The Web continues to evolve due to the forward march of standards and browsers. As browsers introduce new features, we can see the browser becoming a pseudo operating system, complete with access to hardware and the filesystem. When deciding between a native desktop application and a web application, our uses must be taken into consideration. With the universality and power of the browser, combined with ease of access, the decision is a simple one. The future is in web applications, driven by JavaScript. Here is a list of useful resources, for the JavaScript journeyman, to the JavaScript elite:
- Mozilla Developer Network (Everyone) http://gswg.io#mdn the Mozilla Developer Network is a great resource for all things in frontend development. It contains documentation for nearly every browser API, for both legacy and modern features.
- Code Academy (Beginner) http://gswg.io#codeacademy for an interactivity-based JavaScript learning experience, Code Academy has built a web application purely for teaching programming to prospective developers.
- Eloquent JavaScript (Beginner) http://gswg.io#eloquent-javascript in addition to being a great introduction to the JavaScript programming language, it is also a great book on programming in general. The author, Marijn Haverbeke, has kindly published Eloquent JavaScript online in HTML format under a Creative Commons license. Since the HTML version is displayed in a browser (which has a JavaScript engine), he has included runnable and editable code examples, which you can experiment with as you read.
- JavaScript: The Good Parts (Intermediate) http://gswg.io#the-good-parts regarded as "The JavaScript Bible" by some, The Good Parts discusses the history of JavaScript, and the good and the bad parts of JavaScript. This book is targeted at the intermediate developer who wishes to gain a deeper knowledge of language. The author, Douglas Crockford, has also given some great talks covering various topics from the book which can be found at http://gswg.io#crockford-on-javascript.
- Learning JavaScript Design Patterns (Advanced) http://gswg.io#javascript-design-patterns this Creative Commons book by Addy Osmani is targeted at professional developers wishing to improve their knowledge of design patterns and how they can be applied to the JavaScript programming language.
Tip
Once you've been through these books and resources, you can visit http://gswg.io#js-books, where an organized and sortable list of JavaScript books is maintained.