Some people say web development books are dead. Why spend $40 when there's a seemingly never-ending stream of information available for free on the web, via blogs like Nettuts+? Well, there's absolutely validity to that statement, but the fact remains, nothing compares to curling up on a couch with a fully researched, definitive guide to a particular subject.
With that in mind, we've prepared a list of books that we feel are among the best of the best. Nettuts+ approved books!
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PHP
PHP Solutions: Dynamic Web Design Made Easy
Author: David Powers
"So why another PHP book? Well, not everyone who uses PHP is a programmer. PHP is the most common dynamic web language used by designers, if their web sites require dynamic functionality, and there are hordes of novice users who want to set up dynamic web sites."
PHP for Absolute Beginners
Author: Jason Lengstorf
"PHP for Absolute Beginners starts at the very beginning stages of web programming, showing even the most inexperienced web developer, through examples, how to build a basic content management system. The book dives directly into writing web applications with accompanying explanation rather than explaining elements of the language and then showing examples."
PHP Cookbook
Author: Adam Trachtenberg
"PHP Cookbook has a wealth of solutions for problems that you'll face regularly. With topics that range from beginner questions to advanced web programming techniques, this guide contains practical examples -- or "recipes" -- for anyone who uses this scripting language to generate dynamic web content."
JavaScript
Professional JavaScript for Web Developers
Author: Nicholas Zakas
"Starting at the beginning, the book explores how JavaScript originated and evolved into what it is today. A detailed discussion of the components that make up a JavaScript implementation follows, with specific focus on standards such as ECMAScript and the Document Object Model (DOM)."
JavaScript - The Good Parts
Author: Douglas Crockford
"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."
Object-Oriented JavaScript
Author: Stoyan Stefanov
"Create scalable and reusable high-quality JavaScript applications and libraries using the concepts of object-oriented programming. This book is for the beginning to intermediate web developer who wants to solve web development problems with smart JavaScript. It does not assume any prior knowledge of JavaScript programming; however even if you already know some JavaScript, there will be plenty for you to learn here."
JavaScript Patterns
Author: Stoyan Stefanov
"What's the best approach for developing an application with JavaScript? This book helps you answer that question with numerous JavaScript coding patterns and best practices. If you're an experienced developer looking to solve problems related to objects, functions, inheritance, and other language-specific categories, the abstractions and code templates in this guide are ideal -- whether you're writing a client-side, server-side, or desktop application with JavaScript."
Pro JavaScript Techniques
Author: John Resig
"This book addresses all the points above in detail - modern browser support (including information on Internet Explorer 7), Object-Oriented JavaScript, testing and debugging, Unobtrusive JavaScript techniques using DOM Scripting, Ajax, creating and using blocks of reusable code, and looking towards the future of JavaScript."
JavaScript 24 Hour Trainer
Author: Jeremy McPeak
"This unique book-and-DVD package shows you how to use JavaScript to make web pages more dynamic and interactive so that you can create a first-rate user experience. Packed with expertly written lessons, this must-have book-and-DVD set provides instructional demonstrations on the DVD that enhance your Java Script learning experience through tutorial demos and helpful examples."
jQuery
jQuery Cookbook
Author: Cody Lindley
"Ideal for newcomers and JavaScript veterans alike, jQuery Cookbook starts with the basics and then moves to practical use cases with tested solutions to common web development hurdles. You also get recipes on advanced topics, such as methods for applying jQuery to large projects."
jQuery Enlightenment
Author: Cody Lindley
"jQuery Enlightenment was written to express, in short-order, the concepts essential to intermediate and advanced jQuery development. Its purpose is to instill in you, the reader, practices that jQuery developers take as common knowledge. Each chapter contains concepts essential to becoming a seasoned jQuery developer."
jQuery in Action
Author: Bear Bibeault
"jQuery in Action is a fast-paced introduction and guide. It shows you how to traverse HTML documents, handle events, perform animations, and add Ajax to your web pages. The book's unique "lab pages" anchor the explanation of each new concept in a practical example. You'll learn how jQuery interacts with other tools and frameworks and how to build jQuery plugins."
