Ruby Cookbook (Cookbooks (O'Reilly))

Book Description

Do you want to push Ruby to its limits? The Ruby Cookbook is the most comprehensive problem-solving guide to today's hottest programming language. It gives you hundreds of solutions to real-world problems, with clear explanations and thousands of lines of code you can use in your own projects.

From data structures and algorithms, to integration with cutting-edge technologies, the Ruby Cookbook has something for every programmer. Beginners and advanced Rubyists alike will learn how to program with:

Strings and numbers
Arrays and hashes
Classes, modules, and namespaces
Reflection and metaprogramming
XML and HTML processing
Ruby on Rails (including Ajax integration)
Databases
Graphics
Internet services like email, SSH, and BitTorrent
Web services
Multitasking
Graphical and terminal interfaces

If you need to write a web application, this book shows you how to get started with Rails. If you're a system administrator who needs to rename thousands of files, you'll see how to use Ruby for this and other everyday tasks. You'll learn how to read and write Excel spreadsheets, classify text with Bayesian filters, and create PDF files. We've even included a few silly tricks that were too cool to leave out, like how to blink the lights on your keyboard.

The Ruby Cookbook is the most useful book yet written about Ruby. When you need to solve a problem, don't reinvent the wheel: look it up in the Cookbook.

Customer Reviews:

Eminently Browsable.......2007-07-24

A practical Ruby book with concrete examples. This is not an introduction to Ruby, but it is accessible to someone who has learned the basics. It consists of a series of examples, mostly about two pages long including both code and discussion. Its table of contents is organized by solution--so regular expressions are explained in section titled, "Getting the Parts of the String You Want." Thus it is eminently browsable, allowing you to easily find the pages you need right now.

Great Reference.......2007-07-18

I've had both good and bad experiences with O'Rielly books, but this one is absolutely good. It works as a great reference book for me. I've picked up so much just from looking at how parts of the recopies are done.

I rated it with four stars because this always room to improve, no book is perfect, but this one comes close.

For impatient types.......2007-07-16

As others already said, this book is all about immediate, hands-on learning experience with some real, live and working code, delivered by *you* quickly. This book by itself may not be enough to gain a deeper understanding of Ruby, and its philosophical background, but should be certainly enough to get you going with a new language, and get a "feel" for it: not only it covers the language (more or less), and the standard library, but it also offers you a quick "preview" of some most popular 3rd party libraries. Just keep in mind that there are many others, and sometiems I disagree with author's selections of what to include. (ImageMagic is one, for example)

Personally, for almost everything I learn, I prefer to have two kinds of manuals: a) deep and concise, and b) quick&dirty. This one fits the second role just perfectly, therefore I recommend it.

For more depth, go ang get "Programming Ruby" as well.

Great recipes.......2007-05-30

If you are a learning-by-doing type of guy then reading this book is probably the best way to boost your Ruby skills.
There are a lot of useful recipes, especially on Web stuff.
Nevertheless, I'll give it only 4 Stars because it's lacking some basic info on Ruby syntax that I had to find on my own searching the internet. For someone who is new to Ruby this certainly is a drawback.

If you are anywhere near ruby coding, you need this by your side..........2007-04-23

Having gone through several O'reilly cookbooks, I just went to the store and picked this book even before reading a single review. If you're into hands-on coding, the cookbook series takes you direct into a pool of codes to swim in - you're gonna love it! Each page has valuable code snippets that can help you through your everyday coding tasks. This book is a must have for any Ruby programmer, right next to his desk.

The recipes or code examples are written in a very intelligent manner, not only to learn, but also to appreciate Ruby as a language.

Most of the people I have met who are into Ruby, they come from a Perl, C, Python, Java or other programming background. So this book perfectly addresses those folks. If you're new to programming, I would suggest you pick some other book.

Average customer rating:

Top-notch tome
Excellent
Basic libraries coverage with a good example application.

Prototype and Scriptaculous in Action
Dave Crane , Bear Bibeault , and Tom Locke
Manufacturer: Manning Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1933988037

Book Description

Prototype and Scriptaculous are libraries that extend standard Ajax. They make it easier to program Ajax and provide powerful features like drag and drop and animation. In this book, developers learn by playing and see how the libraries work in the real world.

As experience with Ajax increases, developers want the standard Ajax capabilities they repeatedly use to be preprogrammed for them--and that's exactly what Ajax libraries do for them. They reduce the pain of handling cross-browser inconsistencies, they add useful language features, and provide sophisticated functionality. Of these, Prototype is the most popular JavaScript and Ajax framework for low-level user interface features such as animation, drag and drop, and pre-built widgets. Together, they free the developer up to concentrate on building the application. They make a rich user experience easy to achieve.

This book guides the reader through the Prototype and Scriptaculous libraries feature-by-feature. In just 350 pages, readers will find over 100 small working examples to help them explore the libraries. As well, they will develop a web-based image gallery that teacher them how to use Prototype and Scriptaculous in the real-world.

Customer Reviews:

Top-notch tome.......2007-06-25

Javascript has exploded onto the web development scene in the last few years, and powers much of the web 2.0 and Ajax revolution. Every web developer now needs to know how to do common Ajax tasks. Thankfully, Prototype and Scriptaculous In Action makes it both easy and enjoyable.

This is a comprehensive book. The size (510 pages) was initially intimidating, but Prototype and Scriptaculous In Action is exceedingly well written and a genuine pleasure to read. The thorough and thoughtful organization of the book provides some real structure to the discussion, making complex subjects easily digestible. This is the defacto bible of Prototype and Scriptaculous, and these days I turn to this book more than anything else on my shelf.

The book is divided up into four multi-chapter parts, any of which could stand on it's own as a definitive guide. The chapters are full of useful examples, and there's strong emphasis given to migrating existing sites to Prototype and Scriptaculous, which is a major plus. You could turn to any section of the book and immediately see how to inject some new behavior into your existing application, but if you take the time to read from cover-to-cover you'll be rewarded with some deep understanding of both the libraries and Javascript itself.

I'll summarize the four parts of the book:

Part 1, Getting Started, introduces the Prototype and Scriptaculous libraries, focusing heavily on Prototype and Ajax. There's a lot of information on re-designing an existing site for Ajax. Two full chapters are devoted to Prototype's Ajax features. You can get up and running VERY quickly after glancing through these chapters. There's also a lot of depth, and consideration is given to the pervasive effects Ajax has on architectural issues and the new ways that an application will have to manage HTTP traffic.

Part 2, Scriptaculous Quickly, covers effects, controls and drag-n-drop. This is hands-down the best Scriptaculous documentation currently available, anywhere. The core effects are explored and tweaked, and there's lot of very practical examples demonstrating some of the niftiest stuff, like running effects in parallel versus sequentially. And the drag-and-drop coverage is incredibly clear, making it easy, almost trivial, to implement. The Scriptaculous coverage is indispensable, and you'll return to it again and again if you implement Scriptaculous-enabled pages.

Part 3, Prototype in Depth, explores Prototype's Javascript-oriented features. There's a fantastic chapter on functions contexts, and the discussion of closures is one of the best I've seen. There's a lot of information about Javascript fundamentals, and how Prototype can be used to implement inheritance, address arrays, and manipulate the DOM in the browser.

And finally, Part 4 Advanced Topics, has two unrelated chapters. The first chapter overhauls an example app, giving it a Prototype and Scriptaculous makeover. The last chapter is about integration with Ruby on Rails. Prototype was initially written as the Ajax interface to Rails, so there's some strong integration.

