None of the JavaScript libraries today brings a more impressive track record than Google Closure: the tool suite used for Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Maps. Closure: The Definitive Guide has precisely what you need to get started with these tools, including valuable information not available publicly anywhere else.

Written by Michael Bolin -- a former Google engineer who made many contributions to Closure -- this guide explains the library's design and offers code examples that illustrate best practices. You'll also learn how to minify your JavaScript code with the compiler, and learn why the combination of the library and the compiler is what sets this toolkit apart from other JavaScript libraries.

• Discover several ways to use the compiler as part of your build process

• Learn about Closure type expressions, primitives, and common utilities

• Understand how classes and class-based-inheritance are emulated in Closure

• Get the best performance from Closure by learning about event management

• Learn the life-cycle of a UI component

• Get best practices for using Closure Templates

• Test and debug your JavaScript code

Closure: The Definitive Guide is still in progress, but you can get started with the Closure Tools suite through our Rough Cuts edition, which lets you read the manuscript as it's being written, either online or via PDF.