Product Description
So you're ready to make the leap from writing HTML and CSS web pages to creating dynamic web applications. You want to take your web skills to the next level. And you're finally ready to add "programmer" to the resume. It sounds like you're ready to learn the Web's hottest programming language: JavaScript. Head First JavaScript is your ticket to going beyond copying and pasting the code from someone else's web site, and writing your own interactive web pages.
With Head First JavaScript, you learn:
* The basics of programming, from variables to types to looping
* How the web browser runs your code, and how you can talk to the browser with your code
* Why you'll never have to worry about casting, overloading, or polymorphism when you're writing JavaScript code
* How to use the Document Object Model to change your web pages without making your users click buttons
If you've ever read a Head First book, you know what to expect -- a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. Head First JavaScript is no exception. It starts where HTML and CSS leave off, and takes you through your first program into more complex programming concepts -- like working directly with the web browser's object model and writing code that works on all modern browsers.
Don't be intimidated if you've never written a line of code before! In typical Head First style, Head First JavaScript doesn't skip steps, and we're not interested in having you cut and paste code. You'll learn JavaScript, understand it, and have a blast along the way. So get ready... dynamic and exciting web pages are just pages away.
Product Details
* Amazon Sales Rank: #9558 in Books
* Published on: 2008-01-11
* Format: Illustrated
* Original language: English
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Paperback
* 650 pages
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Michael Morrison is a writer, developer, toy inventor, and author of a variety of books covering topics such as Java, Web scripting, game development, and mobile devices. Some of Michael's notable writing projects include JavaScript Bible, 6th Edition (Wiley, 2006),Teach Yourself HTML and CSS in 24 Hours, 7th Edition (Sams Publishing, 2005), Beginning Mobile Phone Game Programming (Sams Publishing, 2004) and Java Unleashed (Sams Publishing, 1997). Michael is the intructor of several Web-based courses, including DigitalThink's Introduction to Java 2 series, JavaBeans for Programmers series, and Win32 Programming series (www.digitalthink.com).
In addition to his primary profession as a writer and technical consultant, Michael is the founder of Stalefish Labs (www.stalefishlabs.com), an entertainment company specializing in games, toys, and interactive media. When not glued to his computer, skateboarding, playing hockey, or watching movies with his wife, Masheed, Michael enjoys hanging out by his koi pond.
Customer Reviews
Head First Javascript1
If you are expecting the same detailed, coherent, basics-to-details approach that has been so successful in other Head First publications, forget it. It's as if this book's authorship was outsourced to someone who is unaware of what has made Head First one of the premier names in technical education. Poor overview of basic concepts, rambling examples, confusing diagrams, etc. I own at least five other Head First publications and this one it not even close to them. Spend you money elsewhere.
Good starting place... 3
This is a good "first book" on JavaScript. It's not nearly as good as the HF Java books, which clearly are the forte of the whole series. I have moved on to a more advanced JS book, but I felt this one really was a useful introduction that definitely made me feel better about wading in deeper. If you are looking for a decent kickboard and doggy paddle type of book that will keep you interested (and the rhino book can induce a coma), it's a good one. You'll get some DOM manipulation examples, basic form validation, and a handy introduction to object oriented JavaScript. I'm only giving it three stars because it's not one stop shopping, you will want to follow up with a more advanced book immediately after.
Easy to follow and good condition5
For the JavaScript beginner this was an easy to follow book with good exercises and explanations relating to things us non-computer geeks will recognize. The book also arrived on time and in excellent condition.
Showing posts with label Michael Morrison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Morrison. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sams Teach Yourself Game Programming in 24 Hours
Product Description
Sams Teach Yourself Game Programming in 24 Hours demystifies game programming by providing clear, practical lessons using C/C++, the industry standard in game programming. The book focuses on the Windows API to construct games for the Windows platform and discusses game theory, including double-buffered graphics, sprite animation, and digitized sound effects and music. A fully functional game engine provides readers with the ability to create their own future games.
Product Details
* Amazon Sales Rank: #269462 in Books
* Published on: 2003-01-03
* Original language: English
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Paperback
* 512 pages
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
Sams Teach Yourself Game Programming in 24 Hours demystifies game programming by providing clear, practical lessons using C/C++, the industry standard in game programming. The book focuses on the Windows API to construct games for the Windows platform and discusses game theory, including double-buffered graphics, sprite animation, and digitized sound effects and music. A fully functional game engine provides readers with the ability to create their own future games.
About the Author
Michael Morrison is a writer, developer, toy inventor, and author of a variety of computer technology books and interactive Web-based courses. In addition to his primary profession as a writer and freelance nerd for hire, Michael is the creative lead at Stalefish Labs, an entertainment company he co-founded with his wife, Masheed. The first commercial debut for Stalefish Labs is a traditional social/trivia game called Tall Tales: The Game of Myths, Legends, and Creative One-Upmanship (http://www.talltalesgame.com/). When not glued to his computer, playing hockey, skateboarding, or watching movies with his wife, Michael enjoys hanging out by his koi pond. You can visit Michael on the Web at http://www.michaelmorrison.com/.
Customer Reviews
You will learn game programming, kind of, but mostly Mike Morrison's game engine.2
I gave this book 2 stars, because it has some good points, mostly really bad points.
The good:
You will be able to make basic 2D sprite games in Windows using this book and the source code on the CD. It encourages you to learn basic techniques involved with the other aspects of game development (sound, music, etc). The book comes with several games that you can run right off the CD.
The bad:
This book doesn't really teach you much. In other Sam's Teach Yourself books, you learn each step of what you are doing, and you can put in the source code yourself. In this one, you merely read about PIECES of the source code, and are expected to run it off the disk. So basically, you are paying for a game engine, a bunch of source code examples, and a tutorial on using the game engine.
