Murach’s JavaScript and jQuery

Today, jQuery is used by more than half of the 10,000 most-visited web sites, and jQuery is one of the technologies that every web developer should master. The trouble is that jQuery is difficult to learn, especially for programming novices. Now, this new book makes it easier than ever to learn jQuery, jQuery UI (User Interface), and jQuery Mobile.

In essence, sections 2 and 3 of this book present all of the jQuery and jQuery UI skills that you need for developing professional jQuery applications. With those skills, you’ll be able to add all of the popular jQuery applications to your web pages: image swaps, image rollovers, collapsible panels, slide shows, accordions, tabs, carousels, and more. Beyond that, though, you’ll have all the skills that you need for developing unique jQuery applications of your own.

But that’s just two of the five sections in the book. Because you need to know JavaScript in order to use jQuery, section 1 presents the least you need to know about JavaScript to get the most from jQuery. This is essential for programming novices, but this is also valuable for experienced programmers who may not remember how a specific JavaScript statement or method works. In short, this section makes this book a complete reference for jQuery programmers.

In contrast, section 4 takes jQuery to a new level by showing you how to use Ajax and JSON to get data from a web server and add it to a web page without reloading the page. It also shows how to use Ajax and JSON with the APIs for popular web sites like Blogger, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, and Google Maps. These are powerful skills for enhancing a web site.

To complete this package, section 5 presents a complete course in jQuery Mobile, which offers an exciting, new way to develop web sites for mobile devices. Today, the best web sites are available in both full and mobile versions, so this section also shows how to use a JavaScript plugin to redirect a mobile device from the full version of a web site to its mobile version.

Table of Contents

Section 1 JavaScript essentials
Chapter 1 Introduction to web development
Chapter 2 Getting started with JavaScript
Chapter 3 How to work with objects, functions, and events
Chapter 4 How to test and debug a JavaScript application
Chapter 5 How to work with arrays
Chapter 6 How to script the DOM with JavaScript

Section 2 jQuery essentials
Chapter 7 Get off to a fast start with jQuery
Chapter 8 How to use effects and animations
Chapter 9 How to use the DOM manipulation and traversal methods
Chapter 10 How to work with forms and data validation
Chapter 11 How to create and use plugins

Section 3 jQuery UI essentials
Chapter 12 Get off to a fast start with jQuery UI themes and widgets
Chapter 13 How to use jQuery UI interactions and effects

Section 4 Ajax, JSON, and API essentials
Chapter 14 How to use Ajax, JSON, and Blogger
Chapter 15 How to use the APIs for YouTube, Twitter, and Flickr
Chapter 16 How to use the API for Google Maps

Section 5 jQuery Mobile essentials
Chapter 17 Get off to a fast start with jQuery Mobile
Chapter 18 How to enhance a jQuery Mobile web site

Appendix A How to set up your computer for this book
Appendix B A summary of the applications in this book
Appendix C How to resolve $ conflicts