JavaScript Patterns: Build Better Applications with Coding and Design Patterns 1st Edition

Master and beginner JavaScript developers alike have a reason to thank Stoyan Stefanov- he did a fantastic job surveying the JavaScript landscape and mapping out key strategies for us to use in writing JavaScript applications large and small. He explains JavaScript and how to use it properly very well in this book."JavaScript Patterns" is a thoughtful, thorough, and written manual on developing JavaScript applications in a patterns-based way. It excels in three main areas:First, it explains with clear examples the difference between classical (e.g. class-like as in C++, Java, C#) language idioms of which many of us are indoctrinated and the more modern, functional, loose-type style of JavaScript. It is a good sell, as he argues convincingly for a more free and open understanding of what an Object can be in a Object-Orientated architecture. Most worth noting is how it so clearly explains the variety, prominence, and role of Functions in the language.Second, it clearly shows through example many of the JavaScript "gotchas" like counter-intuitive hoisting rules and issues with unexpected typecasting. Each point comes with an example sophisticated enough to get the point across but without unneeded detail.Finally, it dives into richer examples of the classical design patterns (Singleton, Factory, Decorator...) and how to apply them in JavaScript well using many of the OO patterns discussed earlier in the text.High value in each ChapterThe "signal to noise" ratio in this text is very high. Very often authors, most notably Crockford, will go down a rabbit hole of pedantic unimportant threads. Stefanov keeps us on a focused course dedicating the most time to the subjects that really are core and matter in the language: Functions, Global Scope and Modules, building Objects.The two exceptions to this are as follows:His survey of Classical inheritance patterns is too involved. He spends many pages discussing the minutiae of slight differences in applying classical inheritance patterns to JavaScript, only to later argue that none of them should be used. That could have been explained to us without the long fruitless journey.Some of the example Applications he uses to explain the patterns could have been refactored and simplified. Most notably his extended "Proxy" example missed the mark in trying to get the core pattern across because it was lost in too much unneeded application detail.CoffeeScript and JavaScript"JavaScript Patterns" is an absolute excellent text and can serve those writing server-side applications with JavaScript along with those using CoffeeScript to abbreviate the language. Even though CoffeeScript isn't mentioned, it explains the patterns that CoffeeScript uses when it compiles to JavaScript. To better understand what CoffeeScript is doing, read this book.

If you're a JavaScript developer, you would be wise to have this on your bookshelf--nestled nicely between JavaScript: The Good Parts and High Performance JavaScript (Build Faster Web Application Interfaces). The three make a nice little troika.And read them in that order: The Good Parts, Patterns, and then High Performance.Here's why:What Stefanov gives us with this book is effectively an overview [1] of best practices for JavaScript development, going over the benefits and gotchas of certain important language features, and translating those into design and implementation patterns. Many of these patterns are language-agnostic--and you're likely to recognize them from "The Gang of Four"--but Stefanov puts them in their JavaScript party dresses and takes them out to the ball. Wisely, Stefanov also presents these patterns in an environment/host-independent fashion, so the lessons you learn about encapsulation or inheritance or performance should be equally valid regardless of whether you're coding for the browser [2] or NodeJS or some image exporting automation for Adobe Illustrator. Stefanov is also a lucid and concise author, clearly illustrating his points about these design patterns; the text is accessible--easy to follow and digest--and he is careful to clearly define words and terms that might be ambiguous or commonly misunderstood (e.g., "function expression" vs. "function declaration" vs. "function literal").JavaScript patterns makes a great transition guide for intermediate developers--the men and women who have stopped confusing jQuery-the-library with JavaScript-the-language--the folks who are ready to re-evaluate their approach software development with JavaScript. This is for the folks that made it through Crockford's The Good Parts knowing that they learned something but also feeling less-than-certain about how to apply that something. This is the follow-on; JavaScript Patterns is the application of those lessons. And then after you've written your clean, maintainable, scalable applications--then you make the jump to Zakas' High Performance JavaScript to tune things just a little bit further.So you're probably wondering then: if you recommend it so highly, why only four stars?The four stars comes mostly from two niggling points:(1) Relative to The Good Parts and High Performance, JavaScript Patterns was not published in the order that I recommend reading them. As a consequence, since I'd read the others (and quite a few others above and beyond those two), there is quite a bit of information in there that I'd seen before. This is not a Bad Thing; sometimes it pays to see information presented again--to help it sink in or else to gain another perspective on it. And in some cases Stefanov offers an as-good-or-better explanation on certain topics/techniques as others writing in the field (e.g., his examples for memoization and currying rival Crockford's, and his explanation of the pub/sub pattern (and custom event design) is more concise than the one Zakas presents in Professional JavaScript for Web Developers). Sometimes (and I've written this before) you were just hoping for... just a little bit more.(2) And this is super nit-picky but... The book could have taken another quick editorial pass for spelling and grammar. The one that stuck out at me was right in the intro to Chapter 6: "But it's important to keep the end goal in mind--we want to reuse cod;." Indeed.---1 : An in-depth overview, but an overview nonetheless.2 : Stefanov is careful to "keep the browser out of it" and dedicates only one chapter (Chapter 8: DOM and Browser Patterns) to the subject; though everyone's favorite host environment does creep in a couple of times, in a couple of examples.

Nach längerer JavaScript Pause habe ich das Buch neulich gelesen und es hat mir super gefallen. Ich persönlich konnte Vieles auffrischen und gleichzeitig einiges Neues lernen. Das Lesen war auch sehr angenehm und hat Spaß gemacht. Einziger Minuspunkt: Die Inhalte waren nicht mehr ganz auf dem aktuellen Stand seitdem mehrere neuere JavaScript Versionen rausgekommen sind im Laufe der Jahre seit Erstveröffentlichung des Buches.

Just great.

This book explains JS patterns and basic concepts very clearly with examples. Topics are organised so wisely that it will generate interest to read the book. One of my best JS book so far. I recommend to all who has basic JS knowledge.

ottimo libro per chi inizia a programmare in javascript. mi ha aperto un mondo che non conoscevo. un must da avere tra i propri libri

Excelente book! Provides a good understanding of most patterns being used by current frameworks and libraries!I totally recommend it!