JQuery_ Novice to Ninja - Earle Castledine [3]
Chapter 8: Lists, Trees, and Tables
No matter how “Web 2.0” your application may be, chances are you’ll still need to fall back on the everyday list, the humdrum tree, or even the oft-derided table to present information to your users. This chapter shows how jQuery can make even the boring stuff fun, as we’ll learn how to turn lists into dynamic, sortable data, and transform tables into data grids with sophisticated functionality.
Chapter 9: Plugins, Themes, and Advanced Topics
jQuery is more than just cool DOM manipulation, easy Ajax requests, and funky UI components. It has a wealth of functionality aimed at the more ninja-level developer: a fantastic plugin architecture, a highly extensible and flexible core, customizable events, and a whole lot more. In this chapter, we’ll also cover the jQuery UI theme system, which lets you easily tailor the appearance of jQuery UI widgets to suit your site, and even make your own plugins skinnable with themes.
Where to Find Help
jQuery is under active development, so chances are good that, by the time you read this, some minor detail or other of these technologies will have changed from what’s described in this book. Thankfully, SitePoint has a thriving community of JavaScript and jQuery developers ready and waiting to help you out if you run into trouble. We also maintain a list of known errata for this book, which you can consult for the latest updates; the details are below.
The SitePoint Forums
The SitePoint Forums are discussion forums where you can ask questions about anything related to web development. You may, of course, answer questions too. That’s how a discussion forum site works—some people ask, some people answer, and most people do a bit of both. Sharing your knowledge benefits others and strengthens the community. A lot of interesting and experienced web designers and developers hang out there. It’s a good way to learn new stuff, have questions answered in a hurry, and have a blast.
The JavaScript Forum is where you’ll want to head to ask any questions about jQuery.
The Book’s Web Site
Located at http://www.sitepoint.com/books/jquery1/, the web site that supports this book will give you access to the following facilities:
The Code Archive
As you progress through this book, you’ll note a number of references to the code archive. This is a downloadable ZIP archive that contains each and every line of example source code that’s printed in this book. If you want to cheat (or save yourself from carpal tunnel syndrome), go ahead and download the archive.
Updates and Errata
No book is perfect, and we expect that watchful readers will be able to spot at least one or two mistakes before the end of this one. The Errata page on the book’s web site will always have the latest information about known typographical and code errors.
The SitePoint Newsletters
In addition to books like this one, SitePoint publishes free email newsletters, such as the SitePoint Tech Times, SitePoint Tribune, and SitePoint Design View, to name a few. In them, you’ll read about the latest news, product releases, trends, tips, and techniques for all aspects of web development. Sign up to one or more SitePoint newsletters at http://www.sitepoint.com/newsletter/.
The SitePoint Podcast
Join the SitePoint Podcast team for news, interviews, opinion, and fresh thinking for web developers and designers. We discuss the latest web industry topics, present guest speakers, and interview some of the best minds in the industry. You can catch up on the latest and previous podcasts at http://www.sitepoint.com/podcast/, or subscribe via iTunes.
Your Feedback
If you’re unable to find an answer through the forums, or if you wish to contact us for any other reason, the best place to write is books@sitepoint.com. We have a well-staffed email support system set up to track your inquiries, and if our support team members are unable to answer your question, they’ll send it straight to us. Suggestions for