As a long-time enterprise web developer, dealing with Javascript has always been a chore. But now I actually (gasp) look forward to tasks that involve Javascript. I'm a convert, and I have Prototype and Scriptaculous in Action to thank.

Excellent.......2007-05-22

I wrote a longer review that Amazon has apparently lost. Oh well. This is an excellent book, very well written. The authors are the rarest kind of technical author: they can actually construct prose that is pleasant to read, not deadly boring, but which works well as a reference book later. The book's organized thoughtfully--it's certainly much more than just an API reference. There's also quite a lot of general advanced Javascript information here, too.

There's at least one other book on these libraries in production from Pragmatic Programmers. If you're considering that, I strongly suggest downloading the sample chapters of both books and comparing. The Crane book is much more appealing to me (not to mention it's available now, not in six months).

Basic libraries coverage with a good example application........2007-04-19

This book lacked detailed coverage of the programming techniques and advanced topics of prototype and scriptaculous. The authors covered the basics by discussing only the API's of the libraries (more attention was given to scriptaculous API's, even though its usage is obvious and prototype API's are more extensive). With 500 pages and the libraries as the title, I expected details about the inner workings of the API's and discussions about its usages/ applications. Instead, 150 pages were devoted to verbose repetitive coverage of scriptaculous' API, which could easily have fitted into 50 pages at most. ALL of the info on scriptaculous could easily have been read online at its wiki site - the book provided no further insight (ch. 5 is especially useless)! Prototype's coverage was decent, but lacked details on several parts of its API. Although prototype and scriptaculous are tightly integrated with Rails, there was only 1 chapter devoted to its discussion, which served more like an overview than a usage guide. Based on content on the libraries alone, I would give this book 3 stars. However, if you're in need of an example application, then it may deserve 4 stars. This book provides a good example of applying prototype's ajax and scriptaculous web 2.0 techniques to a photo gallery website. It shows the advantages these libraries have over plain javascript and dhtml. The extra 100 pages wasted on scriptaculous would better serve Rails' RJS templates or a more complete/ thorough discussion of prototype. Of course it can be argued that the book is not titled, "Prototype, Scriptaculous, and Rails in Action," but it should be.

Average customer rating:

Head Rush Ajax (Head First)
Not my style
Contains some good information, but...
Smug Style and Questionable Content
Nice book for AJAX beginners

Head Rush Ajax (Head First)
Brett McLaughlin
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0596102259

Book Description

Sick of creating web sites that reload every time a user moves the mouse? Tired of servers that wait around to respond to users' requests for movie tickets? It sounds like you need a little (or maybe a lot of) Ajax in your life. Asynchronous programming lets you turn you own web sites into smooth, slick, responsive applications that make your users feel like they're back on the information superhighway, not stuck on a dial-up backroad.

But who wants to take on next-generation web programming with the last generation's instruction book? You need a learning experience that's as compelling and cutting-edge as the sites you want to design. That's where we come in. With Head Rush Ajax, in no time you'll be writing JavaScript code that fires off asynchronous requests to web servers... and having fun doing it. By the time you've taken your dynamic HTML, XML, JSON, and DOM skills up a few notches, you'll have solved tons of puzzles, figured out how well snowboards sell in Vail, and even watched a boxing match. Sound interesting? Then what are you waiting for? Pick up Head Rush Ajax and learn Ajax and asynchronous programming the right way--the way that sticks.

If you've ever read a Head First book, you know what to expect: a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. Head Rush ramps up the intensity with an even faster look and feel. Have your first working app before you finish Chapter 1, meet up with the nefarious PROJECT: CHAOS stealth team, and even settle the question of the Top 5 Blues CDs of all time. Leave boring, clunky web sites behind with 8-tracks and hot pants--and get going with next-generation web programming.

"If you thought Ajax was rocket science, this book is for you. Head Rush Ajax puts dynamic, compelling experiences within reach for every Web developer." -- Jesse James Garrett, Adaptive Path

"A 'technology-meets-reality' book for web pioneers on the cutting edge." -- Valentin Crettaz, CTO, Condris Technologies

Customer Reviews:

Head Rush Ajax (Head First).......2007-09-07

Very nice book. I am enjoying reading it. It brings new view to asynchronous web javascript using non formal approach. I like Head First series.

Not my style.......2007-05-21

For me, all the information in this 400 page book could have been effectively presented in about 50 pages, using a normal page layout with illustrations. While reading this book, I felt like I was wasting my time. Eventually, I found myself skimming the pages for nuggets of useful information buried in all the fluff (handwritten notes, arrows, and pictures of dogs and guys in ribbed sweaters.) I am willing to consider that perhaps the style of this book is just not right for me. But even for someone who likes/is compatible with this style, I believe the limited amount of actual information contained in this book makes it not a good value.

Contains some good information, but..........2007-05-06

The top-most declaration on the front page of Head Rush Ajax is "Get it in your brain, FAST". A more appropriate comment would be: "Get it in your brain after taking a tedious journey down a long, winding road". I found some useful information about Ajax, but only after being frustrated by having to wade through an excessive amount of fluff, even if the dog pictured so often is really cute. Head Rush Ajax typically uses about 20 pages to present and explain material that anyone with any coding experience at all can learn in a paragraph or two. So, if you are an absolute beginner, this book might be just the thing, with entertaining inserts to give you a break if you need one. But if you're even a little experienced with html, css, javascript or php you will probably find the pace to be way too SLOW.

Smug Style and Questionable Content.......2007-04-21

The content of this book is a little odd. It rushes through introductory topics for the browser side at the beginning to get you going, but has no discussion of what you might set up as a web server to model the back end for which they provide PHP code. This is especially odd given the emphasis on active learning; you can't actually model the whole system from their instructions without other references. Having configured enough open source servers, I know this isn't hard and could be handled in a short appendix. The comment in the editorial review to the effect of "have your first app working before the end of Chapter 1" needs to be evaluated in that light.

The Head Rush book series is likely something you like or hate. I find the tone of the authors smug and self-satisfied, and for me it works against their stated goal of really engaging the reader. The pedagogical concepts are not particularly new, but they have a theory they think is revolutionary so they have an overly assertive style: a "conversational" tone that is self-consciously hip, hard-to-read handwritten comments, and cheesy photographs and jokes. The same pedagogical methods could be presented in a much more neutral fashion. The style also means that this would be a poor reference after you gain some skills.

Nice book for AJAX beginners.......2007-04-11

This book does one good thing, and that is introducing the reader to AJAX.

Compared to other Head First books it is a little more repetitive, takes longer to get the reader's head around the topic at hand and finally it has external requirements for the reader to be successful in going through the book in follow by example mode.

The external requirements of the book are:

1) You need to be able to understand PHP on a very basic level in order to follow through the examples in the book.

2) In order to follow step by step the book, you need to set-up your test box as a WEB/PHP server.

Requirement #1 is not problematic, #2 may be problematic to some folks, to others it may be even fun -- BTW: The page at [...]
I would have given this book four stars for beginners if the instructions for #2 would exist, at least in the head first site, but they are not there yet by 4/10/07.

Additional notes:

- Chapter 3 example runs dog slow in FireFox and does not render properlyin IE7.

