Learning Ext JS

As more and more of our work is done through a web browser, and more businesses build web rather than desktop applications, users want web applications that look and feel like desktop applications. Ext JS is a JavaScript library that makes it (relatively) easy to create desktop-style user interfaces in a web application, including multiple windows, toolbars, drop-down menus, dialog boxes, and much more. Both Commercial and Open Source licenses are available for Ext JS.

Ext JS has the unique advantage of being the only client-side UI library that also works as an application development library. Learning Ext JS will help you create rich, dynamic, and AJAX-enabled web applications that look good and perform beyond the expectations of your users.

From the building blocks of the application layout, to complex dynamic Grids and Forms, this book will guide you through the basics of using Ext JS, giving you the knowledge required to create rich user experiences beyond typical web interfaces. It will also provide you with the tools you need to use AJAX, by consuming server-side data directly into the many interfaces of the Ext JS component library.

What you will learn from this book? Create responsive formsLook at Web Applications from an entirely new perspectiveLearn to use the major UI components available in Ext JSUnderstand how external data can be consumed by Ext JSQuery and process remote data into your applicationUse Layouts to bring all of the Ext JS pieces togetherUse Ext JS effects to manipulate the DOM in exciting waysProvide a consistent look and feel to your application using ComponentsChange the visual style of Ext JS using theming supportFind Custom Community Extensions to expand your applicationsCreate your own custom library extensions

Approach

The book provides plenty of fun example code and screenshots to guide you through the creation of examples to assist with learning. By taking a chapter-by-chapter look at each major aspect of the Ext JS framework, the book lets you digest the available features in small, easily understandable, chunks, allowing you to start using the library for your development needs immediately.

Who this book is written for?

This book is written for Web Application Developers who are familiar with HTML but may have little to no experience with JavaScript application development. If you are starting to build a new web application, or are re-vamping an existing web application, then this book is for you.

User review
Very good for beginner
I just start with ExtJS and I think this book is perfect for those like me who wants to know what can be done with this framework and get good and simple code examples.

User review
Good Basic Coverage
This book is good at teaching the basics to get you up and running quickly. In my project, I found myself needing something a bit more advanced for what I was trying to do. My project is requiring the use of DWR and this book does not cover anything related to the DwrProxy. This book also covers the 2.0 version and my project requires the use of 3.0. I also found myself referencing the ExtJs extension project for what I needed to do. I did find some areas where the 2.0 version would not work in 3.0. I would love to see a cook book for ExtJs and J2EE.

User review
The code downloads are incomplete.
This book is really very difficult to follow along with. There are some critical errors in the code download that prevents recreating the examples. Additionally in many cases in the book, the code snippets are so incomplete that following along is impossible. Chapters 8-11 are especially poorly supplied with code that is intentionally poor and with no explanation about how to customize it to work. Finally the solutions for using a coldfusion server are plainly poor advice that leads to slower loading pages. I don't know if this is because the book is out dated, as it only covers EXT JS 2.x or if it is sloppy editing. In any case, I recommend the online documentation over this book. Also EXT JS with Gears is an excellent book that is more up to date on the topic.

User review
good book for beginners
does not cover 3.0 ,,,, but not many things change ,,,, so, good buy ,, very well written

User review
A good introduction to EXT JS
This book is a good introduction to EXT JS. It will teach you the basics and help to get you familiar with writing code in EXT JS and learning the basic syntax. The examples are helpful and most are easy to follow. This book is an introduction because it does not go into much detail about building a complex web application but it will give you the confidence to continue researching and learning EXTJS on your own.

I would recommend this book to anyone that has some experience in programming that is looking to start coding in EXT JS. Just dont expect it to teach you everything there is to know, it is more of a stepping stone.

Overall, if you are just getting into EXT JS and want a good book to get you started this is the one.