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Meant as a companion to its big brotherJavascript: The Definitive Guide, this book, with only 127 pages, may attempt to address the basics of Javscript programming, but would not stand alone as a Javscript introduction. Instead, it works well as a quick reference guide.

The first half of the book covers all of the basics of Javascript, from forming simple commands to creating object-oriented Javascript applications. No more than a paragraph is given to each code structure or tool. For beginners, or non-programmers, there is an introduction to simple code constructs such as looping structures and try/catch blocks. For the slightly more advanced, there are simple examples of browser and window commands and an introduction to legacy and W3CDOM elements.

The second half of the book is a Javascript API reference. Listed in alphabetical order, it details methods that can be applied to the 40 or so classes of object that the author has identified (there is no official set of class names).

One of the most useful elements of this book is the breakdown of available methods into those supported by Internet Explorer, by Netscape or as W3C or legacy DOM standards. Admittedly, it only declares support for versions 4 of both IE and Netscape, but generally I find it safe to assume that Javascript methods supported in later versions are still supported now. As a second edition, this book covers new additions to the Javascript standards, up to and including Javascript 1.5.

I am sure that many people will find this reference book indispensable as I have struggled to find a definitive online Javascript reference.Internet