Professional JavaScript for Web Developers (Wrox Professional Guides)

Average customer rating:

Handle with extreme care
Javascript Overload
Best Pro JavaScript book on the market
JavaScript Professional
A VERY GOOD BOOK

Professional JavaScript for Web Developers (Wrox Professional Guides)
Nicholas C. Zakas
Manufacturer: Wrox
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764579088

Book Description

* Dispels the myth that JavaScript is a "baby" language and demonstrates why it is the scripting language of choice used in the design of millions of Web pages and server-side applications
* Quickly covers JavaScript basics and then moves on to more advanced topics such as object-oriented programming, XML, Web services, and remote scripting
* Addresses the many issues that Web application developers face, including internationalization, security, privacy, optimization, intellectual property issues, and obfuscation
* Builds on the reader's basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and the Web in general

This book is also available as part of the 4-book JavaScript and Ajax Wrox Box (ISBN: 0470227818). This 4-book set includes:

Professional JavaScript for Web Developers (ISBN: 0764579088)
Professional Ajax 2nd edition (ISBN: 0470109491)
Professional Web 2.0 Programming (ISBN: 0470087889)
Professional Rich Internet Applications: Ajax and Beyond (ISBN: 0470082801)

Download Description

* Dispels the myth that JavaScript is a ""baby"" language and demonstrates why it is the scripting language of choice used in the design of millions of Web pages and server-side applications * Quickly covers JavaScript basics and then moves on to more advanced topics such as object-oriented programming, XML, Web services, and remote scripting * Addresses the many issues that Web application developers face, including internationalization, security, privacy, optimization, intellectual property issues, and obfuscation * Builds on the reader's basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and the Web in general

Customer Reviews:

Handle with extreme care.......2007-07-16

I have enormous problems with this dated, confused and 'gappy' book, and advise would be readers to exercise _extreme_ caution with it, particularly with the examples, a great number of which are a long, long way from currently accepted best practice.

I don't believe that "Programmer to Programmer" describes this book well. The author's confusing and patchy descriptions of language fundamentals are not useful to those readers who are highly experienced in other programming languages such as C or C++. Neither does it seem that the author has clearly identified the target reader, as I imagine that the book will bewilder some beginners too. For example, for reasons unknown the author seemed to feel the need to embark on a "fundamentals of OOP" tutorial, a subject quite inappropriate for a "programmer-to-programmer" text as it should be taken as read, and one which is in any case too large to be adequately covered in a few pages. I imagine this may merely succeed in confusing novice programmers, who really do need to consult a proper introduction elsewhere. And why on earth did the author feel that a quick descent into UML was appropriate at the start of the third chapter? Another short section is devoted to explaining bit pattern operations, a subject that is arguably best left to real textbooks on programming fundamentals for beginners. At the same time, in many, many cases discussions of basic topics that experienced programmers would expect to find are simply absent. Javascript is in many ways highly unusual as a programming language, and because of the familiar syntax, C, C++ or Java programmers may be initially led to believe that its behaviour will be close to their expectations, yet this is not the case. For this reason it is crucial for a reference text to take care to tick off these crucial language-conversion issues properly.

Returning to the code examples, I have many problems with their poor quality. A sizeable number do not conform to current "unobtrusive" best practise. I can understand why this might have been done for reasons of brevity, but that doesn't excuse the poor example this sets. There is no discussion of accessibility, which is unforgiveable. And some of examples feature outdated, broken or deprecated techniques. The discussion of hacks to bolster up browser support for addEventListener, for example. Browser-sniffing, a deprecated technique features far too much, indeed a worrying number of examples rely on it. The author of this review is nowhere near competent to comment in detail on the quality of every code example, but the poor techniques clearly visible in some have the effect of casting doubt on the whole.

Despite being published in 2005, the book is simply too old to cover the recent tidal wave of high quality libraries which are now available, and which properly deal with some of the most difficult issues in basic javascript development, issues which this book simply does not acknowledge. The book deserves criticism for being yet one more contributor to the vast amount of poor quality javascript code on the web, yet of course it has to be said that any paper book will inevitable be vulnerable to the problem of obsolescence, since javascript support in browsers is so poor currently and techniques are changing rapidly right now.

This review is unapologetically harsh, yet I am not going to say "do not buy this book" outright. Although dated and harmful for beginners, there is a lot of material in this book, and for very experienced programmers in other programming languages who are forewarned about the book's unreliability it will at least give some idea of the issues and will provide a starting point for gathering a list of topics to be researched. But many readers may be simply better off consulting the blogs of the various acknowledged javascript gurus instead. Reading Brendan Eich's own articles would be a start.

Javascript Overload.......2007-04-06

This book is perfect! I have been needing a book that gives a complete study of Javascript as a programming language and this is it. Where most books discuss how to make a popup window, this book explains objects and inheritance and other concepts that take Javascript from being a basic dynamic script into a full featured one that is capable of doing practically anything you want.

The book is well written with both hypothetical and real-world examples. For each example there is a discussion about what is going to happen, the example that is notated for what is going on, and a post-example where it explains what basically happened.

If you are trying to learn on your own instead of taking a class, you may want to buy this book as it will probably meet/exceed your needs.

Best Pro JavaScript book on the market.......2007-03-06

JavaScript has progressed from a nice little scripting language for some neat effects to a widely used programming language that is used in internal and external web applications. Not that it happened over night, but it eventually did happen and knowing and learning JavaScript is a desired skill in the web community.

This book by Nicholas Zakas goes language concepts such as ECMAScript basics, using objects, inheritance, the DOM, regular expressions and events. Basically everything you need to know about JavaScript to get a good handle on practical implementation such as form validation, browser detection, image roll-overs, sorting tables, drag and drop, error handling and XML handling, and flash embedding. This is a very complete book on almost every topic you can think of when dealing with JavaScript and current uses.

Chapter 1 - JavaScript History
Chapter 2 - ECMAScript Basics - Variables, Reference types, Operators, Statements, and Functions. ECMAScript - The core language JavaScript is based on.
Chapter 3 - Object basics - Working with objects, Creating objects, and Practical examples
Chapter 4 - Inheritance - Foundation of an object oriented language
Chapter 5 - Using JavaScript in the browser; basic JavaScript objects: window, document, location, navigator, screen
Chapter 6 - DOM basics
Chapter 7 - Regular expressions - Simple and complex patterns, understanding the RegExp object
Chapter 8 - Browser and Object detection
Chapter 9 - Events - Event flow, listeners, types of events, and cross browser events
Chapter 10 - Advanced DOM techniques
Chapter 11 - Forms and Data Integrity
Chapter 12 - Sorting tables
Chapter 13 - Drag and Drop - Learn how to simulate Ajax techniques
Chapter 14 - Error Handling - Try/Catch/Finally
Chapter 15 - XML in JavaScript - XPath, XSLT and support in browsers
Chapter 16 - Client-Server Communications - Cookies, HTTP requests, hidden frames, GET/POST differences
Chapter 17 - Web Services - SOAP, WSDL, practical examples
Chapter 18 - Interacting with Plugins - Embedding ActiveX, Flash, Applets and plugin detection
Chapter 19 - Deployment issues - Security and international concerns
Chapter 20 - Future of JavaScript

I've never seen a more complete book on JavaScript to date. If you are new to JavaScript or need a great reference or need to learn some advanced techniques (DOM, drag and drop, XML, web services) this is the book for you.

