JavaScript & AJAX for Dummies / by Andy Harris, Wiley, 2010
When you are learning to program in Javascript, there are many opportunities and many pitfalls. This book will get you past the beginner level fast, and well into the intermediate level. It recommends the Aptana debugger and discusses jQuery at length. 400 pages.
Professional JavaScript Frameworks : Prototype, YUI, Ext JS, Dojo and MooTools / Leslie Michael Orchard, Wiley Publishing, 2009
Web app programmers will find this book really useful. 800 pages, well written, practical, with example code. Topics include:
XML : a Beginner’s Guide : go beyond the basics with Ajax, XHTML, XPath 2.0, XSLT 2.0, and XQuery / Steven Holzner, McGraw-Hill, 2009
Programming with AJAX, XSLT, XPath, and XQuery. Well written, many examples, 400 pages.
JavaScript Programmer’s Reference / Alexei White, Wiley, 2009
This book seems to cover all the details of JavaScript, and is quite readable. The cover claims that it is for the beginner and the seasoned veteran, but the beginner would be better served by one of the other JavaScript books. The author recommends the use of libraries such as jQuery or Prototype, but they are brittle so you need to understand JavaScript. The book shows how to use plug-ins such as Flash and Silverlight. A heavy 950 pages.
Prototype and Scriptaculous IN ACTION / Dave Crane, Bear Bibeault, Manning, 2007.
There is little sense in coding raw Javascript when libraries like this are available. This book is an excellent introduction and user guide. 500 pages.
jQuery in Action / Bear Bibeault, Manning, 2008
If your web app involves lots of javascript, then you probably should be using the jQuery library. This book is a very readable introduction. 300 pages.
Internet & World Wide Web : how to program / P.J. Deitel, H.M. Deitel, Pearson Prentice Hall 2008
This book is an excellent guide to programming web apps. Flash, Flex, PHP, Ruby, AJAX, DB’s, CSS, DOM, RSS… A colorful cover that will wake you up, and 1350 pages!!
Programming ASP.NET 3.5 / Jesse Liberty, O’Reilly, 2009
Microsoft has been making great strides in recent years, and many of us need to know how to use its tools. This book is a good way to keep up to date. Examples in ASP, C# and HTML. O’Reilly unfortunately gave us 1100 pages here; usually they condense a topic into fewer pages.
Professional ASP.NET 3.5 Ajax, Wiley, 2009
Here is a book with practical example code. 500 pages.
JavaScript : the missing manual / David Sawyer McFarland, O’Reilly, 2008
This is a book for newcomers to Javascript, but learn it well and you will be writing top quality code. It starts with the basics, then dives into usage of the jQuery toolkit. Sample code is at sawmac. 500 pages.