"Learning ExtJS" book review
I am a big fan of ExtJS. ExtJS is a JavaScript framework that allows to create a desktop like user interfaces. It is not a primitive set of buttons or images, it is a huge set of controls such as grids, dragable windows, menu, toolbars, custom form controls, trees, data validation and manipulation, AJAX, etc.
ExtJS uses object–oriented approach and it is very well structured. None of the competing frameworks are that good and provide close functionality. ExtJS is a clear industry leader when it comes to JavaScript user interface creation.
Needless to say that a framework of such kind must be huge and complex. Yes, ExtJS is huge. It is complex enough for the beginner to become immediately lost. How does ExtJS solve the problem of learning?
Firsts, there is a set of examples. These are not trivial examples that usually come with frameworks. These are pieces of code that can be reused in real applications. ExtJS team did it really well.
Next, there are several tutorials that explain advanced concepts (for example, scope).
Finally, there are forums where ExtJS development team and ExtJS support team answer questions from the growing ExtJS community.
These information sources are great but they do not provide a complete learning curve for ExtJS. Until now there were no a single good manual or book that described ExtJS from zero to advanced concepts. Now, thanks to Pack Publishing, we have such book!
What is inside the book?
The "Learning ExtJS" book consists from fourteen chapters. Here is the list of all chapters (omitting the preface and conclusion):
- Getting Started
- The Staples of Ext
- Forms
- Buttons, Menus, and Toolbars
- Displaying Data with Grids
- Editor Grids
- Layouts (download this chapter)
- Ext JS Does Grow on Trees
- Windows and Dialogs
- Effects
- Drag-and-Drop
- It's All about the Data
- Code for Reuse: Extending Ext JS
- The Power of Ext JS: What Else Can You Do?
It looks very serious. And in fact it is. If the reader only starts with ExtJS (s)he can be sure that this book contains absolutely everything the reader needs to know to start building simple to intermediate applications with ExtJS. Reading this book, downloading a copy of the ExtJS reference and asking questions in forums, will make anyone an ExtJS programmer very quickly.
The book starts from basics: how to create an ExtJS application from zero. The reader is required to know JavaScript but(s)he is not required to know ExtJS at all. The book will teach the reader everything. And it really does it well!
However it is wrong to suppose that this book is for beginners only. I use ExtJS for over a year now. I know a lot of ExtJS. However I was eager to get this book because I knew it will teach me more. I was right: I learned a lot from the book. It is written by people, who are ExtJS professionals. It is worth every cent spent.
One especially good fact about this book is that it is does not only teaches the basics but also provides a lot of tips and tricks. This is absolutely invaluable in programming books. I really liked many of these tips and immediately used in some of my private applications. It saved me a lot of home made code, which sometimes was not stable.
Are there any bad things in the book? Not really. The book is exceptionally good. I was a little annoyed by titles like "The Staples of Ext" or "Ext JS Does Grow on Trees" because they did not look serious. It turned out that these chapters were written by the same author and it is his style for titles. However the chapters were as excellent as the rest of the book. So it is absolutely minor issues. I could not find anything else to complain about. There are some typos but they are so small and obvious that they do not really bother. Editors could do better with fixing these small issues. But, as I already wrote, they are small and do not bother me much.
As usual with Packt book, there is an e–book in PDF format, which is not protected with passwords and can be printed. Two versions (printed and electronic) is my favorite choice: buying them both means a huge discount on the electronic version. Having electronic version means that I can have it on my laptop with me all the time. I would recommend buying both printed and electronic versions. This is a great value to money.
Conclusion
Would I recommend this book or not? Yes, I definitely would! The book is exceptional! It is a must for the ExtJS programmer or anyone, who wants to learn ExtJS.
The book can be bought at Packt Publishing store (UK), Amazon UK
I can only add that I bought this book myself, so this review is not influenced by anyone of anything.