---
product_id: 357583
title: "JavaScript: The Good Parts"
price: "R$212"
currency: BRL
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.com.br/products/357583-javascript-the-good-parts
store_origin: BR
region: Brazil
---

# Concise expert guide Boosts coding efficiency Focus on reliable JS subset JavaScript: The Good Parts

**Price:** R$212
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> ⚡️ Code the good parts, skip the rest — your JavaScript edge starts here!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** JavaScript: The Good Parts
- **How much does it cost?** R$212 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.br](https://www.desertcart.com.br/products/357583-javascript-the-good-parts)

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## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
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## Key Features

- • **Cut through the noise:** Sidestep confusing and error-prone parts of JS with expert clarity.
- • **Master the elegant core:** Unlock JavaScript’s most reliable and maintainable features.
- • **Code smarter, not harder:** Adopt best practices that streamline object creation and function use.
- • **Prototype power unlocked:** Understand JS’s unique inheritance model beyond classical classes.
- • **Essential for serious devs:** A must-have for intermediate programmers aiming to level up their JS skills.

## Overview

JavaScript: The Good Parts is a definitive guide by Douglas Crockford that distills JavaScript into its most elegant, reliable, and maintainable subset. Ideal for intermediate developers, this book demystifies complex concepts like prototype inheritance and object literals, helping you write cleaner, more efficient code while avoiding common pitfalls. A must-have for professionals serious about mastering JavaScript’s core strengths.

## Description

Most programming languages contain good and bad parts, but JavaScript has more than its share of the bad, having been developed and released in a hurry before it could be refined. This authoritative book scrapes away these bad features to reveal a subset of JavaScript that's more reliable, readable, and maintainable than the language as a whole--a subset you can use to create truly extensible and efficient code. Considered the JavaScript expert by many people in the development community, author Douglas Crockford identifies the abundance of good ideas that make JavaScript an outstanding object-oriented programming language-ideas such as functions, loose typing, dynamic objects, and an expressive object literal notation. Unfortunately, these good ideas are mixed in with bad and downright awful ideas, like a programming model based on global variables. When Java applets failed, JavaScript became the language of the Web by default, making its popularity almost completely independent of its qualities as a programming language. In JavaScript: The Good Parts , Crockford finally digs through the steaming pile of good intentions and blunders to give you a detailed look at all the genuinely elegant parts of JavaScript, including: Syntax Objects Functions Inheritance Arrays Regular expressions Methods Style Beautiful features The real beauty? As you move ahead with the subset of JavaScript that this book presents, you'll also sidestep the need to unlearn all the bad parts. Of course, if you want to find out more about the bad parts and how to use them badly, simply consult any other JavaScript book. With JavaScript: The Good Parts , you'll discover a beautiful, elegant, lightweight and highly expressive language that lets you create effective code, whether you're managing object libraries or just trying to get Ajax to run fast. If you develop sites or applications for the Web, this book is an absolute must.

