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teemo_cute

I agree. Kidding aside. I think Eloquent Javascript is better geared towards experienced programmers:

http://eloquentjavascript.net/

Edit: It seems like the post I replied to was deleted, but my following statements still holds true.

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Eloquent Javascript, while a very good book, is pretty old and really aimed at beginners.

The second edition is coming along: http://eloquentjavascript.net/2nd_edition/preview/

It’s certainly a good book. Can you explain why you think it’s better geared towards experienced programmers?

I previewed the table of contents of Speaking Javascript and it looks cool and comprehensive, but Eloquent Javscript discusses functional programming and only spends a little time on the bare basics.

I'm not saying that either book is better. In my opinion Eloquent is for more advanced folks, while Speaking might be geared towards beginning programmers.

Note that the basics only seem simple. Speaking JS covers them, but also (as optional reading) exposes many of the mechanisms behind them. For example: [1].

The book explains the complete language. I consider functional programming more of a (fascinating and important!) meta-topic; worthy even of dedicated books [2] and beyond the scope of Speaking JS.

[1] http://speakingjs.com/es5/ch18.html#_array_indices_in_detail

[2] “Functional JavaScript” by Michael Fogus. http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920028857.do

I have to agree with this. I've worked with JavaScript in previous jobs but never took the time to really dig into the language and learn it in and out. I just applied my knowledge of other languages and looked things up when I needed to.

I'm working through Eloquent JavaScript (v1) right now and I'm on the chapter dealing with functional programming. Even with the programming classes I've taken in college, I'm finding this chapter to be much more difficult than any of the ones before it. Maybe it's uncommon, but I was never shown this type of programming ever before. Even though I'm progressing through it at a painstakingly slow pace, it's starting to make sense. But for someone who looked at EJS as their first programming book? I can understand why they may quit altogether.

Have you ever seen Underscore.js? It's a javascript toolkit for solving problems in a functional manner.

If you are interested in learning more, the video below walks through examples.

http://youtu.be/tbt36MvV6qQ

I've briefly looked at it in the past but not in much detail. Thanks for the video. I'll have to check it out.

Really, I think it is totally geared to beginners.

What did the original post say?

I didn't remember the exact wording, but he/she mentioned something in the lines of Javascript is better written than spoken.

“I didn't remember the exact wording, but he/she mentioned something in the lines of Javascript is better written than spoken.”

In that case, you’re gonna love this book. There’s a small code example for every two paragraphs or so, which really helps make things clear. (Disclaimer: I was a technical reviewer for this book.)

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