I was thinking going with jQuery in Action (manning).
Name:
Anonymous2010-02-19 10:40
>>why the fuck are you using jQuery then
>>roll your own framework on demand.
Internet toughguy nonsense. Real programmers want to get more work done with less effort. Contrary to what you're saying, if you know Javascript then you have a BETTER understanding of why this frameworks are necessary and a GREATER desire to use them. If you're not a very experienced and/or talented Javascript programmer then you compensate by chest-thumping and lashing out angrily
- Javascript is not implemented consistently across browsers. Sometimes the language itself, more often its treatment of the DOM. These libraries are an abstraction layer which smooth over the cross-browser problems
- All the frameworks (JQuery, Prototype, Mootols, Dojo, YUI, what the fuck ever) make the code simpler and let you be more productive. You're a clueless, inexperienced idiot if you don't see the advantage of $('something') rather than document.getElementById('something')