Review: Wish I had this book when I first started Javascript - Do you struggle when creating objects in Javascript? Do you find the syntax to be non-intuitive and frustrating? Do you know the difference between using a function as an object vs using an object literal? Do you know how using object literals can simplify your code and create something similar to namespaces? Do you know how to augment the type system -- for example, if wanted all strings to have a trim() method? Do you know why the "new" statement is so dangerous? Do you know an alternative that eliminates the use of "new" entirely? These are some of the topics that the book touches upon. This book is aimed at someone with intermediate programming experience that wants to know the best way to create and use objects, arrays, types, etc. Crockford takes his experience with Javascript to show you best practices coding techniques and styles to use with Javascript. In addition, the book provides insights into what makes Javascript so confusing and what can be done about it. You might ask "Isn't this stuff already covered in other books that I have?" The answer is no. For one, most other books use a psuedo-classical coding style (see below) to explain objects that is a source of confusion. Javascript can be very confusing, especially for programmers who have extensive experience in other C-based languages (like myself). Writing good Javascript that uses objects, methods, etc. is hard. In Javascript, if you want to create objects, use inheritance and create methods, you have several different ways to write your code and it's difficult to know what the strengths and weaknesses of each are. Crockford explains the problem plainly. Other C-based languages use class inheritance (Crockford calls this classical inheritance). Javascript, on the other hand, is the only popular language that uses prototype inheritance, which does not have classes. However, the syntax which Javascript uses to create object is Java-like (Crockford calls this pseudo-classical syntax). It's confusing, because it keeps you in a class-based frame of mind while working in a language that has no concept of classes. Clarifying what's going on with the object model is the best part of this book. Crockford also explains other parts of Javascript that can be problematic and the techniques that he prefers for handling them. I don't necessarily agree with all of them, but the important thing is that he explains his reasoning. To effectively learn Javascript, I recommend that you buy 1) a book that covers the details of the language and can be used as a reference (e.g. Javascript, the Definitive Guide) and 2) Crockford's book. Advanced programmers might also enjoy Pro Javascript Design Patterns, which shows a number of ways to combine Javascript with some of the GoF patterns. I would avoid any cookbook style books on Javascript, because you're better off using YUI, JQuery or one of the other Javascript libraries than writing your own drag-and-drops, calendars, etc. There are a series of Yahoo! videos by Crockford that mirror the material in this book and can be found as podcasts under YUI Theater. They contain nearly all of the material in the book and probably a little more. Those videos are: - Douglas Crockford/An Inconvenient API: The Theory of the DOM (3 parts) - Douglas Crockford/The JavaScript Programming Language (4 parts) - Douglas Crockford/Advanced JavaScript (3 parts) - Douglas Crockford/Javascript The Good Parts
Review: Excellent book - for the right audience - I just finished this book. It's relatively short but you have to invest a lot of hours to properly absorb it. I think I'm going to need one more pass. I do not understand the majority of complaints. Some compare Crockford to "the most boring professor you ever had", others said the information was poorly organized and not written very well. Others complained about his ego getting in the way. I, for one, found it to be very interesting and useful. Parts of it were a struggle to get through (and I've been a C coder for 20+ years) but mental challenges are a software engineer's specialty. In my opinion, none of the complaints are completely true, assuming you are the right audience. This book is NOT for beginners. If you are relatively new to Javascript, it will definitely be useful, but if you are new to programming entirely, this book is not for you. This is a more academic book that gives you a peek behind the scenes to the inner workings of the Javascript language. It is more comparable to K&R's book for C Programmers, but not as complete (just the "good" and "awful" parts!). It is a book about the Javascript LANGUAGE. It is NOT a book on web programming. It will NOT teach you anything about HTML, or the DOM, or how to put little fiddlly-bits on the screen, or how to work out game physics, or how to use any HTML-specific components. It is a book on the constructs of Javascript, plain and simple. It should NEVER be the only book on Javascript you would own, but if you are serious about Javascript, it should definitely be in your library. I don't think you can be a Javascript master without this book. My minor grievances are mostly limited to subjective areas where I disagree with him: 1) He states his opinion absolutely, more so in the first part of the book. I prefer a less forceful approach that presents the arguments and lets you decide for yourself. However, I do not feel he went overboard in this regard as some did - I suspect they didn't get very far into the book. 2) While I completely understand the Javascript bugaboo that makes a case for mis-aligned curly braces (K&R style). I cannot get myself to follow this convention (except in a few areas where I make exceptions) To me, code is SO much easier to follow when all blocks are aligned. I will heed his advice and avoid the lurking JS bug, but I will not fully convert to misaligned braces. I resent that his JSLint tool generates hundreds of errors in my code because of this - but fortunately, there's an option to turn it off. 3) When he digs into some of the JS-specific patterns that aren't familiar to non-JS programmers, I wish he would add a disclaimer along the lines of "while this is a powerful tool, understand that depending on such patterns may make the code more difficult to maintain by others less trained in the specifics of Javascript. Or at least comment vigorously." I am a firm believer in "clarity over cleverness" in shared code. 4) In some of the trickier subjects, a few more examples would makes things easier to comprehend. I've never really used Regular Expressions before, and the chapter left my head swimming, and I felt the explanation of the various components of the expressions could have been better. But these are not major grievances, and I whole-heartily recommend this book for the intermediate Javascript user or the novice JS user who has a solid background in general programming language constructs.

