There is also another jQuery book coming out: jQuery In Action.

I’m not a javascript expert by any means and so far I have been getting through the book OK.

They start at the very beginning - showing you a simple script - which they then break down - explaining the basic jQuery object - $() as well as the $(document).ready(function(). Then they go on to show how you can reference and act upon elements within your page: $(”p”).show(”slow”);

So it does start out very basic. Sorry my ‘review’ made it sound more complex. As I said - I know little to nothing about Javascript proper and so far I’ve been able to follow all the examples in the book.

” Glancing at the Table of Contents - I’m happy to note there are no basic introductory ‘HTML/Javascript’ chapters (no fluff!) you dive right into a simple jQuery script where you manipulate some CSS.”

I was hoping there would be a basic intro to the things most people familiar with JavaScript take for granted.

So

” Initially you start at the basics - jQuery syntax, selectors, events and using effects.”

I would like to see several pages of different ways to activate a jQuery, as I have seen at least a dozen,. For example as dumb as this sounds it took me a while to figure out you can call anything in jQuery, using a onclick=”foo()”. But I have not been able to get several jQuery functions to work this way either.

I am not familiar with all the events like “attaching” and “focus” and things like “chaining” are new to me.

Again, I’m talking a real dummy here Though I am proud of what I have been able to do:

http://www.whatbird.com/wwwroo.....EARCH.html

Check the effects on the Text and Small Icon views and click the Sorting->First, Last to see it puff.

The big challenge in this simulation was getting the effects to wait a fixed time before firing, so as to simulate a real trip to the server.

Mitch

@Tane and Greg: Good eye, guys! Also, a few times in the book, Jonathan and I refer to jQuery doing “the heavy lifting” for us. So we thought the weights metaphor would be especially apt for the cover. By the way, I took the photo on the beach of Lake Michigan.

Sorry about the screenshot issue. We were wondering if that would be a problem, but by the time we saw the final proofs, it was too late to do anything about it. I think we were more careful about color in later chapters. Also, as far as I know, the PDF “eBook” version shows the images in color. If there is ever a 2nd edition, we’ll be sure to change examples so they’re more gray-scale-friendly.

When a problem comes along.
You must jQuery it.
Before the code sits out too long.
You must jQuery it.
When something’s going wrong.
You must jQuery it.

Now jQuery it.
into shape.
shape it up.
get straight.
go forward.
move ahead.

try to interface it.
it’s not too late.
to jQuery it.
jQuery it good.

The image represents the jQuery logo, which is based on Devo Energy domes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.....Choice.jpg

For the initial examples, you won’t need an HTTP server, actually. We specifically developed most of the examples so that they are standalone, and work by just opening the file locally. The only exceptions should be the examples that use AJAX.

When you do need a server, XAMPP is a good package to try.