JavaScript Professional.......2007-01-20

I purchased Beginning JavaScript and learned a lot even though I have a good programming background (Java, C++, Q-Basic, HTML, CSS, PHP). The Beginning JavaScript helped learn all of the quirks of the Browser Object Model and Document Object Model (the basic programming skills lessons did were too easy). The Professional JavaScript is great because it gets to the point with the "basic" programming and then teaches you some of the more advanced concepts/methods. It also goes into more depth of the BOM and DOM. There are NOT a lot of coding examples like the Beginning JavaScript (which I like because they take up space making the book large and are often too easy or obvious). If you have programming experience (particularly any JavaScript programming), then the Professional JavaScript book is for you- you should still learn plenty without having to deal skip over all of the basics.

A VERY GOOD BOOK.......2007-01-11

I'm not an expert Web developer, till now I developed many C/S application but only few Web application. This book helped me in this task. I've found everything I need to develop my application. But way there isn't a CD.
Heida Pierpaolo

Average customer rating:

Packed with excellent information
Excellent
Don't go without this book if you're doing Web 2.0 work
CLEANING UP WITH AJAX DESIGN PATTERNS!!
Probably mistitled, but still some very good information...

Ajax Design Patterns
Michael Mahemoff
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 0596101805

Book Description

Those of you familiar with Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) know how useful the technology is for creating interactive web applications with XML-based web services and JavaScript in the browser to process the web server response. Responsive web applications with client-like functionality are the new wave of the Internet. Though Ajax is new, the enabling technologies that allow JavaScript and similar languages to transfer and manipulate XML data from server to web browser have been around for a while. Ajax Design Patterns provides best practices for web developers by investigating how others have successfully dealt with conflicting design principles. You will find sections on foundational technology patterns, programming patterns, functionality and usability patterns, and diagnosis/testing of Ajax applications. Ajax is all about usability, so the patterns in this book focus on delivering usability in the face of constraints, such as user capabilities and expectations, bandwidth limits, the stateless nature of HTTP, and the complexity of Javascript. These patterns also are a concise way to represent the Human-Computer Interaction knowledge embodied in the many Ajax applications on the market.

Customer Reviews:

Packed with excellent information.......2007-04-27

This book is not perfect. There are a handful of editing mistakes and the author seems to go out of his way to ignore anything that Microsoft might have created (except ajax of course - wink).

On the positive side, this book is extremely well written. The author has a natural writing style that is conversational but still structured enough to fully cover material. The layout and organization of the book adds to the readability.

Excellent.......2007-01-05

It help me clarify the mystery behind AJAX and provided easy to follow examples.

Don't go without this book if you're doing Web 2.0 work.......2006-11-15

Michael has quickly staked his claim as a major driving force in the world of software design, most notably in the vein of AJAX development, and his outstanding work on "AJAX Design Patterns" is certainly testament to that. Despite the book's title implying a heavy lean towards application development via asynchronous remote scripting, it's actually is more accurate in its subtitle, being applicable towards the trendier Web 2.0 movement (but given the mixed reactions to Web 2.0, I can see how such might want to be played down.)

The book's organization is logically laid out, providing a historical and academic profile of the technological foundations that gave rise to modern-day asynchronous programming. Michael then leads into the actual patterns, being grouped by function. Probably the most relevant to web developers are those related to into the various forms of web remoting, DOM manipulation, and next-gen visualization (i.e., drag-and-drop effects); while programming patterns geared for performance enhancement and code generation will whet the appetites of even the most advanced coders.

(Among my favorite patterns are those dealing with HTTP streaming (a field of which Michael's a pioneer), on-demand JavaScript, and content refreshing.)

If, for no other reason, you buy this book it should be for any developer considering themselves to be cutting-edge should buy this book for the section on Chapter 9 on REST applications development. This in my opinion is the most well-rounded discussion of what RESTful production is(n't), and how to incorporate such architecture into your own web projects. Being a .NET developer, that platform's framework serves to both abstract my kind away from having to directly deal with such concepts, or Microsoft blatantly neglects to mention it at all. After scouring the Web for months looking for good content on REST, Michael lays it all out in easy to understand lingo and examples. I'm having the REST chapter photocopied and bronzed for my desk. It's that good.

The one thing I didn't dig too much about the book is its exclusive lean towards PHP for examples where server-side logic was needed. While other platforms like J2EE, .NET, Ruby on Rails and Cold Fusion are keenly cited for their contributions and capabilities, the vast majority of the code is in PHP. But this is just a personal quirk...I'm obviously not big on PHP.

But that minor preference aside, I've followed this book's development since its days as a wiki. It's an invaluable resource as your online development begins to get more complex in a demanding world expecting web apps with rich UIs and multifaceted formats (e.g., JSON, SOAP, XML, et al.). I find it to serve equally well as programmer's reference and architecture guide. I rarely rate any books a perfect score, but this certainly is deserving of such a nod.

This is truly a masterpiece, and one that no developer doing Web 2.0 work should be without.

CLEANING UP WITH AJAX DESIGN PATTERNS!!.......2006-11-06

Are you a developer, designer and manager who wants to know how Ajax is being used in the real world? If you are, then this book is for you. Author Michael Mahemoff, has done an outstanding job of writing a 2nd edition of a book that shows you what's possible and what's not with Ajax, and how Ajax is being used in the real world.

Michael, begins with a prelude to the patterns. Then, the author outlines the building blocks at the heart of any Ajax application. Next, he focuses on the technical qualities of software, in particular maintainability, robustness, and performance. The author also focuses on the usability of Ajax applications. Finally, he discusses why development patterns are not things in the same sense as the patterns in previous patterns, but processes you can use to aid development.

Because of the reference-like nature of the patterns, this most excellent book is accessible to people from different backgrounds. More importantly, this book doesn't assume you know any particular server-side environment.

Probably mistitled, but still some very good information..........2006-11-05

Although I think the book is mistitled, there's still a lot of value to be gleaned from Ajax Design Patterns by Michael Mahemoff. It's almost more like a cookbook than a patterns guide...

Contents:
Part 1 - Introduction: Introducing Ajax; A Pattern-Led Tutorial; Ajax Design - Principles and Patterns
Part 2 - Foundational Technology Patterns: Ajax App; Display Manipulation; Web Remoting; Dynamic Behavior; Extended Technologies
Part 3 - Programming Patterns: Web Services; Browser-Server Dialogue; DOM Population; Code Generation and Reuse; Performance Optimization
Part 4 - Functionality and Usability Patterns: Widgets; Page Architecture; Visual Effects; Functionality
Part 5 - Development Patterns: Diagnosis; Testing
Part 6 - Appendixes: Ajax Frameworks and Libraries; Setting Up The Code Samples; Patterns and Pattern Languages; References; Index

Each of the chapters, such as Widgets, show a number of techniques and features that you can use in an Ajax application. In this particular case, there's the Slider, Progress Indicator, Drilldown, Data Grid, Rich Text Editor, Suggestion, Live Search, and Live Command-Line. Although each of these are presented as a "pattern", I think that's really a misuse of the term as it's commonly utilized in our industry. Patterns are general architectures that have been developed over time to solve particular types of design issues. A pattern called "Slider" is really just an example of how a slider widget can be used effectively in an Ajax application. Because of the specificity of a slider, I see that as more of a recipe than a pattern.

Having cleared that gripe, it's still an effective book. Each pattern/recipe starts with a basic usage story, followed by the problem statement, the forces that come into play, the actual solution, decisions that need to be addressed, real-world examples, alternatives to this particular feature, related patterns/recipes, and references to more information about the feature. This particular format makes for a very comprehensive discussion of each item, more so than you'd get in a straight tutorial or reference guide. As such, I think it makes for a good addition to the Ajax bookshelf...

