Useful Books and Software

New Price: $18.44 / Used Price: $14.72

JavaScript is the language of the Web. Used for programming all major browsers, JavaScript gives you the ability to enhance your web site by creating interactive, dynamic, and personalized pages. Our focus in this book is on client-side scripting, but JavaScript is also hugely popular as a scripting language in server-side environments, a subject that we cover in later chapters.

What does this book cover?

Beginning JavaScript assumes no prior knowledge of programming languages, but will teach you all the fundamental concepts that you need as you progress. After covering the core JavaScript language, you'll move on to learn about more advanced techniques, including Dynamic HTML, using cookies, debugging techniques, and server-side scripting with ASP. By the end of this book, you will have mastered the art of using JavaScript to create dynamic and professional-looking web pages.

Here are a few of the things you'll learn in this book:

• Fundamental programming concepts
• Comprehensive practical tutorial in JavaScript
• Cross-browser scripting, including Netscape 6
• Cookie creation and use
• Plug-ins and ActiveX controls
• Dynamic HTML
• Scripting the W3C DOM
• Server-side JavaScript with ASP

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone who wants to learn JavaScript. You will need a very basic knowledge of HTML, but no prior programming experience is necessary. Whether you want to pick up some programming skills, or want to find out how to transfer your existing programming knowledge to the Web, then this book is for you. All you need is a text editor (like Notepad) and a browser, and you're ready to go!

Suitable for learning basic programming for Web browsers, Beginning JavaScript is a patient, introductory tutorial on writing scripts successfully. It teaches you how to create client-side scripts (including full coverage of fundamentals like variables and flow control, plus plenty of screen shots.)

JavaScript is a good way to learn programming. It's powerful, of course, but the book takes small steps, using scripts that work with string and time data first, and then moving to manipulating browser objects like forms and windows. A running case study for a trivia game helps anchor the steps with a practical (and fun) example. There are plenty of tips on debugging your scripts (including how to use the Microsoft Script Debugger tool), and each section includes sample questions. (The book also offers extensive answers in over 80 pages at the end of the book.)

There's plenty of material on the differences between Internet Explorer and Netscape, especially when it comes to Dynamic HTML (DHTML). Coverage of the Document Object Model (DOM) for browsers helps bring the text up to date on some of the latest standards in Web browsers (including the new Netscape 6).

While the focus of Beginning JavaScript clearly is on the client, later sections turn to server-side ASP development (in which the sample trivia game is enhanced with ASPs written in JavaScript using ADO and Microsoft Access.) Reference sections on JavaScript and the browser object model for Internet Explorer and Netscape (through version 4.x) round out the material.

In all, with its approachable style and clearly rendered code examples, Beginning JavaScript makes for a worthwhile first book of programming for today's browsers. Even if you haven't programmed before, this text can give you the tools you need to bring your static Web pages to life. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• Introduction to JavaScript
• Cross-browser compatibility issues
• JavaScript data types and variables
• Displaying errors
• Calculations
• Operators
• String handling
• Flow control statements
• Loops
• Introduction to using objects
• The browser object model
• HTML forms (including types of input controls)
• Frames and windows
• Tutorial for regular expressions
• Advanced string methods
• Date, time, and timer objects
• Common errors
• The Microsoft Script Debugger
• Cookies
• Dynamic HTML (DHTML) on Internet Explorer 4.0 and Netscape Navigator 4.x
• The Document Object Model (DOM)
• ActiveX controls and plug-ins used with JavaScript
• Server-scripting
• Introduction to ASP and databases (including SQL basics and database design with Microsoft Access)
• Sample case study for a trivia game
• Sample exercises and answers
• References to JavaScript
• Internet Explorer 4 and 5 and Netscape Navigator 4 objects
• ASP object model reference

New Price: $11.50 / Used Price: $4.93

• An acclaimed tutorial on using Ruby.
• The definitive reference to the language.
• Complete documentation on all built-in classes, modules, and methods
• Complete descriptions of all 98 standard libraries.

New Price: $26.10 / Used Price: $21.99

"Web Database Applications with PHP and MySQL," Second Edition thoroughly reflects the needs of real-world applications. It goes into detail on such practical issues as validating input (do you know what a proper credit card number looks like?), logging in users, and using templates

to give your dynamic web pages a standard look.

But this book goes even further. It shows how JavaScript and PHP can be used in tandem to make a user's experience faster and more pleasant. It shows the correct way to handle errors in user input so that a site looks professional. It introduces the vast collection of powerful tools available in the PEAR repository and shows how to use some of the most popular tools.

Even while it serves as an introduction to new programmers, the book does not omit critical tasks that web sites require. For instance, every site that allows updates must handle the possibility of multiple users accessing data at the same time. This book explains how to solve the problem in detail with locking.

Through a sophisticated sample application--Hugh and Dave's Wine Store--all the important techniques of dynamic content are introduced. Good design is emphasized, such as dividing logic from presentation. The book introducesPHP 5 and MySQL 4.1 features, while providing techniques that can be used on older versions of the software that are still in widespread use.

