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Murach’s JavaScript and jQuery (4th Edition)
List price: $59.50
Today, every web developer has to know JavaScript. And this book helps you teach JavaScript to your students in a way that also lets them take advantage of jQuery, the classic JavaScript library that’s used in the majority of websites large and small.
This latest edition includes two new chapters on using (1) the Fetch API and promises with Ajax and (2) Node.js for server-side JavaScript. It’s thoroughly updated to modern ECMAScript and today’s best practices. It’s filled with coding examples to ensure that your students learn the skills that are actually used on the job. And it uses a didactic approach that works, whether or not your students have taken a programming course before.
Now available as a Canvas course!
The Canvas course file contains all the objectives, quizzes, assignments, and slides that you need to run an effective course. It only takes a few clicks to import it into the Canvas LMS. Then, you can customize it for your course. Learn more.
Your books are so good that I threw away my assigned JavaScript and jQuery book for my class and bought Murach’s JavaScript and jQuery (which has, by the way, helped restore my 4.0 GPA).”
Blaine Simcox, Student, Michigan
- About this Book
- Table of Contents
- Courseware
- FAQs
- Corrections
Book description
To present the JavaScript and jQuery skills that your students need in a manageable progression, this book is divided into 4 sections, representing the levels of expertise that your students will achieve.
Section 1: JavaScript essentials
- Section 1 presents a 7-chapter course in JavaScript that gets your students off to a great start. This section works for programming beginners as well as for students with some programming experience because the pace is adjustable. Beginners can move through the material slowly and do all the exercises. Students with some programming experience can move more quickly and do just the exercises that you assign.
- Either way, when they finish this section, your students will be developing real-world JavaScript applications of their own. They will also have all of the skills that they need for using jQuery. This will put your course far ahead of what you can accomplish with competing books.
Section 2: The jQuery essentials
- In this section, your students will learn how to use jQuery to create JavaScript applications like image swaps, collapsible panels, slide shows, carousels, user-friendly forms…and more.
- To begin, chapter 8 presents the jQuery selectors, methods, and event methods that are used the most. Then, the next 3 chapters build on that base as they focus on the use of effects and animations, forms and data validation, jQuery plugins, and jQuery UI widgets.
- Because chapter 8 covers all of the key jQuery features, you can go on to any of the other 3 chapters…or to any chapter in sections 3 and 4…once you’ve finished chapter 8.
Section 3: More JavaScript skills
- After your students finish sections 1 and 2, they will have the JavaScript and jQuery skills that every web developer can benefit from. That by itself is a complete JavaScript and jQuery course.
- But if your course has time for more, the 5 chapters in section 3 will let your students build out those skills and add new ones. They’ll learn more about how to work with numbers, strings, and dates...how to handle exceptions and use regular expressions...when and how to use browser objects, cookies, web storage, arrays, and maps...and how to create and use their own objects.
- All of the coding examples in this section show how to use JavaScript with jQuery. Because that’s the way applications are so often coded in the real world, this is a great way to learn the advanced JavaScript skills.
Section 4: Take it to the next level
- If you have time, the 3 chapters in section 4 will raise your student’s JavaScript skills to a new level of expertise. You can teach any of these once you’ve finished chapter 8 in section 2.
- These chapters show how to work with closures, the module pattern, and ES modules…how to use the Fetch API and Promise objects to work with Ajax to asynchronously update a web page…and how Node.js allows you to use JavaScript for server-side scripting.
What's NEW in this edition
- All chapters have been thoroughly updated to use modern ECMAScript and today’s best coding practices. For example, you’ll find:
- Use of the let and const keywords instead of the var keyword wherever that improves the code
- Use of arrow functions instead of function expressions for more concise code that also gets rid of the confusing and error-prone this keyword
- New coverage of the popular Visual Studio Code text editor in place of Brackets
- New coverage of sets and maps
- New coverage of using classes to create JavaScript objects
- New coverage of ES modules
- A new chapter on using Ajax with the Fetch API and Promise objects
- A new chapter that introduces server-side scripting with JavaScript using Node.js
Why this is the right book for any JavaScript course
If you’re teaching a JavaScript course that includes jQuery, there’s no better option than this book. It integrates jQuery with JavaScript in a way that you won’t find anywhere else.
