In yesterday's post, I promised to stop plugging my new book. But I've got a copy in my hands now, and I just can't stop myself. This post will contain only trivia, without links or exhortations to BUY IT NOW!
The first thing I noticed about 5th edition is that it is thinner than the 4th edition. Apparently it is printed on thinner (also noticeably whiter) paper than the 4th edition. Rest assured, however, that this new edition is longer (and better) than the old. The 5th edition is 10% longer (in page count). It has 92% more examples (125 examples instead of 65) and the new examples are 169% longer (lines of code) than the old ones.
But here's my favorite fact about the 5th edition: if you count the regular numbered pages, the roman-numeral preface pages, and the unnumbered filler pages at the back, the book is exactly 1024 pages long. One kilopage: I couldn't be prouder!
i cannot wait to get my hands on that book! i have all but worn out my copy of the 4th edition and cannot count the hundreds and hundreds of times it has served me. well done, congratulations, and thank you for continuing to revise it!
Way to go David,
Book Pool just just sent me the 5th edition copy of the guide. Holy cow, it's great. Flanagan, you've out done yourself!
I bought the new edition because I needed a second copy. My 3rd edition copy is usable, but wouldn't stand up to being carried back and forth. I really didn't think the new edition could be that much better. It really is.
I hope you're planning a 6th edition after the new ECMA version gets through the standards process. Thanks.
Milton, Bo:
Thank you for your kind words!
Bo: yes, now that the core language is evololving again, I'll have to start planning on a 6th edition. JavaScript 1.7 looks like it will be very interesting, but since it is limited to Firefox for now, I don't think that mainstream JavaScript programmers will need to worry about it for at least a year.