Professional AJAX

Alright, so last week I blogged about the Head First Ajax book. For the last three weeks I have been trying to get thought the first couple chapters and try to retain some of the information without success. One of the problems that I had with the book were the "pictures" that the author uses to show the flow of the information through the site. For some reason when I opened the book my brain immediately went into sensory overload. I had a very difficult time trying to follow the methodology that the author was trying to present.

This weekend I decided to go pick up the other Ajax book that the professor recommended and after tow chapters all I really have to say is Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! No this is a programming book! In depth coverage of the material as well as a very logical and analytic approach to the material. After reading the two chapters (approx. 1 hr) I was able to grasp the concepts that the author of the Head First book had been trying to teach me for the last 5 hrs.

The one thing I noticed is that the reviews of the book overall are not quiet as good as the Head First series (reviews), but if you struggling with the head first book, I encourage you to give this a look through. One thing that I need is an understanding of the code as you see it. Unfortunately the Head First series pretty much shows you the code and then much later provides the explantion of what it actually means. The Professional Ajax book takes a much different approach. They Show the code and then go through a step-by-step decomposition in order to show you the functionality, something I need to retain the info.

Head First Ajax

When I saw that we were going to be using a Head First book I was excited because I had used one of these in a pervious class. However after I started going through the chapters I find that this book is a little confusing. And does not seem to describe the concepts as well as the Head First HTML book did. I do think that Ajax is a little tricky then HTML so that may be the reason why this book is a little confusing.

To make sure that I fully understand the concepts that this class is demonstrating I order two additional books that were recommended by Professor Drake and one that was suggested by Amazon. I am excited about working with JavaScript finally, I just wish we had had a more basic class offered in JavaScript as well because a lot of employers are looking for JavaScript knowledge and the more you have the better.

All in all I think that this class is going to go well and I will learn a lot of new skills that will be useful in the job market. The additional books will really help make my group project and my individual project even better. I am really looking forward to the application we are going to create. I know that all the books will help in the process.

Head First Ajax

Ok, so I bought the Head First Ajax book this weekend and thought that I would look through it to get an idea of some of the material that we will be covering. I had talked to several people (Three to be exact) who had this class last term that said that the book was, to be blunt, a POS. Being fairly open minded I thought I would get it in order to form my own opinion. Well after spending $45.00 I initially concur with my classmates reviews.

I come from a programming background. I currently know Perl, C++, C#, VB Script, HTML, some JavaScript, some Java, and enough PHP to be dangerous. For the most part I'm self taught, having had one C# class and a couple C++ classes, I was able to get enough of the basics to do some substantial development out of the classroom. One thing I like in a programming books is a logical format that provides a lot of examples and code for me to analyze and assess. After opening the Head First book the only thing I can focus on is the pictures...lots and lots of pictures, followed by an illogical and hard to follow structure.

I read some of the reviews by other buyers on the amazon site (Amazon) and by in large, most of the reviews are very positive. With the exception of a lot of people talking about editing problems and the author showing examples that are not possible (1 Star reviews), most people find the book useful( 5 Star reviews). One of the interesting quotes that I saw in the 1 star reviews section was that "This book is not for the person learning on their own" by user I.M. There. While we are learning this in a classroom environment, my guess is that as with any programming class, we will be learning and stumbling through this topic on our own outside the class room.

I'll conclude with this. I will continue to explore this book with an open mind and try to leave my analytic brain somewhere else when I crack the book open. Most people in their reviews have stated that while this book is probably not designed for an engineering type of mindset, it does present the material in a easy to understand format as well as a reinforcing style. So I will try to do my best to use the book and I will provide an update to this blog as I progress through the class to see if my initial assessment has changed.

Previous Experience with Head First Book

I didn’t know anything about web development and then I was introduced to Head First HTML with CSS and XHTML. The book not only helped me learn HTML and CSS, but the way the book was written it made it very interesting. It was by far one of my favorite books and the interesting part was that it made me learn the material in a fun way. It made me WANT to learn how to write HTML so I can create the web pages that I wanted to. Then once I finished the book, something happened. I wanted to learn more.

I then ordered more books about web development. I ordered some books that just had pictures of different web sites so I could see some different sites with their color schemes. I think this is actually the hardest thing is trying to get a color scheme that will connect with your information that you are trying to give to a specific audience. You don’t want it to be too bright and you also don’t want it to be too dark. I then went to borders and read some books or to be completely honest, lets just say that I scanned through them and just came to the conclusion that I knew how to do everything it was saying. I ended up not buying any books and I just couldn’t find another book that was similar and helpful like the one Head First HTML with CSS.

I tried a little bit with the program Dreamweaver. I was introduced to a helpful guide by my business partner John Hanna, who showed me the basics of how to create a web site using Dreamweaver. I felt like a little kid again, I just couldn’t wait to get home and continue working on my web site and continue learning the steps on how to create a successful website. When I finished all the steps I then was at a similar spot that I was just a short time ago. I wanted to learn more. I am now being introduced to the book Head First AJAX and really hope it is similar to my Head First HTML. Based on looking at the pages by scanning the book it looks like it will again teach me more about web development in a fun and exciting way.

I am going to end this blog with me posting that I am excited to learn AJAX and hope I continue my path of learning how to be a successful web page creator.

IS449 Textbook

The textbook for IS449 is Head First Ajax from O'reilly . Ajax is a way to build internet applications that are more interactive, responsive, and easier to use. This book takes a different approach to explain how Ajax works.


I know there are some people that don't care for the style of this book or just the Head First series, but I really like the way they break down information in a simple way that is to the point. Also, the illustrations and side notes keep it interesting.

Another great thing about this book from O'reilly is that it cost less than other textbooks. There is also the Head First Labs that is a good resource for other books, forums, and blogs to ask questions and get answers.

Head First

I have used a lot of different languages throughout the years and read many manuals. I believe that I have a good understanding of the logic involved in writing programs or scripts. Once I understand what is required I can usually figure out what I need to do to accomplish a given task. Learning a new language mostly involves learning new syntax.

When I found out that the book requirement for this class was a Head First book I was a little disappointed. I have not had a chance to look at this Head First book yet however, I was exposed to one in IS247 and I found it difficult to read. Not because it was too technical but because it is too simple. There are too many distractions and, things seem to be scattered. It just seems to be a lot of “beating around the bush”. I prefer a book that has a more direct explanation or overview and is a good Reference. For anyone who has not looked at the book yet you can see it here.

I tried to read The Head First book for IS247 and finally had to set it aside. I will probably look for a more traditional AJAX book if anyone has any good suggestions.