Beyond that, though, our book is designed in a way that makes it adaptable for any type of JavaScript course. For instance, here’s how our book can work for some common variations of JavaScript courses:
JavaScript as a first programming course
Because section 1 is designed for students without any programming experience, this book can be used for a first programming course. Then, after your students complete that section, you can take them as far as time permits by assigning chapters from sections 2, 3, and 4.
When you plan your course, keep in mind that only the first chapter in the jQuery section is required. After that, you can assign the chapters in sections 2-4 that are most appropriate for your students and your course.
JavaScript and jQuery for web designers
The first two sections of this book present the concepts and skills that every web designer should at least be aware of. So if your course is for web designers, you can start with section 1, which is designed to work for non-programmers.
Then, you can add chapters from the jQuery section because they show how to implement the common features of today’s websites.
If you still have time, you can finish the course with selected chapters from section 3 or 4. For instance, the chapter on browser objects, cookies, and web storage presents concepts that all web designers should be aware of. The chapter on Ajax shows how to handle asynchronous programming, a must for web developers. And Node.js is a great way to introduce web designers to server-side scripting.
JavaScript for CIS or CS majors with programming experience
If your students have experience with another language, they should move quickly through section 1 of our book. They will find, however, that JavaScript has some intricacies that aren’t found in other languages, so they will still be challenged.
Then, you can assign all of the chapters in the jQuery section. Or, if you want your course to focus more on JavaScript than jQuery, you can assign just the first chapter in that section plus selected chapters of your own choosing.
In other words, once your students have completed chapters 1-8, you can start working your way through the chapters in sections 3 and 4, either in sequence or by creating a sequence that will be a better fit for your course. If your students successfully complete all of these chapters, they will reach a professional level of expertise.
What software your students need
To develop JavaScript applications, your students need:
- A text editor: This book recommends Visual Studio Code because it’s free and provides many excellent features for developing JavaScript applications.
- A modern web browser: This book recommends Google Chrome because it provides excellent developer tools for debugging JavaScript applications.
To help your students install these products, Appendix A provides the procedures that they will need on a Windows system, and appendix B provides macOS procedures. In addition, chapter 1 presents a short tutorial on using Visual Studio Code, and chapter 5 shows how to use Chrome for debugging.
Related books
HTML and CSS
Murach's HTML and CSS begins by presenting an eight-chapter crash course that teaches your students HTML and CSS at a professional level, including a chapter on Responsive Web Design. That’s followed by three sections that can be taught in whatever sequence works best for your course.
So, if your students take an HTML and CSS course before they take the JavaScript course, we hope you’ll consider using both of our books for the series. They’re designed to work together seamlessly in a two- or three-course sequence. They both use our unique didactic methods so your students will learn more in less time. And they teach your students the most important HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills that are actually used on the job.
Murach’s Modern JavaScript
This book helps your students learn JavaScript more easily than ever by presenting the best practices of modern JavaScript. If you don’t need to teach jQuery, we recommend using this book.
What people say about this book
“I have several books on JavaScript, but the best one is this one. The text, examples, descriptions, and even the layout all bring you, the learner, an ease of use that is missing in other books.”
- Chris Wallace, Denver Visual Studio User Group
“If you are new to web design or an old pro like me, this book is a must-have in my opinion. I love how it starts out with the basics and then moves on to the good stuff. Each chapter is full of examples and sample code showing you how to do the most common techniques that you will face as a web developer/designer.
“I have not seen a better book on the subject. This one will be on my desk for a while!”
- Web Developer, Colorado
From Dr. Dobb’s Must-Have Books for JavaScript: “The aim of the book is to teach jQuery in an intensely hands-on way. It succeeds in this and probably provides the fastest way to learn and master the framework.”
- Andrew Binstock, Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Dobb’s Journal
“An essential characteristic of this book, as well as the other Murach books, is that the examples, programs, and applications are all thoroughly tested. This book will work WONDERFULLY to help you build better and more robust websites!”
- Marvin Schneider, Instructor, New York
“I just finished a pretty heavy application project, the first serious work I have done with jQuery and Ajax. Along the way, I had to deal with preloading images, manipulations of the DOM, tabs, plugins, and Dialogs…. I kept this book at my side throughout the entire project, and it was indispensable. The answers were right there at every turn. All the examples made sense to me, and they all worked!”
