

Book of the Day: Effective JavaScript - cwebbdesign
http://blog.mediumequalsmessage.com/book-of-the-day-effective-javascript

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apaprocki
Dave Herman is great. I had so much faith in Dave that prior to even seeing
the book I purchased a copy for every person in the company who ever deployed
JS (~2,000 copies):

<https://twitter.com/apaprocki/status/289839413733781504>

I only received positive feedback and most people said they learned at least
one new thing from the book :)

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habitue
I've read it as well, it was at least as good as Effective Java.

One thing that's interesting about the book is that while he mentions things
like "don't use feature X, works strangely in some browsers", he never
explicitly states which browsers. He also doesn't make a lot of mention to
frameworks etc, or the DOM. Just the common denominator javascript as it is
implemented, and the language features. So don't expect it to teach you the
latest tricks in your favorite MVC framework. It's written in a very timeless
way on purpose, and he very deliberately avoids making reference to "current
events" in javascript.

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tingletech
> The history is convoluted, but it boils down to a matter of

> copyright: For legal reasons, the standards organization,

> Ecma International, was unable to use the name “JavaScript”

> for its standard."

(from the sample chapter PDF)

He must mean "a matter of trademark" rather than "a matter of copyright".

~~~
dherman
Thanks for the erratum report. I always mix those two up! :-/ I've added it to
the errata page:

<https://github.com/effectivejs/site/wiki/Errata>

(Let me know if I got your name wrong for the credit; I followed links from
your HN profile.)

Thanks, Dave

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CWIZO
I'm currently reading secrets of JS ninjas. Has anybody read both and would
mind posting a quick comparison?

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ibudiallo
How did this become a discussion about referral links. My co worker bought the
book and brought it to work. I read two chapters and went to get a copy for
myself.

There, no referrals.

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stevoski
Is it a similar concept to Effective C++ or Effective Java? Or is the similar
name a co-incidence?

~~~
willhsiung
Yes to the 1st question - [http://scottmeyers.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-esds-
book-effect...](http://scottmeyers.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-esds-book-
effective-javascript.html)

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lowboy
It's a great book, well-written. Anyone touching JS should get it.

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dropdownmenu
I have not read this book, but I can say that javascript powerful when you ask
the question: what can I do with a closure?

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h2s
While this book sounds good, to me this looks a little like a shady attempt to
make a quick buck off of Amazon referrals. Reassure me?

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coldtea
Don't buy it if you don't like it.

I don't understand what exactly problems people with referrals.

Would you prefer it he had an under the table deal with the author which you
could not see?

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h2s
You say you don't understand the problem? Allow me to explain.

Referral links in book reviews are a problem because of the conflict of
interest they create. If the author of the review chooses to put a referral
link into it, they create a financial incentive to bias their own review in
favour of the book. Rather than a means of helping people determine which
books to buy, reviews become a hollow call to action with a conversion rate
measured in referral dollars. A review with a referral link in it has
absolutely no credibility.

On top of that, they call the very purpose of the review itself into question.
Is the author of the review really reviewing anything at all, or are they
simply writing reviews as a means of generating cash? This particular blog is
brimming with glowing reviews of Javascript books, each with Amazon referral
links inside. Are there really so many must-have Javascript books on the
market? If so, do we really need the dubious help of a blogger to find a good
one?

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nlh
I understand the point you're making - but let me propose another way of
thinking about it: Amazon pays a referral fee regardless of what item is
purchased. Whether you buy that book or Goodnight Moon or the Kardashian
Family Coloring book, a referral link will pay.

So I actually don't think this creates a conflict of interest regarding this
book at all. Why would a "conflicted reviewer" point you toward this book vs
any other book that he could be equally compensated for?

The conflict arises in two cases -- if the OP insists you should buy this book
_that's only available on Amazon_ vs another book that's widely available. Or
if this book happens to be significantly more expensive (and hence pays the OP
better) than other books.

I don't think either of those is the case here, so I think your dismissal is
perhaps unfounded.

~~~
h2s
Actually, I think the fact that the referral is payable after any purchase is
a red herring. The review author is incentivised by their Amazon Affiliate
status to choose words that will make me click on their link and get that
money-making tracking cookie into my browser. Criticism of the book would not
be conducive to that goal.

I think this blog is an egregious blurring of the line between content and
advertising. I urge you to go and look at its archive of posts. Every post
somehow contrives to include at least one Amazon referral link. Svbtle is a
business looking for a long-term business model, and I sincerely hope this
isn't it.

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lowboy
Out of the half-dozen or so Svbtle network articles I end up reading in a
week, this is the only one I've noticed with a referral link to Amazon, let
alone the repeated history of them like this author has. I think if anything
it's this one author, not Svbtle as a whole.

