Javascript
JavaScript is the world’s most popular programming language, and is widely used for web development. It is comparatively easier to learn and highly applicable.
JavaScript is a programming language that adds interactivity to your website. This happens in games, in the behavior of responses when buttons are pressed or with data entry on forms; with dynamic styling; with animation, etc. This article helps you get started with JavaScript and furthers your understanding of what is possible.
JavaScript (“JS” for short) is a full-fledged dynamic programming language that can add interactivity to a website. It was invented by Brendan Eich (co-founder of the Mozilla project, the Mozilla Foundation, and the Mozilla Corporation).
JavaScript is versatile and beginner-friendly. With more experience, you’ll be able to create games, animated 2D and 3D graphics, comprehensive database-driven apps, and much more!
JavaScript itself is relatively compact, yet very flexible. Developers have written a variety of tools on top of the core JavaScript language, unlocking a vast amount of functionality with minimum effort. These include:
- Browser Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) built into web browsers, providing functionality such as dynamically creating HTML and setting CSS styles; collecting and manipulating a video stream from a user’s webcam, or generating 3D graphics and audio samples.
- Third-party APIs that allow developers to incorporate functionality in sites from other content providers, such as Twitter or Facebook.
- Third-party frameworks and libraries that you can apply to HTML to accelerate the work of building sites and applications.
It’s outside the scope of this article—as a light introduction to JavaScript—to present the details of how the core JavaScript language is different from the tools listed above. You can learn more in MDN’s JavaScript learning area, as well as in other parts of MDN.
How to learn JavaScript
To learn JavaScript, you need to ask yourself these questions:
1. What do you know about computers and programming languages?
Are you a novice who has just been on the viewing side of the screen? Do you only know how to copy-paste code? Or do you have basic know how of how programmers use code?
The answer to this question will determine where you should begin from so you don’t feel too bored or too confused.
2. Why do you want to learn JavaScript?
What you need to learn depends on your ultimate goal. Are you trying to improvise your webpage, want to build something complex like a chat box? You might want to enhance your skill set to climb your career ladder. Just remember where you want to be at the end of your journey, a clear goal will clarify your road map.
3. What’s the shortest path between these two points?
Once you have a road map, you will be faced with plenty of choices. Since you have little or no idea about the language, its easy to get lost amongst the sea of information.
Its now time to take help from someone who already knows about this area. Take help from a tutor, a friend or a mentor so they can define your path for you.
The four phases to learning JavaScript
Learning JavaScript is similar to like growing up. There are different phases of growth. You can view it in the following four phases:
The Baby Phase
What you should focus on in this phase is to thoroughly learn the JavaScript syntax so you know what others are talking about when they say things like objects, arrays, functions, etc.
The Child Phase
In this phase, focus on learning methods provided to you by the DOM. Learn about selecting elements, traversing the DOM, adding and removing things from the DOM, adding and removing event listeners, changing styles and classes.
The Teenage Phase
The next step is to learn best practices from books and experts all around. Absorb what you can, then, rebuild what you’ve built. Use the new practices you’ve learned to internalize them.
The Adult Phase
Finally, in the Adult Phase, you know enough JavaScript to be dangerous. You can build almost anything you want. You’re confident with your code. It’s clean. You know the best practices and you’ve used them all.