As a true "patterns" guide, I think it misses what it tries to set out to do. As a cookbook for Ajax techniques, it works quite well...

Average customer rating:

relevant, practical and well-balanced
A "complete reference" is oh so hard to find...
Great intro to XML-RPC
The book is worth it just for RPC::XML info
The "Web Services" book I've been waiting for

Programming Web Services with Perl
Randy J. Ray , and Pavel Kulchenko
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0596002068

Book Description

Given Perl's natural fit for web applications development, it's no surprise that Perl is also a natural choice for web services development. It's the most popular web programming language, with strong implementations of both SOAP and XML-RPC, the leading ways to distribute applications using web services. But books on web services focus on writing these applications in Java or Visual Basic, leaving Perl programmers with few resources to get them started. Programming Web Services with Perl changes that, bringing Perl users all the information they need to create web services using their favorite language. Programming Web Services with Perl steers clear of the hype surrounding web services and concentrates on what is useful and practical. The book introduces the major web services standards, such as XML-RPC, SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI, and shows how to implement Perl servers and clients using these standards. You'll find detailed references on both the XML and SOAP toolkits, and learn when to use one technology in favor of the other. The book is rich with programming examples that you'll find useful well past the learning stage. And, moving beyond the basics, the book offers solutions to problems of security, authentication, and scalability. Some of the topics covered in the book are:

HTTP and XML basics
XML-RPC and the toolkits
SOAP and toolkits
SOAP::Lite
Using SOAP with SMTP and other protocols
Advertising and discovering with UDDI and WSDL
The REST methodology
The future of web services

Programming Web Services with Perl was written for Perl programmers who have no prior knowledge of web services. You can pick up this book without any understanding of XML-RPC or SOAP and be able to apply these technologies easily, through the use of publicly available Perl modules detailed in the book. If you're interested in applying XML-RPC and SOAP technologies to distributed programming applications, then Programming Web Services with Perl is a book you'll want to have.

Customer Reviews:

relevant, practical and well-balanced.......2003-03-24

Programming Web Services with Perl is principally a book on implementing solutions using XML-RPC and SOAP in Perl. It also covers complementary and alternative standards such as WSDL, UDDI, and REST in some detail. And on the periphery, it finishes with a whirlwind tour of developing message routing, alternative data encoding within XML, security, transactions, workflow, internationalization, service discovery, extension, and management techniques and specifications.

The book assumes the reader will have the knowledge of an intermediate level Perl programmer. I.e., the reader is assumed to have a working knowledge of references, data structures, and object-oriented Perl. On the other hand no previous knowledge of XML, XML-RPC, SOAP or XML related technologies is required.

It should also be mentioned that both of the authors Randy J. Ray and Pavel Kulchenko are also the principle developers of the most popular XML-RPC and SOAP Perl modules: XML::RPC and SOAP::Lite respectively. That said, the book is not a soap box for the authors to tout the merits of their tools.

Rather, it is a practical book which starts with grounding fundamentals. Readers should walk away with a core understanding of XML-RPC and SOAP and not just a particular tool set for working with them. The authors examine the alternative XML-RPC and SOAP tools, illustrate how they are used, and give practical and even handed reasons why their modules should be preferred. Which comes down to issues of features, active development, support, and the amount of work required to code to a particular interface. They then settle down to a comfortable and thorough guide to XML::RPC and SOAP::Lite.

The topics and issues are illustrated throughout using real world web services. For example creating an XML-RPC client for O'Reilly's Meerkat news wire, or a SOAP client to covert use.perl.org's journal stream to RSS. Code is presented to the reader filtered down to highlight each particular issue as it is discussed. This is nice in that it avoids listing slight variations of the same code multiple times, but on the down side it can also leave the reader flipping back and forth to reassemble an example in their head. Full code for each example is provided in the appendices. And all of the example code may be downloaded from O'Reilly at [their web site].

All-in-all, the book is a thorough practical introduction to working with XML-RPC, SOAP and related technologies. When I started reading the book, I was a bit disappointed to see that it only covered XML-RPC and SOAP related services. When I finished, I was impressed with how very much information they'd managed to pack into so few pages.

And yet, I was left wishing there'd been a more through coverage of interoperability issues between other SOAP implementations and things like custom de-serializers. To be honest interoperability and de-serialization are mentioned, and the authors do an excellent job of referring the reader on to sources for continued reading on most other topics.

The book does an admirable job balancing content, length, and information density. Not to mention an excellent job delivering the information that will still be relevant years and not just weeks from the date published. Most of the topics I'd wished to see covered in more depth are those that are still developing and consequently most likely to become quickly dated. In short a well balanced practical guide to applying XML-RPC and SOAP to solve problems.

A "complete reference" is oh so hard to find..........2003-03-16

And yet this book covers every aspect of web service development utilizing perl. As a long time user of the original Frontier::RPC2 module, things have come a long way, and with that greater complexity, the concepts have grown in scope considerably. This IS the book that you want to read if you REALLY want to understand SOAP and XML-RPC. From the XML DTD's to implementation code (either standalone applications or utilizing mod_perl) this book covers everything in between. In all it is a welcome addition to the O'Reilly family of Perl books.

Great intro to XML-RPC.......2003-03-08

As with all O'Reilly books there's a great intro to the technologies. They take you through how it works, not just how to deploy some code. When you get to the XML-RPC modules, they don't force a solution on you, but give a great tour of what's available and let you pick. For me, the highlight was the intro to Randy J. Ray's RPC::XML modules (he's also one of the authors). I've been fighting with getting the 'system.*' handlers hacked in with other aproaches and it was great to see someone had already figured out such a clean approach. (Which is something since Perl can get reeeaaal ugly!) This book has saved me many days of wasted development.

The book is worth it just for RPC::XML info.......2003-03-08

The "Web Services" book I've been waiting for.......2003-01-12

Some time ago, I purchased a different book: "Programming Web Services With SOAP" (ASIN: 0596000952), and my feeling - and that of many others - is that it was very weak. A decent view from 30,000 feet, but it was not very helpful to a perl developer thrown kicking and screaming into a project requiring XML and the use of SOAP::Lite. "Disappointment" was the best way to describe it.

But *THIS* is the book that the other one should have been - it's fantastic. It is chock-full of real live examples *with code*, the introductory and explanatory material is excellent, and the writing style is simply a joy to read.

In particular, the reference material for SOAP::Lite is very much welcome: it was written by the author of the code.

Book Description

Programming the Web Using XHTML and JavaScript by Lagerstrom fits in introductory Web-Authoring courses in the community college, university extension or technical schools, or in Web-Scripting courses found in computer science departments. It requires no prior knowledge of HTML or programming. This book was written to offer a straightforward introduction to programming. Programming the Web Using XHTML and JavaScript starts out with an explanation of HTML and then gently guides the student into learning how to create web pages that actually respond to and interact with the web browser through JavaScript. To accomplish the patient ease of learning, Dr. Lagerstrom created various types of end of chapter material, which reinforce what has been learned via lab exercises, de-bugging problems and objective questions. Pedagogical features such as icons are located in the margins to alert students of potential trouble areas and advice.

Customer Reviews:

Programming the Web Using XHTML and JavaScript.......2007-09-16

A good book. Topics are all well explained and good programming examples are provided. The target audience is more for people with little or no programming experience. But, experienced software developers can gain some insights, too. Overall, I highly recommend if you are looking for a book on this subject which doesn't contain in-depth technical details.