## Features

- Used Book in Good Condition

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #302,382 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #14 in Functional Software Programming #53 in JavaScript Programming (Books) #121 in Web Design (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,474 Reviews |

## Images

![JavaScript: The Good Parts - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/7185IMvz88L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wish I had this book when I first started Javascript
*by F***S on June 27, 2008*

Do you struggle when creating objects in Javascript? Do you find the syntax to be non-intuitive and frustrating? Do you know the difference between using a function as an object vs using an object literal? Do you know how using object literals can simplify your code and create something similar to namespaces? Do you know how to augment the type system -- for example, if wanted all strings to have a trim() method? Do you know why the "new" statement is so dangerous? Do you know an alternative that eliminates the use of "new" entirely? These are some of the topics that the book touches upon. This book is aimed at someone with intermediate programming experience that wants to know the best way to create and use objects, arrays, types, etc. Crockford takes his experience with Javascript to show you best practices coding techniques and styles to use with Javascript. In addition, the book provides insights into what makes Javascript so confusing and what can be done about it. You might ask "Isn't this stuff already covered in other books that I have?" The answer is no. For one, most other books use a psuedo-classical coding style (see below) to explain objects that is a source of confusion. Javascript can be very confusing, especially for programmers who have extensive experience in other C-based languages (like myself). Writing good Javascript that uses objects, methods, etc. is hard. In Javascript, if you want to create objects, use inheritance and create methods, you have several different ways to write your code and it's difficult to know what the strengths and weaknesses of each are. Crockford explains the problem plainly. Other C-based languages use class inheritance (Crockford calls this classical inheritance). Javascript, on the other hand, is the only popular language that uses prototype inheritance, which does not have classes. However, the syntax which Javascript uses to create object is Java-like (Crockford calls this pseudo-classical syntax). It's confusing, because it keeps you in a class-based frame of mind while working in a language that has no concept of classes. Clarifying what's going on with the object model is the best part of this book. Crockford also explains other parts of Javascript that can be problematic and the techniques that he prefers for handling them. I don't necessarily agree with all of them, but the important thing is that he explains his reasoning. To effectively learn Javascript, I recommend that you buy 1) a book that covers the details of the language and can be used as a reference (e.g. Javascript, the Definitive Guide) and 2) Crockford's book. Advanced programmers might also enjoy Pro Javascript Design Patterns, which shows a number of ways to combine Javascript with some of the GoF patterns. I would avoid any cookbook style books on Javascript, because you're better off using YUI, JQuery or one of the other Javascript libraries than writing your own drag-and-drops, calendars, etc. There are a series of Yahoo! videos by Crockford that mirror the material in this book and can be found as podcasts under YUI Theater. They contain nearly all of the material in the book and probably a little more. Those videos are: - Douglas Crockford/An Inconvenient API: The Theory of the DOM (3 parts) - Douglas Crockford/The JavaScript Programming Language (4 parts) - Douglas Crockford/Advanced JavaScript (3 parts) - Douglas Crockford/Javascript The Good Parts

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent book - for the right audience
*by J***Y on October 2, 2012*

