Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: The one JavaScript book to rule them all...
Comment: I'm a technical trainer, and we've decided to distribute this book as part of our Ajax courseware. We've reviewed many other JavaScript books, but we keep coming back to this one.
Suffice to say - its an excellent Core javaScript coursebook by itself (the first 220 pages). But the latest 5th edition is also a great resource for other Web 2.0 relevant topics: Ajax/Remote Scripting, CSS, Event handling, DOM scripting, ... The fifth edition also includes comments related to the just-release Internet Explorer 7.
Add in another 100+ page Core JavaScript reference section
Plus another 240+ page Client-Side JavaScript Object reference section (classes, methods, properties, and event handlers...such as XMLHttpRequest, Document, Window, Event)
And it all adds up to one thick/heavy book that deserves to be on your bookshelf...
My only complaint - the reference section has changed. Previous editions would tell you specifically which browser versions are applicable. In this edition, the author chose to tell us what standard provides the specification. Ex: "ECMAScript v1". IMHO - I wish the reference section consistently showed both bits of information ALL the time: the specification standard, and the browsers which support it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best JavaScript Reference!
Comment: This is the 5th edition of this almost thousand page book (992), and has been pretty much the gold standard for JavaScript reference books. I have the 4th edition that came out a few years ago and it was worth upgrading to this new 5th edition.
JavaScript use has changed a lot the past few years and this new edition definitely focuses on the changes that have been following JavaScript with Ajax and DOM implementations. The book is totally updated for updated browser support (IE6, Firefox, Opera and Safari) and details any specific browser quirks as well. This book will replace your hours of surfing online for JavaScript sites looking for that one obscure thing that you can't find in your other books. I also like it because it is easy to find things with its divided sections into: Core JavaScript, Client-Side JavaScript, Core JavaScript Reference, and Client-Side JavaScript Reference.
I really can say that this book does not leave anything out. Though I'm not a JavaScript guru (yet), but this book is as complete as you'll find (even comparing it to the Bible books). This should not be your first JavaScript book, unless you have some programming background because it can be a little daunting going through everything because it is so detailed. If you do any real JavaScript programming or development (or will be doing some in the future), this definitely has to be in your bookshelf.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Bible
Comment: It's called "The Definitive Guide" for a reason. Covers everything from simple variables to complex AJAX coding. Beginners may be a bit overwhelmed by it, but I would still recommend any O'Reilly guide as it's the one you'll actually use as your skills increase..
Customer Rating:
Summary: [5th Edition] Excellent JavaScript reference
Comment: As should be obvious from the large number of positive reviews, this is a great book. I've got a well worn 3rd edition laying around somewhere as well as an abused 4th edition I just replaced with the 5th edition. In short, if you're a new developer trying to get a grasp on serious JavaScript or otherwise looking for a quality JavaScript book, you can't go wrong with this book.
If you're debating whether or not to "upgrade" to the 5th edition, I guess I'd throw out a few thoughts:
1) If you have the 3rd edition or earlier - it's a no brainer, this book is worth the upgrade.
2) If you primarily use the Core and Client-Side Reference portions of the 4th edition (the last 1/3 of the book) - I'd say its a coin toss. The layout is a little cleaner and the information is a little easier to find, but the content hasn't changed significantly (as the APIs haven't changed). Flipping through this section, I did notice the addition of the FlashPlayer object, though.
3) If you used the first 2/3 of the 4th edition - the content and layout has changed and new stuff has been added around cookies, client side graphics, and (everybody's favorite buzzword) Ajax. Enough new stuff to warrant and upgrade, in my opinion.
For details on the changes, it would be worthwhile to read the comments from the author.
Customer Rating:
Summary: superb
Comment: This book is indeed the definitive guide. The author does a superb job of explaining intermediate and advanced concepts of javascript programming. The examples are very practical and worth studying. This book will help you master javascript programming.
It is, however, not for beginners. The author assumes you have at least some programming experience in general. The author also assumes you want to know the intricacies of advanced javascript programming.
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