When comparing For Dummies vs JavaScript: The Good Parts, the Slant community recommends JavaScript: The Good Parts for most people. In the question“What are the best beginner's books for programming?” JavaScript: The Good Parts is ranked 7th while For Dummies is ranked 8th. The most important reason people chose JavaScript: The Good Parts is:
JS can be a confusing language and often provides difficulty writing good code that uses objects and methods. Crockford explains why that is and how to think about the language to avoid confusion.
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Pros
Pro Price
Compared to beginner books of the same language by another publisher, For Dummies books are usually the more affordable option.
Pro Great for complete beginners
For someone who has no prior programming experience, these books will take you through the fundamentals of programming at a reasonable pace.
Pro Explains what makes JS confusing and how to go about it
JS can be a confusing language and often provides difficulty writing good code that uses objects and methods. Crockford explains why that is and how to think about the language to avoid confusion.
Pro Good for intermediate programmers
The book requires basic understating of how programming works and even some understanding of JavaScript itself.
Cons
Con Inconsistent
The "For Dummies" series covers a wide variety of languages. However the style is largely inconsistent across the different books, so it's recommended that you look up reviews for that specific book first.
Con Lack of consistency
Where some parts of the book cover very basic concepts, other parts expect at least an intermediate understanding on JavaScript. There is a lack of consistency, causing some confusion as to who the book is aimed at.