I just finished this book. It's relatively short but you have to invest a lot of hours to properly absorb it. I think I'm going to need one more pass. I do not understand the majority of complaints. Some compare Crockford to "the most boring professor you ever had", others said the information was poorly organized and not written very well. Others complained about his ego getting in the way. I, for one, found it to be very interesting and useful. Parts of it were a struggle to get through (and I've been a C coder for 20+ years) but mental challenges are a software engineer's specialty. In my opinion, none of the complaints are completely true, assuming you are the right audience. This book is NOT for beginners. If you are relatively new to Javascript, it will definitely be useful, but if you are new to programming entirely, this book is not for you. This is a more academic book that gives you a peek behind the scenes to the inner workings of the Javascript language. It is more comparable to K&R's book for C Programmers, but not as complete (just the "good" and "awful" parts!). It is a book about the Javascript LANGUAGE. It is NOT a book on web programming. It will NOT teach you anything about HTML, or the DOM, or how to put little fiddlly-bits on the screen, or how to work out game physics, or how to use any HTML-specific components. It is a book on the constructs of Javascript, plain and simple. It should NEVER be the only book on Javascript you would own, but if you are serious about Javascript, it should definitely be in your library. I don't think you can be a Javascript master without this book. My minor grievances are mostly limited to subjective areas where I disagree with him: 1) He states his opinion absolutely, more so in the first part of the book. I prefer a less forceful approach that presents the arguments and lets you decide for yourself. However, I do not feel he went overboard in this regard as some did - I suspect they didn't get very far into the book. 2) While I completely understand the Javascript bugaboo that makes a case for mis-aligned curly braces (K&R style). I cannot get myself to follow this convention (except in a few areas where I make exceptions) To me, code is SO much easier to follow when all blocks are aligned. I will heed his advice and avoid the lurking JS bug, but I will not fully convert to misaligned braces. I resent that his JSLint tool generates hundreds of errors in my code because of this - but fortunately, there's an option to turn it off. 3) When he digs into some of the JS-specific patterns that aren't familiar to non-JS programmers, I wish he would add a disclaimer along the lines of "while this is a powerful tool, understand that depending on such patterns may make the code more difficult to maintain by others less trained in the specifics of Javascript. Or at least comment vigorously." I am a firm believer in "clarity over cleverness" in shared code. 4) In some of the trickier subjects, a few more examples would makes things easier to comprehend. I've never really used Regular Expressions before, and the chapter left my head swimming, and I felt the explanation of the various components of the expressions could have been better. But these are not major grievances, and I whole-heartily recommend this book for the intermediate Javascript user or the novice JS user who has a solid background in general programming language constructs.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Small, but dense
*by B***Z on March 2, 2009*

When it comes to JavaScript, Douglas Crockford is "The Man". When it comes to browsers, JavaScript is "The Language". "JavaScript: The Good Parts" should be read - and comprehended - by every web developer, regardless of their programming proficiency. This slim volume contains the essence of the JavaScript language. It is not concerned with the inner workings of JavaScript, nor is it a "Learn JavaScript in a Fortnight" type of book. It is more a meta-JavaScript guide of style, pointing out features and usage not available elsewhere, except perhaps at his website, "Douglas Crockford's Wrrrld Wide Web" ([...] Those new to the language may find this book to be like James Joyce's "Ulysses" - that is, incomprehensible. The use of closures, self-reference and passing functions as parameters to other functions takes some time to grasp fully. The end result is worth the time invested: you will be a better programmer for having digested the information provided by Mr. Crockford. Heck, you will be a better programmer even if you don't grok everything put forth in the book. As the inventor and promoter of JSON, short for "JavaScript Object Notation", Mr. Crockford deserves much praise. JSON is a data interchange format made up of a JavaScript object. There are implementations of JSON for many other languages (visit the aforementioned web site for details). While not strictly a replacement for XML, JSON is as readable, requires no external parser to implement and can be operated on directly in any browser that supports JavaScript, and the major ones do. I must admit, I am an addicted JavaScript programmer. I found Douglas Crockford many years ago, and while he does not know me, he has mentored me and brought forth a deeper understanding of JavaScript that also applies to programming in general. Comments, the use of whitespace, blank lines; these are things not often found in a web application. I strive to always be a Good Programmer, and when I find myself slipping into old, bad habits, now I have a book to lift my spirits and show me the way. Yes, "JavaScript: The Good Parts" is that good.

## Frequently Bought Together

- JavaScript: The Good Parts: The Good Parts
- Eloquent JavaScript, 3rd Edition: A Modern Introduction to Programming
- JavaScript: The Definitive Guide: Master the World's Most-Used Programming Language

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