The last couple of years have seen big changes in server-side web programming. Now it's the client's turn; Dojo is the toolkit to make it happen and Mastering Dojo shows you how.
Dojo is a set of client-side JavaScript tools that help you build better web applications. Dojo blurs the line between local, native applications and browser based applications; the browser becomes the user interface platform. `Modern` browsers provide an incomplete, inconvenient, and incompatible programming environment, but Dojo eliminates these problems. While there are many JavaScript libraries available, most focus on just one thing (for example, effects libraries, perceived JavaScript omissions, or HTML widgets). Dojo addresses all of these functional areas-and many others-extensively.
In `Mastering Dojo,` you'll get the whole story, from basic usage to advanced idioms. Mastering Dojo starts out with a fast moving tutorial that will give you techniques that you can start using right away. You'll learn all about Dojo Core--the foundation on which all things Dojo stand. See how you can modularize your project for development and automatically package your release for optimal download performance. You'll also learn how Dojo: augments the core JavaScript library fixes the event system simplifies DOM programming provides a complete class definition facility includes a powerful remote scripting (XHR) framework ,,. and much more.
You'll love using Dojo's HTML user interface control widget system, Dijit. See how to use over 40 widgets, including the rich yet easy-to-use tree and grid controls.
Finally, you'll get an in-depth look at how to design and build a single-page, rich Internet Application.
User review
Not enough advanced topics covered
I find that the book contains mostly beginner and intermediate information. Not enough advanced topics or talking about creation the programmatic way. The layout of the book is a bit odd (Drag and Drop is only talked about for a few pages within the context of working with the Tree widget). For more advanced developers looking for more of a reference book, consider looking elsewhere.
User review
Wow. How mediocre,,.
This book is good for explaining basic Dojo concepts, but it's really biased and not objective. It reads like a piece of Dojo propaganda.
Also, it spends a certain amount of time explaining things that aren't really helpful. For example, the fact that `Templates are nothing new` and that macros in the C programming language are template based doesn't really help the reader at all. If the readers are familiar with the C programming language, you don't need to tell them that templates have been around for a while. More to the point, it doesn't really matter if templates are new or old. Just explain how Dojo works. Sigh.
This thing could have been a hundred pages shorter. Kill a tree: buy this book.
User review
An outstanding, detailed account filled with real-world examples
MASTERING DOJO: JAVASCRIPT AND AJAX TOOLS FOR GREAT WEB EXPERIENCES is an essential key to modern web programming problems resolvable by Dojo. From basic usage of Dojo to advanced tutorials, MASTERING DOJO takes the form of a class in the program with chapters building a foundation of knowledge and discussing scripting, searches, and Dojo systems alike. It's an outstanding, detailed account filled with real-world examples and perfect for students and programmers applying Dojo to web problems.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
User review
Skip the `Book Of Dojo` and go straight to this
I haven't read the other Dojo books so I can't compare them. They may be very good too. This book is well orgainsed and well written. My advise to anyone starting from scratch is not to bother with the free online documentation, `The Book of Dojo`, which is a spotty and unsystematic and start with this.
User review
A very good advanced Dojo book
To fully utilize this book, I suggest you read the Book of Dojo first. Then, for some few topics you still don't get, you need to read the blog of the authors. Compared to Using the Dojo JavaScript Library, I think this is more advanced. Of the 3 currently available Dojo books, this is the only book that discussed the Grid, devoting entirely one chapter in Chapter 14. It is also the only book that has an example of handling XML (handleAs: `xml`).
