Are you an advanced JavaScript coder looking for more sites to sharpen your coding prowess? Maybe you’re a web designer wanting to double as a developer (or at least know enough to add a bit of rich content into your designs). Either way, if you’re looking for more information on the topic of JavaScript, the following resources are worth a gander.
Reference, Resources, & Tutorials
DevGuru provides an extensive list of JavaScript syntax, alphabetized similar to a glossary for easy scanning and searching.
A roundup of 10 JavaScript cheat sheets in one place; includes cheatsheets for frameworks such as jQuery and Prototype.
If you’re looking for a community of JavaScript’ers comp.lang.javascript is an active and helpful community of developers.
jQuery for Designers is geared towards designers who want to learn about the jQuery library to add more dynamic content in their designs.
In this collection, you’ll be able to download 5 excellent e-books on the topic of JavaScript, all for free.
Although not purely a JavaScript resource, DZone regularly features articles, tutorials, resources, and news about JavaScript.
W3School’s section on JavaScript offers beginning to advanced JavaScript topics.
Straight off the home page, 15 Days of jQuery has "Fantastic tutorials and example code that takes you from zero to hero in no time flat".
//clientside’s tutorial on the mootools framework has a built-in console for you to try out JS code.
Premade Scripts/Code
A collection of downloadable DHTML scripts. AjaxDaddy provides a demo for the featured scripts.
Another site with a collection of DHTML and Ajax code, similar to AjaxDaddy.
Here, you’ll find downloadable scripts, as well as tutorials and guides on JavaScript.
DHTML scripts organized into 16 categories including Calendars, Image Effects, Links & Tooltips, and more.
Yet another place to get your fix of DHTML/Ajax scripts. They also have a fairly nice and straight-forward Ajax basics tutorial.
A "database" of useful scripts and code snipplets that are updated fairly often.
Articles & Blog Posts
The title pretty much says it all — it’s a huge list of JS frameworks/libraries.
This excellent article outlines seven things to keep in mind when trying to develop unobtrusive JavaScript solutions.
A basic introductory article on "unobtrusive JavaScript.
A list of scripts geared towards web designers (i.e. not a lot of manual coding involved).
Outlines a few considerations when deciding which JS framework is right for you.
An article on quick tips for optimizing your JavaScript code.
A list of JS code snipplets recommended to have in your coding arsenal; among them are numeric sorting and working with cookies.
Optimal tips for serving/loading your JavaScript libraries quickly.
A comparison of the top 4 web browsers (IE7, Firefox 2, Safari 3.0.4, and Opera 9.5) when it comes to handling JS.
A guide on Object-Oriented JavaScript coding.
Blogs & News
John Resig is the creator/lead developer of jQuery and author of "Pro Javascript Techniques".
Ajaxian is a news site about Ajax and Rich Internet Applications. Over 850 stories have been tagged under the JavaScript topic.
Snook.CA is Johnathan Snook’s site on the topic of web development. He writes about JavaScript, as well as other web dev topics.
Ajaxlines provides news and resources on the topic of Ajax. It currently has 140+ posts tagged under JavaScript.
QuirksBlog is part of JavaScript guru/web developer Peter-Paul Koch’s QuirksMode.org. His book ppk on JavaScript is an excellent book to own.
Ajaxonomy is a wonderful resource for JavaScript’ers interested in Ajax and other web technologies. It has many posts tagged with JavaScript.
Ajax Bestiary is a regularly updated blog on JavaScript.
Awesome Frameworks/Libraries
Prototype was one of the first popular frameworks. Several libraries and frameworks are based on Prototype (or still require it).
jQuery is lightweight, elegant, and touted as one of the easiest JS frameworks to use.
My personal favorite.
A big and extremely robust JavaScript toolkit by Yahoo!.
JavaScriptMVC is a relatively new but very promising framework that offers a lot of unique components and features not found in other frameworks.
A robust effects library that’s been used by top websites such as Digg, Feedburner, and Apple; requires the inclusion of Prototype.
Another solid framework; it does have a restrictive license for commercial purposes. Check out the Web Desktop demo.
MochiKit is a robust library that offers a lot of utility functions and effects classes.
Dojo is another framework to consider. visit the Spotlight section on the website to see real companies using Dojo.
Additional Resources
Author’s note - April 16, 2008. After the publication of this article, I recieved several recommendations from readers about additional resources that didn’t make the list. I’d like to add even more excellent JavaScript resources worth taking a look at. I’ll add more as suggestions come along.
Got any other resources you’d like to share with us? Make sure to talk about it in the comments section!
