Reviewed by Christian James, Web Application Librarian, The Catholic University of America on 2/18/21
comprehensiveness rate : 4 meet less
As an presentation to JavaScript, this koran hits all the basics : variables, functions, arrays/objects, classes, etc. In addition, there are chapters on even expressions, erroneousness handle, and Node JS. ( The latter is curious, though, because it only goes over Node commands strictly, and does n’t discuss NPM or popular frameworks beyond a flit note. ) The reserve goes through all these topics pretty efficiently without becoming excessively much of a thick ‘door-stopper ‘ manual.
content Accuracy rat : 5
After repeated readings, I ‘ve found no inaccuracies or errors in Eloquent JavaScript, 3rd version. With see to syntax, the writer prefers using arrow functions, which may be more challenging to introductory-level readers preferably than misleading .
Relevance/Longevity rate : 5
The book is very up-to-date, and uses newer aspects of JavaScript such as arrow functions, fetch, and “ let ” ( for assigning variables within a routine scope, as opposed to “ var ” or “ const ” ). The chapter on Node JS besides adds timely relevance, but it could have gone far to discuss the popular use of frameworks like Express, React, Vue, etc. One omission is that the reserve does n’t address the concept of Ajax. While the “ fetch ” command is used to make HTTP requests, it could have gone far to explain how it is related ( or, depending on your view, synonymous with ) Ajax .
clarity evaluation : 2
Clarity is a faint point for Eloquent JavaScript. While some of the chapters are more straightforward and easy to understand, many of them become quickly dense and unmanageable. Once readers have grasped a basic understand of core concepts, Haverbeke ramps up the skill floor at besides quick a footstep. For exemplar, in chapter 11, we have barely understood the concepts of callbacks and promises when we get the gain concepts of network flood and message rout. The examples, exercises, and Project chapters are excessively dumbly written and challenging for founder or tied intercede readers. ( advance readers, readers with a calculator science background, or readers with average experience in other programming languages may have a slenderly less torment know. ) These should be opportunities to use practical, real-life scenarios, but ( in addition to being excessively cryptically written ), they are impractical ( creating your *own* pixel art application from scribble ) or even fantastic ( i.e. the ‘crow grid, ‘ or ‘observing the “ wererabbit ” ‘ ). This is a lose opportunity, but instructors using the textbook can easily use their own imagination to come up with exercises of their own. unfortunately, it does come at a cost to the stream of the text for readers .
consistency rate : 3
As stated earlier, this book is discrepant in its skill tied. Instructors can likely adapt to this ( as I have ) by picking and choosing which chapters or selections to assign to students. Another scheme for managing the inconsistency is by paying attention to the short, utilitarian chapter summaries at the end of each chapter .
Modularity rate : 5
Read more: 15 Mystery Series That’ll Keep You Guessing
Each chapter is a consistent ( and appropriate ) length. Each chapter has coherent, well-organized subheadings. It ‘s easy to assign chapters or sections to students .
Organization/Structure/Flow military rank : 4
The constitution of the text obeys its own inner logic, even if it is not the coherent series of topics that I use in my class. The reserve starts with values, operators, and variables, then functions, etc. HTML, network browsers, and HTTP is n’t discussed until center through the book. This differs from my course, where I discuss the web at the beginning. adenine long as instructors are up-front about this column decision, it wo n’t throw off students very much .
interface rate : 5
The vane and print translation of this script are both beautiful. The web version is clear and even elegant. The model interface works like a true browser comfort ( even better, in fact ), and is a valuable tool. The print version is hardy ; the weight is perfective and the newspaper stock is smooth but durable. As of this revue, I have not seen the e-book version .
grammatical Errors evaluation : 5
I have not seen any grammatical errors in Eloquent JavaScript .
cultural Relevance evaluation : 4
Read more: 15 Mystery Series That’ll Keep You Guessing
There are no aim cultural issues with Eloquent JavaScript. however, I do fear that the inconsistent difficulty level inserts a barrier to submission with this resource. I emphasize to my students that JavaScript is a big first program to learn because you do n’t need to buy and install extra software on your computer ( your browser already has it installed ! ) and there are already free videos and resources out there to help you. When Haverbeke uses slang or arcane examples, or ramps up the difficulty degree, this could make students feel that *they* are incapable of grasping concepts that should, in fact, be accessible and within reach. Again, while this is not specifically a cultural offspring, I do worry that it could affect women or minorities who are already at a disadvantage in a field dominated by white and asian men .
Comments
I have taught an introductory JavaScript course with this casebook doubly. Regardless of price, I believe this is the best single ledger on the market to teach JS. It ‘s the most up-to-date and the least gimmicky. I love that there are chapters on regular expressions and the DOM, besides, as those are particular interests of mine. As noted above, however, this record is not without major flaws. Some of the chapters ( in addition to the basics, they include the chapters on HTML forms, events, and the Document Object Model ) are impregnable or flush great. Others are merely plainly excessively unmanageable. The chapters on classes, debug, for exercise, are strong but needlessly complicated. entire chapters are dedicated to project examples that are completely incomprehensible to novices. This incompatibility can be managed, specially when complemented with other course readings. I find that the strengths outweigh the weaknesses. I might even have assigned this book even if it did n’t have a unblock on-line interpretation, but that merely seals the deal for me. Hopefully the writer ( or other publishers ) will receive exchangeable feedback and resolve the stream edition ‘s problems in subsequent editions .
