JavaScript: The Good Parts--New from O'Reilly

For Immediate Release
For more information, a review copy, cover art, or interview with the
author, contact:
Mary Rotman (707) 827-7314 or maryr@oreilly.com

JavaScript: The Good Parts--New from O'Reilly
Unearthing the Excellence in JavaScript

Sebastopol, CA--Most programming languages contain good and bad parts, but
JavaScript has more than its share of the bad, having been developed and
released in a hurry before it could be refined. This new and authoritative
book from O'Reilly--"JavaScript: The Good Parts" ($29.99)--scrapes away
these bad features to reveal a subset of JavaScript that's more reliable,
readable, and maintainable than the language as a whole-a subset you can
use to create truly extensible and efficient code.

Considered the JavaScript expert by many people in the development
community, author Douglas Crockford identifies the abundance of good ideas
that make JavaScript an outstanding object-oriented programming
language-ideas such as functions, loose typing, dynamic objects, and an
expressive object literal notation. Unfortunately, these good ideas are
mixed in with bad and downright awful ideas, like a programming model
based on global variables. 

When Java applets failed, JavaScript became the language of the Web by
default, making its popularity almost completely independent of its
qualities as a programming language. In "JavaScript: The Good Parts,"
Crockford finally digs through the steaming pile of good intentions and
blunders to give you a detailed look at all the genuinely elegant parts of
JavaScript, including:

- Syntax
- Objects
- Functions
- Inheritance
- Arrays
- Regular expressions
- Methods
- Style
- Beautiful features

The real beauty? As you move ahead with the subset of JavaScript that this
book presents, you'll also sidestep the need to unlearn all the bad parts.
Of course, if you want to find out more about the bad parts and how to use
them badly, simply consult any other JavaScript book. 

With "JavaScript: The Good Parts," you'll discover a beautiful, elegant,
lightweight and highly expressive language that lets you create effective
code, whether you're managing object libraries or just trying to get Ajax
to run fast. If you develop sites or applications for the Web, this book
is an absolute must.

Douglas Crockford is a Senior JavaScript Architect at Yahoo!, well known
for introducing and maintaining the JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)
format. He's a regular speaker at conferences on advanced JavaScript
topics, and serves on the ECMAScript committee.

For more information about the book, including table of contents, index,
author bios, and samples, see:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517748

JavaScript: The Good Parts
Douglas Crockford
ISBN: 978-0-596-51774-8, 170 pages, US $29.99
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000
http://www.oreilly.com
1005 Gravenstein Highway North
Sebastopol, CA 95472

About O'Reilly
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books,
online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media
has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in
on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption
by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the
future. An active participant in the technology community, the company
has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.

# # #

O'Reilly is a registered trademark of O'Reilly Media, Inc. All other
trademarks are property of their respective owners.