What is the best online javascript/css/html/xhtml/dom reference? [closed]

StackOverflow https://stackoverflow.com/questions/63918

Question

I'm a front-end developer and I was looking for opinions about the best all-round online documentation for javascript/css/html/xhtml/dom/browser quirks and support. I've tried Sitepoint, Quirksmode, W3Schools but all of these seem to be lacking in certain aspects and have been using them in combination.

Was it helpful?

Solution

I like gotapi.com (Update 2: Site is apparently offline -- Use another resource such as MDN)

Update: the original answer was from 2008 -- today I would say to check out Mozilla Developer Network (as many others have also said).

OTHER TIPS

I like Mozilla's references:

http://developer.mozilla.org/en/JavaScript

http://developer.mozilla.org/en/DOM

These are not at all the one stop site you want, but they help me.

You've actually hit the nail on the head in your description. There is no single website that'll provide you with the detail you seek in every one of those facets.

I find these three are incredibly useful when starting on a blank page: Mozilla DOM Reference (for general js syntax, etc), w3schools x/html reference (look up uncommon attributes!) and quirksmode (cross-browser js/style details). These are quite highly ranked so look for their urls if you're searching for something specific.

As for specific browser quirks, your best bet is to handle these as they come up and develop skills for googling for answers efficiently. Lots of browser quirks have many variables that go into what you actually end up seeing and how developed a 'solution' is for a specific quirk depends on how much time someone has spent investigating it. Read a bunch of search results and see if the problems are all similar or completely separate. Then, refine your search!

Go straight to W3C docs. They're a bit cryptic at times, but they're solid documentation.

For quirks, obviously sites like Quirksmode are good. But only once you've read actual W3C documentation.

Sitepoint has a very comprehensive guide to CSS

I like w3schools for html or simple questions.

For Javascript, I find Mozilla Developer Center to be pretty useful: Core Javascript 1.5 Reference

blooberry.com is a great HTML/CSS reference site.

I rely on http://quirksmode.org/resources.html for information on HTML/CSS/JavaScript. This resource does a great job addressing cross-browser compatibility issues in a helpful table format.

This may be useful for some javascript functions http://kangax.github.com/es5-compat-table/

There is a very good german reference (and french I think) at selfhtml.org.

I recommend going through these JavaScript Video Lectures (15 of them).

GotAPI is a fantastic resource http://www.gotapi.com

http://www.selfhtml.org/ is in German (originally) and French (translated). English translation has been unfortunately suspended: http://en.selfhtml.org/

I always start with www.zvon.org, especially the references section. Provides a good overview and links directly to the corresponding standards.

  • javascriptkit.com/jsref/ (convenient JavaScript reference with examples)
  • javascriptkit.com/domref/ (DOM reference with examples)

I tend to go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/ first.

I'd recommended w3schools.com. It's a pretty good and comprehensive library, I find.

Licensed under: CC-BY-SA with attribution
Not affiliated with StackOverflow
scroll top