- Alan Vogt, ETL Consultant, Information Builders, Inc.
“What I like about this and other Murach books is that within minutes of opening the book, you are developing hands-on with the technology in question.”
- Charles Zimmerman, Developer
To view the table of contents for this book in a PDF, just click on the link below:
Section 1 JavaScript essentials
Chapter 1 Introduction to web development
How a web application works
The components of a web application
How static web pages are processed
How dynamic web pages are processed
How JavaScript is used for client-side processing
How the ECMAScript specification works
The version history of ECMAScript
Browser support for ECMAScript
The components of a JavaScript application
The HTML
The CSS
The JavaScript
The HTML skills that you need for this book
How to use the HTML5 semantic elements
How to use the div and span elements
How to use the basic HTML attributes
The CSS skills that you need for this book
How to provide the CSS styles for an HTML page
How to code the basic CSS selectors
How to code CSS style rules
How to test a JavaScript application
How to run a JavaScript application
How to find errors in your code
How to use Visual Studio Code to develop JavaScript applications
How to work with folders
How to work with files
How to edit a JavaScript file
How to install the Open in Browser extension
How to open an HTML file in a browser
Chapter 2 Get started fast with JavaScript
How to include JavaScript in an HTML document
How to use the script element
How to use the noscript element
The JavaScript syntax
How to code JavaScript statements
How to create identifiers
How to use comments
How to work with data
The primitive data types
How to declare and initialize variables and constants
How JavaScript handles variables and constants
How to work with expressions
How to code arithmetic expressions
How to use arithmetic expressions in assignment statements
How to concatenate strings
How to include special characters in strings
How to use objects, methods, and properties
Introduction to objects, methods, and properties
How to use the parseInt() and parseFloat() methods of the window object
How to use the write() method of the document object
How to use the toFixed() method of a Number object
Two illustrative applications
The Miles Per Gallon application
The Test Scores application
Chapter 3 The essential JavaScript statements
How to code conditional expressions
How to use the relational operators
How to use the logical operators
How to code the basic control statements
How to code if statements
How to code while and do-while loops
How to code for loops
Three illustrative applications
The enhanced Miles Per Gallon application
The Future Value application
The enhanced Test Scores application
How to work with arrays
How to create and use arrays
How to use for loops to work with arrays
How to use for-in and for-of loops to work with arrays
The Test Scores application with an array
The user interface
The JavaScript
Chapter 4 How to work with JavaScript objects, functions, and events
How to use objects to work with data
An introduction to JavaScript objects
How to use the window object
How to use the document object
How to use Textbox and Number objects
How to use Date and String objects
How to use functions
How to create and call a function declaration
How to create and call a function expression
How to create and call an arrow function
How to work with global, local, and block scope
How to handle events
How to attach an event handler to an event
How to use anonymous functions with event handlers
How to work with the Event object
Two illustrative applications
The Miles Per Gallon application
The Email List application
Chapter 5 How to test and debug a JavaScript application
An introduction to testing and debugging
The three types of errors that can occur
Common JavaScript errors
How to plan the test runs
How to debug with Chrome’s developer tools
How to use Chrome to find errors
How to use breakpoints and step through your code
Other debugging methods
How to trace the execution of your JavaScript code
More methods for tracing execution
How to view the HTML and CSS for a web page
Chapter 6 How to script the DOM with JavaScript
DOM scripting properties and methods
DOM scripting concepts
The properties of the Node interface
The methods of the Document and Element interfaces
The properties of the DOM HTML specification
The classList property of the Element interface
The FAQs application
The HTML
The CSS
The JavaScript
How to script forms and controls
How forms work
How to script Textbox, Textarea, and Select objects
How to script Radio and Checkbox objects
How to use the methods and events for forms and controls
The Register application
The HTML
The JavaScript
How to modify the DOM
How to create, add, replace, and delete nodes
The updated Register application
Chapter 7 How to work with images and timers
How to work with images
How to create an HTMLImageElement object
How to preload images
The Image Swap application
The HTML and CSS
The JavaScript
How to use timers
How to use a one-time timer
How to use an interval timer
The Slide Show application
The HTML and CSS
The JavaScript
Section 2 jQuery essentials
Chapter 8 Get off to a fast start with jQuery
Introduction to jQuery
What jQuery is
