Web Design with HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery Set 1st Edition

These are really good intro books for html/cssJavaScript and Jquery for web development. I really enjoyed these books and liked the design of the books, and the fact that everything is on black pages. They do a good job of explaining things and giving you examples, where you can also follow along by coding.

Most books on computer code are dense tomes, like text books: Often full of useful information, but daunting. Just thinking of the wall of words makes me faint! But not Ducket's books. They deliver the same useful info the other books do, but Ducket makes it seem so much easier because he consider's the user's experience.Opening a book of wall-to-wall words full of computer code is not super inviting. Opening a page with a beautiful photo printed to the edge with a smaller amount of info, but still relevant to the illustration is so much more inviting! I looked forward to turning each page to see how the design and illustrations would reinforce the written material.I was already familiar with HTML, CSS, Javascript and jQuery when I read the books, so I can't attest to how good the exercises presented in the book work. Despite that I learned computer code from library books in the '90s (BASIC on a Commodore 64. The good ol' days.) I can barely fathom doing so today. With the proliferation of coding boot camps (such as the one I work for, WP Code Camp) and courses on web design at community colleges, I would rather learn from a person than a book. But I love having something physical and tactile to refer back to. Even after all these years, I forget pretty basic CSS stuff now and again, and having a book on my desk with a tab in it is quicker than Googling and searching for the right answer.I occasionally just pick these books up and thumb through them for pleasure. They're the only coding books I've ever owned that I pick up and read for enjoyment. Sometimes I'll run into something that I'd forgotten, and it gives me new inspiration to try the technique out. This happened recently with the CSS property "flexbox." I had been using Bootstrap for a few years because it makes responsive web design so easy. But the Ducket book reminded me that I can achieve much the same effect without consuming the client's resources loading up Bootstrap from a CDN. It's way better! I've been using it ever since.On a side note, I think it's weird that Ducket has virtually no social media presence. Or any other type of presence on the web, as far as I can tell. No actual website, no Facebook, no Twitter. I would imagine an author would have it in his or her best interest to have a digital footprint, especially if he writes books about websites. But I digress.These are both great books. By the set, it's cheaper that way. You won't regret it.

This set of books is a winner. They motivate the visual learner to engage and store information into their long term memory.Pros:#1 Content is Great for Beginners, yet even advance developers can learn from these books - if anything, use it as a colorful reference book.#2 This is a MUST HAVE for visual learners... over time, visually geared developers simply get tired of reading black and white content for years... As a result, I usually take online developer courses with videos because it is easier to digest, but sometimes, I really want something tangible that I can hold in my hands and refer back too. Who says picture books are just for kids?!#3 Hardcover - I went ahead and purchased the hardcover as I heard the horror stories of other customers having complications with their JavaScript & JQuery paperbacks falling apart. I felt awful that my fellow developers went through that and did everything in my power to mitigate that risk through purchasing a hardcover.#4 Text is Very Readable - This might vary per person, but in my opinion, the text is absolutely readable. There is NO eye strain for me, I can make out everything on these pages, and will not need a magnified glass. Now, if you are battling an eye condition, on some pages - you may need a magnified glass, as some of the text in the photos of the browsers are small...but for those with great eyesight, this really shouldn't be a problem for you. Bilberry helps with the eye strain I have gotten in the pass after hours of computer coding. Coders in general should take care of their eyes.#5 Magazine-like, Full Color Pages#6 Both Books Come with Online Support at Their Individual Websites. The websites are great companions to these books.#7 Everyday Spoken Language - In other words, although these books could definitely be used as textbooks, they don't "read" like textbooks.#8 Everything is Broken Down into Steps - Concepts are introduced step by step in small increments...then are built upon as continuous building blocks thereafter. Concepts don't just come out of nowhere, you will be prepared before you are introduced to something new. This may make this series "slow" for some people, but we must remember... I don't think Mr. Duckett wrote these books to be an all inclusive understanding of Front-End Development; rather a basis so that you can get off the ground running and as an introduction to other front-end developer literature.Cons:Will have to find some, then will update, but so far, none. But I'm not a nit-picker either so I generally ignore things I consider not to be hardships or plain frivolously... as some people just complain because it's not against the law!That's my 2 cents.