HTML 5
Introducing HTML5
Author: Bruce Lawson
"Written by developers who have been using the new language for the past year in their work, this book shows you how to start adapting the language now to realize its benefits on today's browsers. Rather than being just an academic investigation, it concentrates on the practical—the problems HTML5 can solve for you right away."
Pro HTML 5 Programming
Author: Peter Lubbers
"The biggest revolution since Ajax, Pro HTML 5 Programming: Powerful APIs for Richer Internet Application Development introduces the most revolutionary new feature of HTML 5, the ability to build Real-Time Web applications using Web Sockets. "
HTML5: Up and Running
Author: Mark Pilgrim
"With HTML5: Up & Running, you'll learn how this new version enables browsers to interact with JavaScript much more easily than before. "
WordPress
Rockable WordPress Designer
Author: Collis Ta'eed and Harley Alexander
"Managing web content has always been tricky, but with WordPress, any web designer can have a flexible, free and powerful CMS to use not just on blogging projects, but on all sorts of websites. In How To Be a Rockstar WordPress Designer you will learn step by step how to take a straight HTML site and power it with WordPress."
Author: Chris Coyier and Jeff Starr
"There is much to learn about the World's most popular publishing platform. Digging into WordPress is nearly 450 pages of taking you from your first steps of learning about WordPress all the way through maintaining a site throughout the years."
Professional WordPress Plugin Development
Author: Brad Williams, Justin Tadlock, Ozh Richard
"As one of the most popular open source content management systems available today, WordPress boasts a framework that allows you to easily customize and extend it through plugins. This comprehensive book shows you how plugins work, reviews the tools and APIs available in WordPress, and demonstrates how to extend the functionality of WordPress with plugins."
Professional WordPress
Author: Hal Stern
"An in-depth look at the internals of the WordPress system. As the most popular blogging and content management platform available today, WordPress is a powerful tool. This exciting book goes beyond the basics and delves into the heart of the WordPress system, offering overviews of the functional aspects of WordPress as well as plug-in and theme development."
CSS
Hardboiled Web design
Author: Andy Clarke
"‘Hardboiled Web Design’ offers a fresh perspective on designing for the web — never compromising, always pushing boundaries. It strips markup to the bone and uses HTML5 and CSS3 to the maximum to help make your sites more adaptable to whatever the web might throw at them. "
CSS Mastery
Author: Andy Budd
"A book that brings together the most useful CSS techniques in one place, that focuses on real-world browser issues and that helps plug common gaps in people's CSS knowledge."
CSS: The Definitive Guide
Author: Eric Meyer
"CSS: The Definitive Guide provides you with a comprehensive guide to CSS implementation, along with a thorough review of all aspects of CSS 2.1. Updated to cover Internet Explorer 7, Microsoft's vastly improved browser, this new edition includes content on positioning, lists and generated content, table layout, user interface, paged media, and more. "
CSS Cookbook
Author: Christopher Schmitt
"Learn how to solve the real problems you face with CSS. This cookbook offers hundreds of practical examples for using CSS to format your web pages, and includes code samples you can use right away. You'll find exactly what you need, from the basics to complex hacks and workarounds."
Miscellaneous
Getting Good with Git
Author: Andrew Burgess
"In this book, Andrew Burgess will take you from knowing nothing about source code management to being able to use Git proficiently. You'll look at why you should use a version control system, why Git is better than the other options, and how to set up and use Git."
Regular Expressions Cookbook
Author: Jan Goyvaerts
"Whether you're a novice or an experienced user, Regular Expressions Cookbook will help deepen your understanding of the tool. You'll learn powerful new tricks, avoid language-specific gotchas, and save valuable time with this huge library of proven solutions to difficult, real-world problems."
What Did We Miss?
I've undoubtedly forgotten a handful of books, so let me know which books the list should include below. And a quick disclaimer: yes, we've used our Amazon affiliate codes above, but that in no way deters from the fact that every one of the books listed above is fantastic. And hey, you help support Nettuts+ when you use these links!
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