How jQuery can simplify JavaScript development
The basics of jQuery
How to include jQuery in your web pages
How to code jQuery selectors
How to call jQuery methods
How to use jQuery event methods
The Email List application
The user interface and HTML
The JavaScript and jQuery
More skills for working with jQuery
The most useful selectors
The most useful methods
The most useful event methods
Other event methods that you should be aware of
Three illustrative applications
The FAQs application
The Image Swap application
The Image Rollover application
Chapter 9 How to use effects and animations
How to use effects
The jQuery methods for effects
The FAQs application with jQuery effects
A Slide Show application with effects
The user interface, HTML, and CSS
Two ways to code the jQuery
How to stop and start a slide show
How to use animation
How to use the basic syntax of the animate() method
How to chain animate() methods
How to use the delay(), stop(), and finish() methods
How to use easings with effects and animations
How to use the advanced animate syntax and the methods for working with queues
A Carousel application with animation
The user interface, HTML, and CSS
The JavaScript and jQuery
Chapter 10 How to work with forms and data validation
Introduction to forms and controls
How forms work
The HTML5 controls for working with forms
The HTML5 and CSS3 features for data validation
How to use jQuery to work with forms
The jQuery selectors and methods for forms
The jQuery event methods for forms
A Validation application
The user interface and HTML
The JavaScript and jQuery
Chapter 11 How to use jQuery plugins and UI widgets
Introduction to jQuery plugins
How to find jQuery plugins
How to use any jQuery plugin
How to use three of the most popular plugins
How to use the Lightbox plugin for images
How to use the bxSlider plugin for carousels
How to use the Cycle 2 plugin for slide shows
Introduction to jQuery UI
What jQuery UI is and where to get it
How to download jQuery UI
How to include jQuery UI in your web pages
How to use any jQuery UI widget
How to use five of the most popular jQuery UI widgets
How to use the Accordion widget
How to use the Tabs widget
How to use the Button and Dialog widgets
How to use the Datepicker widget
Section 3 Advanced JavaScript skills
Chapter 12 How to work with numbers, strings, and dates
How to work with numbers
How to use the properties of the Number object
How to use the methods of the Number object
How to use the properties and methods of the Math object
How to generate a random number
The PIG application
The CSS
The HTML
The JavaScript
How to work with strings
How to use the properties and methods of the String object
More methods of the String object
How to create an array from a string
How to work with dates and times
How to create Date objects
How to use the methods of the Date object
Examples of working with dates
The Count Down application
The HTML and CSS
The JavaScript
The Internationalization API
How to format numbers
How to format dates
Chapter 13 How to work with control structures, exceptions, and regular expressions
What else you need to know about control structures
How to use the equality and identity operators
How to use the break and continue statements
How to use the switch statement
How to use the conditional operator
How to use non-Boolean values in conditions
Additional techniques for using the logical operators
The Invoice application
The HTML
The JavaScript
How to handle exceptions
How to use try-catch statements
How to create and throw Error objects
How to use regular expressions
How to create and use regular expressions
How to match special characters and types of characters
How to match string positions, subpatterns, and repeating patterns
Regular expressions for data validation
The Account Profile application
The HTML
The JavaScript
Chapter 14 How to work with browser objects, cookies, and web storage
How to script browser objects
How to use the location object
How to use the history object
The Tutorial application
The HTML
The JavaScript
How to use cookies
An introduction to cookies
How to create cookies
How to read cookies
How to delete cookies
The Task List application
The HTML and CSS
The JavaScript
How to use web storage
How to use local and session storage
The Task List application with web storage
How to use Chrome with cookies and web storage
How to work with cookies
How to work with web storage
Chapter 15 How to work with arrays, sets, and maps
How to create and use an array
How to create an array
How to add and delete array elements
How to use for, for-in, and for-of loops with arrays
How to destructure an array
How to use the methods of the Array type
Methods that add, modify, remove, and copy elements
Methods that inspect an array or its elements
Methods that transform the elements
The Test Scores application
The HTML
The JavaScript
More skills for working with arrays
How to split a string into an array
How to make a copy of an array
How to create and use an associative array
How to create and use an array of arrays
How to convert an array to JSON and back
The Task List application
The HTML
The JavaScript
How to work with sets and maps
How to create and use a set
How to create and use a map
Chapter 16 How to work with objects
Basic skills for working with objects