Easy to read and understand.......2007-03-21

I bought this book for a class that I took at UC Berkeley and it's a great book because it teaches the reader xhtml and java in a simple way. I was amazed as to how easy it was understand all the terminology in the book. Usually I sell off my books at the end of the semester but this one was a keeper.

Nine Stars.......2003-04-28

I got this book for a class, taught by Lagerstrom, and loved it. It does a great job explaining XHTML and JavaScript. I had never been exposed to any type of programming, but this book made it simple. When I originally bought the book, I was sharing it with two other people. However, we all found it so helpful that we had to each buy our own to keep it on the shelf.

Another book I'll be adding to my shelf........2003-01-18

Wow. Very few programming books I've read do much for me. Most of them are of no more use than a reference manual. But this book....this book is different. After just an hour of reading, I now understand the basics of JavaScript. The book does a great job explaining it. The other topic this book covers is XHTML, the successor to HTML. I admire the author's constant reminders to remain standards-complient in XHTML. Good job.

Book Description

I would highly recommend this as a resource for any developers who want to really dig in and solidify their working knowledge of PHP and web services, or just want to explore the nuances and complexities of XML DTD's and namespaces.

— Nathan Smith, Godbit Project

Pro PHP XML and Web Services is the authoritative guide to using the XML features of PHP 5 and PHP 6. No other book covers XML and Web Services in PHP as deeply as this title. The first four chapters introduce the core concepts of XML required for proficiency, and will bring you up to speed on the terminology and key concepts you need to proceed with the rest of the book. Next, the book explores utilizing XML and Web Services with PHP5. Topics include DOM, SimpleXML, SAX, xmlReader, XSLT, RDF, RSS, WDDX, XML-RPC, REST, SOAP, and UDDI.

Author Robert Richards, a major contributor to the PHP XML codebase, is a leading expert in the PHP community. In this book, Richards covers all topics in depth, blending theory with practical examples. You'll find case studies for the most popular web services like Amazon, Google, eBay, and Yahoo. The book also covers XML capabilities, demonstrated through informative examples, in the PEAR libraries.

Customer Reviews:

Great PHP XML Reference.......2006-11-16

'Pro PHP XML and Web Services' by Robert Richards is a great book to help you learn your way around these technologies. Packing in over 900+ pages, this book gives a broad overview of the subject matter which is outlined here:

01. Introduction to XML and Web Services
02. XML Structure
03. Validation
04. XPath, XPointer, XInclude
05. PHP and XML
06. Document Object Model
07. SimpleXML
08. Simple API for XML
09. XMLReader
10. Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations
11. Effective and Efficient Processing
12. XML Security
13. PEAR and XML
14. Content Syndication: RSS and Atom
15. Web Distributed Data Exchange
16. XML-RPC
17. Representational State Transfer
18. SOAP
19. Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI)
20. PEAR and Web Services
21. Other XML Technologies and Extensions

If you need a book that dives into the XML technology and doesn't look back, this is a nice pickup that gets the job done. Lots of other Apress books I feel are a bit too long, but this book at over 900 pages I have less complaints about. It's solidly written and a nice companion book to have on your bookshelf for anyone that programs with XML.

**** RECOMMENDED

Heavy Metal XML.......2006-09-29

This is first and foremost an XML reference. The author takes the reader through over 100 pages XML background in the first three chapters, then an overview of a few utilities like XPath and XPointer before he touches on PHP. Having provided some grounding in the basics, he then proceeds to develop the use of XML in PHP from the basic topics of DOM (Document Object Model) and XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) to the more advanced topics of SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) and web services.

Along the way Richards introduces the reader to utility classes like SimpleXML, SAX (Simple API for XML), XMLReader. He also touches on PEAR (PHP Extension and Application Repository) utility classes and topics like security, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration). The author's examples are reasonably concise and readable; making the necessary points without getting carried away.

The bottom line is that this is a highly effective reference (that means fairly comprehensive, but dry reading; I read cover to cover, but it was relatively tedious) on XML and its varied uses in association with PHP. This is not a book for the newcomer to programming, nor is it a cookbook for examples for the casual programmer/web developer, although the author does provide PEAR examples for connecting with major web services like Amazon, Google and Yahoo (among others). My suggestion for readers is to review what you need of the first 11-12 chapters to ensure a firm grounding in XML, and then hop to the chapters specific to the problem being faced.
P-)

All you need to know.......2006-07-03

This is a great book in that the author provides comprehensive coverage of a complicated subject, and does it in clear, concise and understandable language. The book should be a promary resource for programmers. I look forward to more contributions from this author.

The standout reference on PHP and XML.......2006-06-21

This book is amazingly well written. The content is organized in an intuitive and logical fashion. The author explains base concepts and progresses into advanced topics, providing consistent depth of coverage along the way. The author's writing and concise examples get the message across on the first reading - unlike some texts that require multiple passes. It's also noteworthy that the Technical Reviewers, Christian Stocker and Adam Trachtenberg, are renowned PHP experts and authors. If you plan to study or work with PHP and XML, this book is a MUST HAVE.

Huge + Comprehensive.......2006-06-12

Quite some time ago, Apress sent me Pro XML and Web Services to review, and I am just now getting around to it. First off, let me say that this book is huge. It weighs in at 936 pages, and the one I have is a hard-cover. Rob Richards has done an amazing job at providing an incredibly comprehensive volume, covering a vast amount of information.

Anything I write in this review will probably not do the book full justice, simply because it is so extensive. That being said, I will attempt to briefly summarize its contents, so you will have an idea of just how much is covered. Here is a listing of topics by each of the 21 chapters:

1. Introduction to XML and Web Services
2. XML Structure
3. Validation
4. XPath, XPointer, XInclude, and the Future
5. PHP and XML
6. Document Object Model (DOM)
7. SimpleXML
8. Simple API for XML (SAX)
9. XMLReader
10. Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT)
11. Effective and Efficient Processing
12. XML Security
13. PEAR and XML
14. Content Syndication: RSS and Atom
15. Web Distributed Data Exchange (WDDX)
16. XML-RPC
17. Representational State Transfer (REST)
18. SOAP
19. Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI)
20. PEAR and Web Services
21. Other XML Technologies and Extensions

Appendices:

1. XML Schema Built-In Data Types Reference
2. Extension APIs
3. Features and Changes in PHP 6

As you can see, there is quite a bit to be learned from this veritable tome of knowledge. There is even a sneak peek of what is around the corner for the future version of PHP 6. Since I can't really go over it all (well I could, but won't), allow me to point out some of the things I enjoyed about this book.

If you have worked with well-formed XHTML files at all, you no doubt are familiar with this bit of code, usually at the top of every document...

[...]

If you were to navigate to that *.dtd file, you would see a Document Type Definition for Extensible HTML 1.0. In fact, why don't you just go ahead and check it out. If you get a browser prompt, just open it in your favorite code editor. All of that information is what XHTML 1.0 Strict is validated against. XHTML, being a rewrite / facelift of HTML in XML, adheres to the W3C concept of Namespaces in XML. XHTML 1.1 also has a DTD, as does HTML 4.01, etc.

Hopefully it comes no surprise that you've been working with XML concepts for some time now, perhaps unknowingly. Richards helps demystify these concepts, and shows how to write your own custom Document Type Definitions. After all, that is the key tenet of XML - Extensibility. As long as things are properly self closing, there is a whole lot of flexilibility available. I liked his example of < sarcasm >... < /sarcasm > in one of the opening chapters.

