Rapid Application Development with Mozilla, part of the Bruce Perens Open Source Series, is a concise guide for any programmer who wants to learn the versatility and compatibility of Mozilla, an open source toolset with over a thousand objects and components. An additional feature of Rapid Application Development with Mozilla is the NoteTaker Web browser add-on-a sample Mozilla application that is developed throughout the book. Written by Web and XML expert Nigel McFarlane, this book is the perfect addition to the library of any user-interface software engineer, cross-platform developer, or any programmer looking to discover the benefits of rapid application development.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 13 Ratings

Do not buy this book - 2004-10-02
Reviewer Rating:
I have amassed a large collection of guidebooks, learn-by-example books, and technical reference manuals over the years. I have a fairly short temper when it comes to poorly written books, so I tend to feel them out either at the book store, or if possible, online.

RAD w/Mozilla is no exception. I downloaded the free PDF version from the publisher's website, and have for the last 4 hours, been beating myself senseless trying to make heads/tails of the example code. In a word: Useless.

While the book itself is written in easy-to-read manner gramatically, it absolutely fails as a step-by-step guide for building an app with Mozilla.

Quite simply, the author has spent zero time, or so it seems, consolidating his examples. The slipshod manner in which he presents the examples, by scattering a piece here, a piece there, leaves the reader completely lost as to the continuity of the code. I find myself backtracking from chapter three to chapter two in order to make any sense of the NoteTaker code, and even then, nothing coalesces.

Don't buy this book, it's just awful. Instead, download the PDF available on the publisher's website. Either way, you, the reader, absolutely must follow each section of the book alongside the Errata on McFarlane's website. Without this, the book is nothing more than kindling.

a bit disappointed - 2004-11-29
Reviewer Rating:
As other readers pointed out,though this book has a lot of information it is a bit messy making it hard for completly newbies to the Moz platform. Every chapter took me one or more deep re-reading (which is not something I appreciated very much).
The code provided is desperatly buggy (-3 stars) and only works with Mozilla 1.4 (precisly, 1.4.1 it won't work!). And as the author points out debbuging is not easy.
Fact is, there's not many books around on the subject.

Scientific approach - 2004-07-29
Reviewer Rating:
This book gives a very thorough introduction to the Mozilla platform. Some familiarity with XML, CSS and especially javascript and programming in general is certainly useful.

It takes a little time to get used to McFarlane's style, and the structure of the book. If you're in a hurry you might be better of with the O'Reilly Mozilla book.

This book looks quite thorough from a theoretical point of view. It even comprises a small overview of javascript.
Fundamental concepts of the Mozilla platform, like XUL, XBL, RDF, XPCOM and the structure of Mozilla applications, to name just a few, are explained thoroughly and clearly.

If you're serious about Mozilla programming, and have the patience to get a firm grasp of the basics, this is an excellent book.

A must have for XUL development - 2005-10-07
Reviewer Rating:
If you're thinking about learning XUL, this is a must have. I haven't been able to put the book down since it arrived at my door. The best part of it yet has been the explanations about javascript. This is as valuable for XUL as it is for normal web development. I've already started and almost completed building my first mozilla application.

The book I've been waiting for. - 2006-08-28
Reviewer Rating:
Finally, a good book about application development with mozilla is available. Cross out the 'Rapid' from the title if you don't like it, because the book actually covers application development with mozilla in general (although it really is rapid with mozilla ;) ).

This book is a must for anybody out there who's up to develop user interfaces or lightweight, portable applications and doesn't want to use Eclipse and Java.
Virtually everything you need to know is covered in clear and unmistakeable descriptions. Examples are included and the good structuring helps using the book as a reference.

Five gold-stars to you, Mr. McFarlane! Within one day your book made it into the hall of fame on my bookshelf!

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