How to create object literals
More skills for coding methods and properties
How to extend or modify an object
How to work with accessor properties
How to create and use JavaScript libraries
The Miles Per Gallon application
The HTML
The JavaScript
How to work with classes
How to use a class to define an object type
How to use inheritance
When to use inheritance
When to use object composition
The Trips application
The HTML and CSS
The JavaScript
How to work with prototypes
An introduction to prototypes
Legacy code for creating objects
More skills for working with objects
How to use a symbol as a computed property or method name
How to work with iterators
How to work with generator functions
How to create cascading methods
How to destructure an object
An introduction to the static methods of the Object type
The Task List application
The HTML and CSS
The JavaScript
Section 4 Take it to the next level
Chapter 17 How to work with functions, closures, and modules
Basic skills for working with functions
How to create a function
How to work with default parameters
How to use the rest and spread operators
How to work with the this keyword
The Test Scores application
The HTML and CSS
The JavaScript
How to work with closures
An introduction to closures
How to use closures to create private state
How to work with the this keyword in closures
The Slide Show application
The HTML
The JavaScript
How to work with the module pattern
How to code an IIFE
How to use the module pattern and namespaces
How to work with ES modules
How to import and export module items
How to declare a script as a module
More skills for working with modules
The Slide Show 2.0 application
The HTML
The JavaScript
Chapter 18 How to work with Ajax
Introduction to Ajax
How Ajax works
Two common data formats for Ajax
The JSON Placeholder API
How to make a single Ajax request
How to use the XMLHttpRequest object
How to use the Fetch API
The Astronomy Picture Of the Day application
The HTML and CSS
The NASA APOD API
The JavaScript
How to make multiple Ajax requests
The XMLHttpRequest object and “callback hell”
How the Fetch API solves “callback hell”
How to use named callback functions
How to handle errors
The Photo Viewer application
The HTML and CSS
The JavaScript
More skills for working with promises
How to create and use your own Promise objects
Static methods of the Promise type
How to use the async and await keywords
How to work with for-await-of loops
The updated JavaScript for the Photo Viewer application
How to make cross-origin requests
An introduction to Cross Origin Resource Sharing
How to handle CORS issues with APIs
Chapter 19 How to work with Node.js
An introduction to Node.js
When to use Node.js
How to install Node.js
How to use the node command
How to interactively test code
How to run a script
How to pass arguments to a script
How to work with Node.js modules
An introduction to modules
How to use the built-in file system module
How to use the built-in file system module with promises
How to create and use your own module
How to use NPM to install modules
An introduction to NPM
How to install and use the http-server module
How package.json files work
Resources
Appendix A How to set up Windows for this book
How to install the source code for this book
How to install Chrome
How to install Visual Studio Code
Appendix B How to set up macOS for this book
How to install the source code for this book
How to install Chrome
How to install Visual Studio Code
If you aren’t familiar with the supporting materials that we provide for our books, please go to About our Courseware. That will give you a good overview of what we provide and how each component can work for you and your students.
If you’re already familiar with our supporting materials from other books, here’s a quick summary of the courseware for this book. For a detailed description in PDF format, please read the Instructor’s Summary.
End-of-chapter activities in the book
- Terms list
- Chapter summary
- Exercises
Student download at our retail site
- Source code for the applications presented in the book
- Starting source code for the exercises at the end of each chapter, including the HTML and CSS files that provide the user interface
- Solutions to those exercises, so your students won’t get hung up by trivial errors as they work on their own
Appendixes A and B in the book give your students instructions for downloading and installing these items on Windows or macOS.
Instructor’s materials
- Instructional objectives by chapter
- PowerPoint slides
- Test banks
- Extra chapter exercises and their solutions...your students won’t have the solutions for these exercises
- Short exercises that can be used for added practice, quizzes, or tests
- 3 case studies that provide more extensive practice and can be used as midterm or final projects
To view the "Frequently Asked Questions" for this book in a PDF, just click on this link: View the questions
Then, if you have any questions that aren't answered here, please email us. Thanks!
To view the corrections for this book in a PDF, just click on this link: View the corrections
Then, if you find any other errors, please email us so we can correct them in the next printing of the book. Thank you!
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