After the chapters on XML, he moves to talking about the Document Object Model or DOM for short. You've no doubt heard this term before, probably in conjunction with JavaScript. DOM though, is language neutral or multi-lingual you could say. Just as JavaScript can be used to manipulate the DOM on the client-side, PHP can be used on the server-side to parse an XML document. That is of course the fundamental aspect of AJAX - shared information via XML between JS and a server-side language. In the case of this book, it's PHP.

In chapter 20 on PEAR and Web Services, he gets into how to use the services offered by Amazon, Del.icio.us, Ebay, Google, Techorati, Weather.com and Yahoo. In chapter 21, he touches briefly on Ajax. He does so from the standpoint that because it is becoming so prevalent, a PHP developer may need to know at least how it will interface with one's server-side code.

Also in the last chapter, he covers some things to think about when designing PHP driven sites to be served up on mobile devices. You could think of the wireless realm like the old West. The dust is still settling, and no real consensus has been reached as of yet. Some people swear by Wireless Markup Language, being pioneered by the Open Mobile Alliance, whereas others stick by the W3C recommendation to use XHTML Basic. It should be noted that the OMA and W3C are not at odds. WML is in fact written in XML.

Well, I will wrap this up. Hopefully I was not too brief in highlighting what I thought was cool. Really, the whole book is very good, but to write a paragraph about every chapter would make for a really lengthy review. I would highly recommend this as a resource for any developers who want to really dig in and solidify their working knowledge of PHP and web services, or just want to explore the nuances and complexities of XML DTD's and namespaces.

Pragmatic Ajax: A Web 2.0 Primer (Pragmatic)

Average customer rating:

Excellent explanation with great examples
Excellent no bull
Solid Ajax Book!!!
Solid explanation of the concepts
Great title... heavy on practicality...

Pragmatic Ajax: A Web 2.0 Primer (Pragmatic)
Justin Gehtland , Ben Galbraith , and Dion Almaer
Manufacturer: Pragmatic Bookshelf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0976694085

Book Description

It's not just another book on Ajax. It's Pragmatic Ajax: a concise, complete look at a new way of envisioning and implementing browser-based applications.

Ajax turns static web pages into interactive applications. Now you can deploy rich-client applications to clients without sacrificing the easy deployment of web applications. But to many folks, Ajax seems difficult. That's why we produced this book. As a Pragmatic guide, it strips away the mystery and shows you the easy way to make Ajax work for you.

We cover the the basics of DHTML, JavaScript, and the infamous XmlHttpRequest call. You'll see how to add Ajax to existing programs, and design new applications to exploit the power of Web 2.0. Learn the three layers of Ajax framework, and when (and how) to use each. See how to create rich clients, use visual effects, add client-side validation, and handle forms. Write applications that degrade gracefully if clients don't support JavaScript. And see how to integrate your Ajaxified clients into Java, .NET, and Ruby on Rails server frameworks.

With Pragmatic Ajax, you'll:

Understand the breadth of the Ajax/Web 2.0 landscape, and go-indepth on how Ajax works
Learn how JavaScript works with your server-side framework
See how to easily apply Ajax techniques to an existing application--and when not to
Know what's coming by looking at new features and frameworks currently in active development.

Writing dynamic applications isn't that hard. Folks are awed by Google Maps, but it isn't rocket science (apart from the satellite pictures). As a special bonus, see how to implement your own Google Maps-like application using DHTML.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent explanation with great examples.......2007-06-08

This book is everything one can want form such a book. Before I read this book, I knew nothing about AJAX, although I read few articles on the internet, I couldn't find such nice explanations and examples. Now I use AJAX wherever I can, and I can't immagine my life without it. Buy this book and you won't be sorry.

Excellent no bull.......2007-04-11

Well written and excellent, great info in the first 50 pages. Much better than the Ajax on Java for the nutshell which seems to worm around. This book tells it like it is. Just my opinion. I think anyone who is being inundated with Ajax boasting should read this and see what its all about.

Solid Ajax Book!!!.......2007-02-13

'Pragmatic Ajax: A Web 2.0 Primer' by Justin Gehtland is a very nice, solid Ajax book for any and all web developers using/learning the new way to develop web sites for the next generation. Rounding out around 300 pages, this has the brevity that I desire and the content to match! Discussing the origins of Ajax, what Ajax is and how it can be used, the author provides solid examples, writing, and shows off his solid teaching abilities in this nice book, another nice hit from this publishing house.

There are a bunch of Ajax books out on the market and no doubt a lot more to come, but this goes near the top of my list for desirables in the genre. Not bloated at all, a nice layout, solid writing all makes for a wonderful text to have on your desk by your side while you used the coolest web technology to ever be born!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Solid explanation of the concepts.......2006-12-06

Pragmatic Ajax is organized into three acts, as identified by the authors. The first act, starting with Chapter 1, covers the history of AJAX as a technology and as architecture. Then, in Chapter 2, the book takes a deep-dive into code and dissects the killer-app that set the original standard for an AJAX website, Google Maps. The authors demonstrate the key components that make Google Maps successful and then give you the code for you to implement your own version of "Ajaxian Maps." Experienced developers will appreciate the quick exposure to the code, while those with less experience (such as myself), can still follow along and glean the concepts.

The heart of the book happens in the second act, chapters 3 through 15, when the authors explain the fundamentals behind how AJAX works and how you, the reader, can begin to use AJAX immediately on your site. The act moves up a level of abstraction in chapter 5, and explains how frameworks, toolkits, and libraries can do much of the heavy-lifting for you. Act 2 also covers AJAX UI creation and best practices, how to debug an AJAX application with DOM and JavaScript tools, and how to make sure your new web 2.0 website can fail safely to web 1.0. Finally, the authors wrap up by dissecting AJAX frameworks and porting their example application to each framework. The technology frameworks covered include PHP, Ruby on Rails, Java, and ASP.NET.

As with most plays, the final act is the shortest and the liveliest. Chapter 16 is the authors stab at showing more advanced techniques with data and UI manipulation and set to the tone for things to come in the future. The key idea being that AJAX will become widely adopted and disappear entirely behind-the-scenes, in which the developers perform these things seamlessly.

Although I understood that this act served as a broad guide to using AJAX, I still felt compelled to dig deeper as I worked on some of the examples. However, the technology itself is still in its growing stages and the best resource for learning more continues to be the web. I really liked how the book stuck with its purpose as being an easy-to-read guide to understanding AJAX, and I felt that it has armed with those concepts I can use to work on my future web projects. I also liked how it took some time to explain good practices using DOM and Javascript, especially for AJAX use. I feel that this book is best suited for experienced web developers as the book assumes a base level of knowledge.

Great title... heavy on practicality..........2006-11-08

The Pragmatic Programmers publishing group does a great job coming up with books that cut right to the real-world aspects of technology. Pragmatic Ajax: A Web 2.0 Primer by Justin Gehtland, Ben Galbraith, and Dion Almaer is another title that follows in that tradition...

