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Developer Reading List: The Must-Have Books for JavaScript

Andrew Binstock, February 12, 2013 The best books for learning the basics, becoming expert, and and writing complete apps in JavaScript
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JavaScript and Windows 8

Windows 8 Apps with HTML5 and JavaScript Unleashed, by Stephen Walter

As you surely know from the substantial coverage of Windows 8, if you can write JavaScript and have some practice with HTML5's new features, you can write a Win8 app. This short, handy guide is an excellent tutorial on how to do so. It assumes you know JavaScript and HTML5 and starts from there. It begins by creating and packaging the app, then shows you how to manage various elements of the app's construction using templates, built-in resources (including the most common controls), and techniques for handling local storage access. An additional section discusses the Live SDK, which is how you connect to back-end services for tasks such as authentication or simply moving files to and from Microsoft SkyDrive.

Unlike any of the other books discussed here, this volume has color throughout: The code uses color syntax, and numerous full-color illustrations show how the controls work and exactly what the included code snippets do. In addition, all instructions are very clear and straightforward.

Building Windows 8 Apps with JavaScript, by Chris Sells and Brandon Satrom

A slightly wider ranged and more advanced version of the previous book. In addition to the user-facing stuff (tiles, touches, animation, etc.), it covers background tasks, concurrency and asynchrony, and importantly tasks like getting the app into the store and, should you wish, how to run ads on the app. A good, hands-on guide to using JavaScript as an enabling technology for mobile apps on Windows 8.


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