criticism that Javascript gets it's so easy to just dive in and start messing around. The game projects seem like a lot of fun.
[+] geppetto|11 years ago|reply
Great book but... is it finished yet? Doesn't seem so [1].

[1] https://github.com/marijnh/Eloquent-JavaScript

[+] marijn|11 years ago|reply
It more or less is, apart from some further proofreading. I forgot to update the README file.
[+] taude|11 years ago|reply
The original version is one of the readings that I suggest for experienced engineers on our team who are new to working with JavaScript.
[+] greg5green|11 years ago|reply
I am both quite happy and a little sad that the chapter on functional programming was nixed from the first edition.

It was way over the heads of the beginners the book was aimed at, but it sure was fun to try and figure out.

[+] kasabali|11 years ago|reply
As I understand audience of the book is both experienced programmers and who hasn't done programming before. Can anyone please comment if it will be boring for experienced programmers (who are new to javascript) or not?
[+] marijn|11 years ago|reply
The first few chapters will probably be a bit slow. But it ramps up pretty quickly around chapter 5.
[+] gprasanth|11 years ago|reply
I've been wanting to read this. Sweet: https://gist.github.com/g-P/cbdfd4a4b982ba8fa04b
[+] ClashTheBunny|11 years ago|reply
The github page for the book has a makefile that creates a pdf of the book.

The book was written for both computer and pdf, so you should really build the PDF from the code to get the parts of the text that have been altered for print. If you just PDF the html, you end up with some weird things from the interactive parts.

You can find the build targets here: https://github.com/marijnh/Eloquent-JavaScript/blob/master/M...

[+] donniezazen|11 years ago|reply
I want to learn decent amount of HTML/CSS/JS to beautify and improve the usability of my webpage. What would be a good source to learn these things?
[+] humpt|11 years ago|reply
When I started this about 8 years ago or so, i used [this book](http://www.headfirstlabs.com/books/hfhtml/). It's structured as a case study, a coffee shop owner who wants to make a small webpage.

It's amazing how it's well written and fun to read. I like it puts some effort in showing you quickly the benefit of what you learned, you never get the impression something is pointless. (NB: it's big but you don't have to read it all. I read say the first half, than used it more like a reference book.)

[+] derengel|11 years ago|reply
Why is the paper book delayed until november? also the paper book says it has 400 pages, does the paper book has more content?
[+] uptownJimmy|11 years ago|reply
Excellent. I've been awaiting this one. I'm at the perfect sweet spot to make maximum use of it.

And I do love good writing...

[+] mkesper|11 years ago|reply
Question to author: Why did you choose CC-BY-NC when you also make your contents available under MIT licence?
[+] niix|11 years ago|reply
Always wanted to take the time to complete this book. Looking forward to diving into the 2nd edition.
[+] etherealG|11 years ago|reply
Would anyone recommend this after already going through the good parts by Douglas Crockford?