Rating: 
Summary: Decent programmers reference, but not for beginners
Review: Professional JavaScript is great as a reference and one can find some good nuggets in some of the non-reference chapters. However, if you do not already have formal programming training, and possibly some good familiarity with JavaScript itself, the book may do you better just as a reference tool. Also, because it was written by so many people (each one responsible for a different chapter) the text reads more like a disjointed collection of essays. The first 750 pages or so of the book comprises the main content of the book. It is divided into 20 chapters, covering just about every aspect of the language. Some of the more advanced chapters, which I did not get a chance to read, are integrating JavaScript with Java, Server-side JavaScript, and stand-alone JavaScript via Windows Script Host. There are also chapters on integrating JavaScript with ASP, and detailed looks at a couple of fairly complex JavaScript systems including a family tree and an ecommerce tool. The problem is that there's little ramp-up. There are lots of code examples throughout the text, but they are primarily small snippets. So it's like shock therapy when you are presented with such major applications of coding without anything in between! But this has to do more with the aforementioned nature of the book in that so many different authors with different styles and topics wrote it. Some of the chapters are great; they have some really good information that any level of programmer can use. The chapters on Forms and Data, Multimedia Plugins, Debugging and Disappearing Data, and Windows and Frames were all extremely helpful. Other chapters for me were completely useless to me - they droned on and on about theoretical issues without getting into practically any coding. I had great hopes for the chapter on Privacy, Security and Cookies, as well as the one on Rapid Application Development, but neither was helpful at all. The last 300 pages or so comprises the reference section. The reference section is great, it goes into every aspect of the language, including the core language attributes, objects and methods, and there are a ton of JavaScript/browser comparison charts that give you a great idea of what functions and features will be available to you in Netscape and IE from the earliest version to the latest. Ultimately what you get out Professional JavaScript really depends on your level of expertise when it comes to programming. I do not personally have any formal training - it's all been self-taught, so some of the more advanced stuff, though I'm sure I could learn it given the need, was not presented in a way that instructs people who do not have a familiarity with advanced programming techniques. There seems to be a lingo that some programmers use when talking about programming and for people who don't have formal programming training (or haven't been programming since they were nine) is just completely baffling. Most O'Reilly books seem to be full of this, but then they are written for the professional programmer. Professional JavaScript, as the name implies, probably is as well, however, there is enough great information here for any kind of programmer, and you just have to be selective as to which chapters you try to tackle.
Rating:
Summary: Needs Improvement
Review: This book is terrible - it's incredibly frustating to use. It's worthless as a reference and I doubt that anyone has ever read it cover to cover (including the army of authors that wrote it). I have over 10 years of experience in software development in a wide variety of languages: C++, VB, Pascal, and others. What I need to know about JavaScript could probably fit in a book half this size. This book is over 1000 pages, it's poorly organized, the index is bad, and it doesn't focus on relevant facts about the language. If I want lots of prose I'll pick up a novel, not a JavaScript book.
Rating: 
Summary: Complete and Definitive
Review: Why oh why didn't I look at the Wrox book first!!!??? This enormous and insightful tome delivers what it promises - JavaScript in context. It doesn't fluff around with high-level theorizing like so much of the rubbish that I've wasted my money on before. There's a thorough but concise intro to the language structure and concepts and then we're quickly into context. Buy this first, then look to cover any niche knowledge you may need with the pulp that's also out there. JM.
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