This new edition has been redesigned around the rich offerings of PEAR. Several of these, including the Template package and the database-independent query API, are fully integrated into examples and thoroughly described in the text. Topics include:

Installation and configuration of Apache, MySQL, and PHP on Unix(R), Windows(R), and Mac OS(R) X systems

Introductions to PHP, SQL, and MySQL administration

Session management, including the use of a custom database for improved efficiency

User input validation, security, and authentication

The PEAR repository, plus details on the use of PEAR DB and Template classes

Production of PDF reports

PHP and MySQL go hand in hand; the former has been carefully adapted, through the efforts of the open-source community, to the latter. For situations that require dynamic content but don't merit the complexity and development time of Java or .NET enterprise applications, the PHP language and the MySQL database server fit the bill perfectly. That's the point Hugh Williams and David Lane make in Web Database Applications with PHP & MySQL, which combines language tutorials with application design advice to yield a comprehensive picture of its subjects at a reasonable price. Williams and Lane--both Australian academics who use an online wine store in many of their examples--deserve tremendous kudos for their way of presenting recommended coding strategies. Though the code listings themselves aren't remarkably well commented, the authors do a commendable job of explaining in prose what the code is up to.

Case in point: The ever-essential task of using PHP to open a connection to a MySQL database, submit a query to that database, receive a response, and format the returned rows, if any. The book addresses this problem with a straight code listing, followed by text that explains what's happening in five numbered steps. Similar care goes to the other popular applications of the PHP/MySQL duo: session management, shopping carts, and authentication of users. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to use the PHP server-side scripting language and the MySQL database engine to underlie dynamic Web sites (those that rely on database queries) and full-on Web applications, such as those that require session management and maintenance of user rosters. Tutorials in both subjects begin with the basics and proceed through moderately complicated stuff, though there's no absolutely comprehensive reference here.

Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Author: Hugh E. Williams
Release Date: 2004-05-16
ISBN/EAN: 0596005431 / 9780596005436

New Price: $24.39 / Used Price: $11.99

The most notable thing about Object Oriented Perl is Conway's excellent perspective on object-oriented concepts and how they are implemented in Perl. This book does a remarkable job of cutting through traditional jargon and illustrating how basic object-oriented design techniques are handled in Perl. (A useful appendix attests to the author's wide-ranging knowledge, with a comparison of Smalltalk, Eiffel, C++, and Java with Perl, including a summary of object-oriented syntax for each.) This book also features a truly excellent review of basic Perl syntax.

Throughout this text, the author shows you the basics of solid object design (illustrated using classes that model music CDs). Basic concepts like inheritance and polymorphism get thorough and clear coverage. The book also points out common mistakes and provides many tips for navigating the powerful and flexible (yet sometimes tricky) nuances of using Perl objects. For instance, Conway shows how to achieve true data encapsulation in Perl (which generally allows calls across modules) as well as its natural support for generic programming techniques.

He also pays special attention to popular object modules available from CPAN (like Class::MethodmakerK, which simplifies declaring classes) and discusses performance issues and the tradeoff between programming convenience and speed often faced by today's Perl developer. Advanced chapters cover a number of techniques for adding persistence and invoking methods using multiple dispatching.

Filled with syntactic tips and tricks, Object Oriented Perl is a sure bet for any programmer who wants to learn how to use Perl objects effectively. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Perl language review, CPAN, Perl objects, 'blessing' and inheritance, polymorphism, Class::Struct and Class::Methodmaker modules, Perl ties and closures, operator overloading, encapsulation, multiple dispatch, Class::Multimethods, coarse-grained and fine-grained object persistence techniques, performance issues.

Publisher: Manning Publications
Author: Damian Conway
Release Date: 2000-01-01
ISBN/EAN: 1884777791 / 9781884777790

New Price: $42.95 / Used Price: $9.27

* The Basics: where to write your scripts; how to upload them and set file permissions; how to run them

* How to decode form data and save it to a file or e-mail it to yourself

* How to create, read, write, and search data files

* How to use Server-Side Includes to add dynamic content to your web page, plus a complete list of Apache SSI directives (and examples of their use)

* How to use random numbers for rotating banner ads and random image pickers

* How to format strings, dates, and times, and how to create countdown clocks

* How to redirect visitors to another site

* How to write secure scripts

* How to use cookies

* How to extend your programs by using modules like CGI.pm and GD.pm

* How to create a MySQL database, and write scripts that interact with databases using the DBI module

Several Appendices are also included:

* A list of online resources, for more information about Perl and CGI, and where to look for CGI jobs

* A Unix tutorial, with examples and information on basic shell commands

* A Password tutorial that shows you how to password-protect your web site

CGI Programming 101: Programming Perl for the World Wide Web is a concise presentation of the key elements of Perl CGI, which makes it perfect for programmers who are under the gun. If you need to get up to speed on text strings, for example, you can read that chapter and be a pro within about 10 minutes.