Contents: Building Rich Internet Applications with Ajax; Creating Google Maps; Ajax in Action; Ajax Explained; Ajax Frameworks; Ajax UI - Part 1; Ajax UI - Part 2; Debugging Ajax Applications; Degradable Ajax; JSON and JSON-RPC; Server-side Framework Integration; Ajax with PHP; Ajax with Rails; Proxy-Based Ajax with DWR; ASP.NET and Atlas; Ajax in the Future and Beyond; Index

Rather than start you out with a simple Hello World example of an Ajax application, they dive right into a application they call Ajaxian Maps (a play on Google Maps). While you don't get all the hand-holding instruction of what each Ajax component is along the way, you quickly get a sense of what power can be unleashed with these techniques. Once you've seen it all in action (complete with code), then you start to get the nitty-gritty of what and how it all works. That's more the tutorial section you're used to seeing in other books on the subject. I really appreciate how they then go to the different Ajax frameworks that are out there, and that you can use to hide some of the plumbing that is part and parcel of every Ajax application. While a number are mentioned, they spend most of their time on Dojo and Prototype. And I also appreciated the chapter on debugging your Ajax application. Web apps can be a bit tricky to debug, but the information in here gives you a solid foundation to move forward in that area.

Overall, one of the best "practical" books on Ajax that I've had the pleasure to review. Everything is rooted in and tied back to real examples in use today, so it's not one of these "I took the tutorial, now what can I use it for?" books... Very much recommended...

Ajax Patterns and Best Practices (Expert's Voice)

Average customer rating:

Waste Time
More than Dreadful
Moving from "can I?" to "should I?"...
Dreadful
Decent content, awful writing style

Ajax Patterns and Best Practices (Expert's Voice)
Christian Gross
Manufacturer: Apress
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1590596161

Book Description

Ajax Patterns and Best Practices is a quality book for the intermediate to advanced ajax programmer who is looking to expand their skills.

— Rob Sanheim, co-editor of Ajaxian and software engineer with Seeking Alpha

Ajax is taking us into the next generation of web applications. Ajax has broken the client-server barrier by decoupling the client from the server, but an Ajax application still needs a server to extract content from. The most effective use of Ajax and the server requires an understanding of REST, an architectural style used to define Web services.

Ajax Patterns and Best Practices explores dynamic web applications that combine Ajax and REST as a single solution. A major advantage of REST is that like Ajax, it can be used with today's existing technologies.

This is an ideal book whether or not you have already created an Ajax application. Because the book outlines various patterns and best practices, you can quickly check and verify that you're building an efficient Ajax application.

Inside the book, the patterns will answer the following questions:

What is Ajax, and REST and why do you even care? And if I should care what are some examples of websites that make effective use of Ajax and REST?
What are the absolute basics of Ajax and REST and what parts of those basics should I use?
How should deal with large amounts of data? Should I cache the data? Should I get the data piece fed to me? (Patterns: Cache Controller, and Infinite Data)
People keep telling me that sessions and cookies are bad? Are they bad? What should I do? And while I think about how about generating content for other devices? (Permutations pattern)
I want to fix the back-button problem of the HTML browser. (State Navigation pattern)
What is the best way to create a mashup? (REST Based Model View Controller pattern)
My page has so many links managed by JavaScript, and I am loosing control, help me make this more organized! (Decoupled Navigation pattern)
I understand that HTTP means I send data to the server, how about the server sending me some data without asking for it? (Persistent Communications pattern)
My server side code looks like a mess with tags and code pieces everywhere how can I organize and make my HTML page behave like a SOA client and use REST based web services? (Content chunking pattern)

Customer Reviews:

Waste Time.......2007-04-20

I had finished several Ajax and JavaScript books before I read this one. Be honest, I am totally lost in this book. Not sure whose fault it is, the writer or the editor. but it's not good book.

First of all, too many words. Second too many puzzle words and sentence. I don't care how great idea you have, if you cannot present it clearly, forget about it.

More than Dreadful.......2006-12-25

I just don't get how this book even made it past an editor? The writing is horrible, which causes the reader to put the book down in frustration. At least there is consistency among the lowest rating reviewers.

Moving from "can I?" to "should I?"..........2006-10-30

It's one thing to build Ajax applications because you can and they're cool. But the real issue is building Ajax applications that actually solve problems and use established techniques to do so. This book can help you move from "cool" to "correct"... Ajax Patterns and Best Practices by Christian Gross.

Contents: Introduction to Ajax; The Nuts and Bolts of Ajax; Content Chunking Pattern; Cache Controller Pattern; Permutations Pattern; Decoupled Navigation Pattern; Representation Morphing Pattern; Persistent Communications Pattern; State Navigation Pattern; Infinite Data Pattern; REST-Based Model View Controller Pattern; Index

Gross uses the familiar formula of most books that deal with design patterns. First there's the Intent (what is happening), followed by the Motivation (why the pattern is necessary). Applicability talks about when it should be used, and the Associated Patterns talks about other patterns that may work well with this one. The Architecture and Implementation sections go into the most detail, talking about how the pattern is laid out and built, as well as what issues might be encountered in the real world. The final section, Pattern Highlights, does a quick summary of the material and is a good overview/reminder of what was covered.

This is an important addition to the Ajax books that are currently out on the market. I've always been a believer in the maxim "just because you can doesn't mean you should." Because Ajax is "hot" right now, it's tempting to use it to build applications that might well be better designed without all the whistles and bells. This book helps the reader to make the leap from "how can I use Ajax in my next project" to "would Ajax be a good fit for my next project." It's a subtle difference, but an important one to professional developers...

Dreadful.......2006-10-13

I read a lot of technical books in relation to my work as a software developer and also out of my interest in particular topics. I was highly motivated to read this book having a great deal of interest in the material. Frankly this is one of the worst technical books I have ever read. Actually I can only admit to getting to page 86 before giving up. Technically the material is good and the example code is well presented. Unfortunately the rambling text made the whole experience painful and ultimately I just gave up.

Decent content, awful writing style.......2006-10-11

While this book does present useful topics that are particularly relevant to AJAX applications, my main problem with it is the poorly edited and structured way it is written.

The book is full of paragraphs like this one (found at the very beginning of the "Applicability section" of the "Decoupled Navigation Pattern"):

"The Decoupled Navigation pattern is used when content is navigated. The statement is obtuse and does not really say anything because HTML content is always navigated. However, because of the way Dynamic HTML is used, content navigation is sometimes used to generate an effect. When links are used to generate effects, the Decoupled Navigation pattern does not apply."

That's the whole paragraph beginning to end -- what the heck is this trying to say? Apparently aware of how non-sensical this is, the author starts the next paragraph with "To clarify this explanation..." and then goes on to present an example of a website in Swiss German (I think), with no translation given. Two pages of more examples and a summary rules-of-thumb later, and the only implied take-away is that the Pattern applies when decision-making and data processing are required, and the contents of the page change but not completely.

A few sections like this could be forgiven (and you could quibble as to why he had to write this example this way), but stuff like this prevails throughout every chapter. More often than not, ideas which with some thought could have been condensed into a few sentences, result in half a page of digressions and logical dead-ends.

Here's another one:

"The need to separate the resource from the representation has not been adequately explained, and some developers may wonder why it is necessary at all. After all, may websites work well and nobody has complained too loudly. The reason why many websites work well is because they have probably implemented the separation of resource from representation. And those that have not done so have received complaints."

Upon reading this, I feel some irreplaceable portion of my lifespan has just been wasted.

At least one good thing this book does is that it only focuses on Patterns that are particular to an AJAX environment (e.g. Persistent Communications, Decouple Navigation, etc.), without wasting time on stuff that is applicable to other more general software design settings (which plenty of other books already cover of course).

While the ideas in this book are interesting and potentially useful to somebody beginning to design an AJAX application, the writing style makes reading it a true chore. Surely there is better written stuff out there on AJAX software design.

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