I would have enjoyed this book much more if it had spent time explaining exactly what the engine does and how to make it do it, not to mention how the code in your program interacts with the engine. It seems to me that this book is mostly for people who want to "cheat" and copy and paste the code to make their games, rather than understanding what they are doing and writing the code themselves. Since I was someone who wanted the latter, I was sorely disappointed.
What's the audience?3
As far as I can tell, this book is for the beginner. It teaches game programming using C++ and the Win32 API. However, you need a lot of C++ experience before you start this book, so read up. This book also moves at an odd pace. By chapter 3, you're designing a game engine, but then you spend almost the entire book learning to draw sprites and animate them, with a few breaks for input and sound. This book does manage to make acomplishments in some areas where other books fail. You actually create more than one game, whereas other books simply throw a lot of demos at you and culminate in a game. Some topics that I haven't seen anywhere else yet are also covered here, like basic AI, keeping hi-scores, etc. Summary: good if you have a knowledge of DOS C++ and want to get into game programming with the Win32 API, but you may just want to skip this book all together and go straight for DirectX.
What's the audience?3
As far as I can tell, this book is for the beginner. It teaches game programming using C++ and the Win32 API. However, you need a lot of C++ experience before you start this book, so read up. This book also moves at an odd pace. By chapter 3, you're designing a game engine, but then you spend almost the entire book learning to draw sprites and animate them, with a few breaks for input and sound. This book does manage to make acomplishments in some areas where other books fail. You actually create more than one game, whereas other books simply throw a lot of demos at you and culminate in a game. Some topics that I haven't seen anywhere else yet are also covered here, like basic AI, keeping hi-scores, etc. Summary: good if you have a knowledge of DOS C++ and want to get into game programming with the Win32 API, but you may just want to skip this book all together and go straight for DirectX.
Sams Teach Yourself Game Programming in 24 Hours demystifies game programming by providing clear, practical lessons using C/C++, the industry standard in game programming. The book focuses on the Windows API to construct games for the Windows platform and discusses game theory, including double-buffered graphics, sprite animation, and digitized sound effects and music. A fully functional game engine provides readers with the ability to create their own future games.
Product Details
* Amazon Sales Rank: #269462 in Books
* Published on: 2003-01-03
* Original language: English
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Paperback
* 512 pages
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
Sams Teach Yourself Game Programming in 24 Hours demystifies game programming by providing clear, practical lessons using C/C++, the industry standard in game programming. The book focuses on the Windows API to construct games for the Windows platform and discusses game theory, including double-buffered graphics, sprite animation, and digitized sound effects and music. A fully functional game engine provides readers with the ability to create their own future games.
About the Author
Michael Morrison is a writer, developer, toy inventor, and author of a variety of computer technology books and interactive Web-based courses. In addition to his primary profession as a writer and freelance nerd for hire, Michael is the creative lead at Stalefish Labs, an entertainment company he co-founded with his wife, Masheed. The first commercial debut for Stalefish Labs is a traditional social/trivia game called Tall Tales: The Game of Myths, Legends, and Creative One-Upmanship (http://www.talltalesgame.com/). When not glued to his computer, playing hockey, skateboarding, or watching movies with his wife, Michael enjoys hanging out by his koi pond. You can visit Michael on the Web at http://www.michaelmorrison.com/.
Customer Reviews
You will learn game programming, kind of, but mostly Mike Morrison's game engine.2
I gave this book 2 stars, because it has some good points, mostly really bad points.
The good:
You will be able to make basic 2D sprite games in Windows using this book and the source code on the CD. It encourages you to learn basic techniques involved with the other aspects of game development (sound, music, etc). The book comes with several games that you can run right off the CD.
The bad:
This book doesn't really teach you much. In other Sam's Teach Yourself books, you learn each step of what you are doing, and you can put in the source code yourself. In this one, you merely read about PIECES of the source code, and are expected to run it off the disk. So basically, you are paying for a game engine, a bunch of source code examples, and a tutorial on using the game engine.
I would have enjoyed this book much more if it had spent time explaining exactly what the engine does and how to make it do it, not to mention how the code in your program interacts with the engine. It seems to me that this book is mostly for people who want to "cheat" and copy and paste the code to make their games, rather than understanding what they are doing and writing the code themselves. Since I was someone who wanted the latter, I was sorely disappointed.
What's the audience?3
As far as I can tell, this book is for the beginner. It teaches game programming using C++ and the Win32 API. However, you need a lot of C++ experience before you start this book, so read up. This book also moves at an odd pace. By chapter 3, you're designing a game engine, but then you spend almost the entire book learning to draw sprites and animate them, with a few breaks for input and sound. This book does manage to make acomplishments in some areas where other books fail. You actually create more than one game, whereas other books simply throw a lot of demos at you and culminate in a game. Some topics that I haven't seen anywhere else yet are also covered here, like basic AI, keeping hi-scores, etc. Summary: good if you have a knowledge of DOS C++ and want to get into game programming with the Win32 API, but you may just want to skip this book all together and go straight for DirectX.
What's the audience?3
As far as I can tell, this book is for the beginner. It teaches game programming using C++ and the Win32 API. However, you need a lot of C++ experience before you start this book, so read up. This book also moves at an odd pace. By chapter 3, you're designing a game engine, but then you spend almost the entire book learning to draw sprites and animate them, with a few breaks for input and sound. This book does manage to make acomplishments in some areas where other books fail. You actually create more than one game, whereas other books simply throw a lot of demos at you and culminate in a game. Some topics that I haven't seen anywhere else yet are also covered here, like basic AI, keeping hi-scores, etc. Summary: good if you have a knowledge of DOS C++ and want to get into game programming with the Win32 API, but you may just want to skip this book all together and go straight for DirectX.
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