Form processing is addressed early on, followed by searching and sorting techniques, illustrations of how to use server-side includes (SSI), and other critical issues. There's also a chapter on using MySQL--an open-source SQL database. In general, if you want to get the most out of this book, you'll be better off having some programming experience, be it in BASIC or C++.

The only element missing from this introductory course is an appendix containing Perl's reserved characters, operators, and functions; instead, this material is presented throughout the book. But CGI Programming 101 is still one of the most efficient ways to get up to speed with Perl CGI. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered: Perl variables, CGI environment variables, form processing, data file I/O, searching/sorting, server-side includes (SSI), random number generation, strings, date and time manipulation, HTTP cookies, e-mail processing, securing scripts, Perl modules, database programming, and custom Perl modules.

Publisher: CGI101.com
Author: Jacqueline D. Hamilton
Release Date: 2000-02
ISBN/EAN: 0966942604 / 9780966942606

New Price: $11.90 / Used Price: $0.32

New Price: n.a. / Used Price: n.a.

New Price: $31.49 / Used Price: n.a.

Behind every successful web page is an overworked and underappreciated webmaster.

Webmasters make sure that the information on a site is accessible and usable; that the site is always available; that performance is good; that users can get the information that they need; and that the site can collect the information it needs to serve those users. These disparate tasks require many different tools and skills. Webmaster in a Nutshell pulls together in a single volume all the essential reference information for webmasters working on UNIX-based web servers.

In this second edition of Webmaster in a Nutshell, we've updated our material to include the latest versions of HTML and Javascript, and also expanded the book to cover the newest technologies emerging on the Web. The book covers:

• HTML 4.0, with special attention to forms, tables and frames
• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
• XML, the next-generation markup language for the Web
• CGI, with a chapter dedicated to the Perl module CGI.pm
• JavaScript 1.2
• PHP, the HTML-embedded programming language
• HTTP 1.1, the underlying protocol that drives the Web
• Apache server administration, including Apache modules
• mod_perl, the Apache module for enhancing CGI
performance and providing a Perl interface to the Apache API

Webmaster in a Nutshell, part of the bestselling O'Reilly series of reference books, makes it easy to find the information you want about the technologies you use. You'll keep your other books on the shelf; you'll keep Webmaster in a Nutshell next to your keyboard.

Today's Webmasters must be literate in a number of different--and ever-evolving-- languages and technologies. Webmaster in a Nutshell is meant as a tool for dealing with this demanding requirement. Although this title leans a bit toward freeware tools, it offers plenty of universal information as well.

This guide briefly tours the Web and covers basic HTML, tables, forms, and frames in a series of quick reads. (This discussion offers just enough information to jog the memory to proper HTML usage.) You'll get in-depth coverage of cascading style sheets (CSS), the Extensible Markup Language (XML), JavaScript, HTTP, CGI, and Perl. Stephen Spainhour and Robert Eckstein explore CSS in brief but do cover the pending W3C standard. They also provide a refreshingly quick overview of XML. To present JavaScript, the book makes excellent use of diagrams to illustrate the object hierarchy and the way the language works with windows and frames.

Webmaster takes on a decidedly public domain slant in its presentation of server configuration, primarily aimed at the freeware Apache server, and PHP, the freeware server-side scripting language. Even if you don't code with these tools, however, this book offers plenty of industry-standard reference. --Stephen Plain

Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Stephen Spainhour, Robert Eckstein
Release Date: 1999-06-01
ISBN/EAN: 1565923251 / 9781565923256

New Price: $0.49 / Used Price: $0.01

Updated for Python 2.4, The "Python Cookbook," 2nd Edition offers a wealth of useful code for all Python programmers, not just advanced practitioners. Like its predecessor, the new edition provides solutions to problems that Python programmers face everyday.

It now includes over 200 recipes that range from simple tasks, such as working with dictionaries and list comprehensions, to complex tasks, such as monitoring a network and building a templating system. This revised version also includes new chapters on topics such as time, money, and metaprogramming.

Here's a list of additional topics covered:

Manipulating text

Searching and sorting

Working with files and the filesystem

Object-oriented programming

Dealing with threads and processes

System administration

Interacting with databases

Creating user interfaces

Network and web programming

Processing XML

Distributed programming

Debugging and testing

Another advantage of The "Python Cookbook," 2nd Edition is its trio of authors--three well-known Python programming experts, who are highly visible on email lists and in newsgroups, and speak often at Python conferences.

With scores of practical examples and pertinent background information, The "Python Cookbook," 2nd Edition is the one source you need if you're looking to build efficient, flexible, scalable, and well-integrated systems.

Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Authors: Alex Martelli, Anna Ravenscroft, David Ascher
Release Date: 2005-03-18
ISBN/EAN: 0596007973 / 9780596007973

New Price: $27.98 / Used Price: $24.98