Why reinvent the wheel every time you run into a problem with JavaScript? This cookbook is chock-full of code recipes for common programming tasks, along with techniques for building apps that work in any browser. You’ll get adaptable code samples that you can add to almost any project–and you’ll learn more about JavaScript in the process.

The recipes in this book take advantage of the latest features in ECMAScript 2020 and beyond and use modern JavaScript coding standards. You’ll learn how to:

• Set up a productive development environment with a code editor, linter, and test server
• Work with JavaScript data types, such as strings, arrays, and BigInts
• Improve your understanding of JavaScript functions, including arrow functions, closures, and generators
• Apply object-oriented programming concepts like classes and inheritance
• Work with rich media in JavaScript, including audio, video, and SVGs
• Manipulate HTML markup and CSS styles
• Use JavaScript anywhere with Node.js
• Access and manipulate remote data with REST, GraphQL, and Fetch
• Get started with the popular Express application-building framework
• Perform asynchronous operations with Promises, async/await, and web workers

From the Preface

As I sat down to work on the latest edition of JavaScript Cookbook, I considered the “cookbook” metaphor carefully. What makes a great food cookbook? Browsing the cookbooks on a shelf in my dining room, I noted that my favorites not only have delicious recipes, but they are also full of opinionated hard-earned advice. A cookbook rarely seeks to teach you every recipe for beef bourguignon; rather it teaches you the technique and recipe that the author has found works best for them, typically with a bit of advice thrown in for good measure. It’s with this concept in mind that we put together this collection of JavaScript recipes. The advice in this book comes from three seasoned pros, but it is ultimately the culmination of our unique experiences. Any other group of developers would have likely produced a similar, but different book.

JavaScript has developed into an amazing and powerful multipurpose programming language. With this collection in hand you will be able to solve all sorts of problems that you encounter and may even begin to develop recipes of your own.

Book Audience

To encompass the many subjects and topics reflective of JavaScript in use today, we had to start with one premise: this is not a book for someone brand new to programming. There are so many good books and tutorials for those looking to learn to program with JavaScript that we felt comfortable targeting the practicing developer, someone looking to solve specific problems and challenges with JavaScript.

If you’ve been playing around with JavaScript for several months, maybe tried your hand with a little Node or web development, you should be comfortable with the book material. Additionally, if you’re a developer who primarily works in another programming language, but find yourself needing to use JavaScript from time to time, this should be a helpful guide. Finally, if you’re a working JavaScript developer who sometimes gets stuck on some of the idiosyncrasies of the language, this should act as a useful resource.