I haven’t really been doing a lot of book reviews lately because of my studies, family time, and entrepreneurial endeavors. I only have a few classes left until graduation and between homework and trying to maintain that super G.P.A., I’m in the burn-out zone. Many Web development books are the usual fare of blah, blah, blah, but I have found a real gem in Web Development Recipes. It’s available at my Web Developer’s Essentials store for only $22.29.

The developers break each lesson down into easy to follow recipes. For instance, Recipe 15 explains how to add an inline Google map. I’ve always wanted to learn how to incorporate interactive Google maps into my own Web sites.  In the book, the developers are working with a local university to develop a map for their Web page, particularly for new visitors. The admissions office requests that the map show visitors places where they can park and the local eateries. The lesson shows you how to start with a basic HTML document then proceeds to creating an interactive map using the JavaScript Google Maps API. I must stress that the code is well-written and very easy to follow.

Code snippet: Loading the map with Javascript and creating the loadMap() function:

window.onload = loadMap;

function loadMap() {

var latLong = new google.maps.LatLng(44.798609, -91.504912);

var mapOption = {

zoom: 15,

mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP,

center: latLong

};

var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById(“map_canvas”),

mapOptions);

}

The book also has plenty of Eye-Candy Recipes intended to upgrade your abilities using CSS. This portion of the book goes into styling buttons, text, and a bit of animations using CSS and JavaScript. Web Development Recipes is specifically catered to front-end developers with little experience, and to those who’ve been in the business for years.  I thoroughly enjoyed the lessons and gained a wealth of understanding on how to improve my own Web sites.  Check it out!