Learn to master the tricky nature of asynchronous JavaScript with “Async JavaScript – Recipes for Event-Driven Code“. This short yet thorough book explains many concepts which not only demystify the subject, but also arm you with tools to architect smarter solutions.
There are books that explain how JavaScript works, and then there are books that transform your perception of the language. Trevor Burnham’s “Async JavaScript” is the latter.
Maybe you had your first JavaScript “aha!” moment when you used the document.addEventListener() method to create your first click handler. Or maybe it was the wonderment of running some free-form code in the console and watching the web page change. Regardless of which context kicked-off your fascination with JavaScript, the intimate relationship between the DOM and this dynamic language is one of the things that make it so special. That “real time” aspect of JavaScript development is addictive.
But once you ascend to real-world problem solving, the asynchronous nature of JavaScript can be a buzzkill. The only way to slay this dragon and return to the zombie-like euphoria of JavaScript development is to dive into this topic, master it, and then gently place your sword back into its sheath.
It can be done.
Async JavaScript covers every angle and does it quite well. Starting with the JavaScript event model, it introduces you to the tricky nature of how the language handles events. Mr. Burnham then provides a surprisingly refreshing explanation on the setTimeout() and setInterval() methods, rescuing them from the “anti-pattern” monikers they have unfairly accumulated over time because of their improper use.
Before you can count to 100 milliseconds, you are whisked away, into a whirlwind of concepts that help to demystify JavaScript’s asynchronous nature. In a clear and concise manner, concepts such as the Pub/Sub model, custom events, Promises/Deferreds and Web Workers are detailed, as well as numerous libraries that help to implement these patterns.
I can’t recommend this book enough. As you start to write intermediate-level JavaScript, you find pebbles in your shoe. Quite often, these pebbles arise from tricky asynchronous JavaScript problems. Async JavaScript by Trevor Burnham is an invaluable resource. It not only explains how JavaScript processes events, but also provides numerous perspectives that help to understand and master its asynchronous nature.
Note: This book is no longer available in paperback, just the Kindle edition. It has been revised and updated, and is now a “PragProg” book.
- Title: Async JavaScript
- Author: Trevor Burnham
- Publisher: Leanpub
- Publication Date: March 20, 2012
- Print Length: 88 pages
- Language: English
- ASIN: B007N81FE2
- ISBN: 1475247362
