Learning Javascript, Progress Part I

Lou
Kotsinis

I’m happy to report that my goal of teaching myself Javascript is going well.  For the most part.

I continue to be fascinated by the language and programming as a whole, so passion has not ebbed.  Time, however, is the challenge.  Perhaps that’s an excuse (if you’re passionate enough about something, you’ll find a way), but with running BCS Interactive, spending time with two young daughters and precious few moments with their mother, it’s been an uphill battle to actually sit down and focus. 

That being said, to date I’ve learned about some of the core principles of .js, specifically:

The DOM – a critically important aspect of development for anyone looking to learn code

Variables – seemed pretty straightforward to me

Onmouse events – I was as giddy as a child when I first did this – knowing full well that it’s totally antiquated and often better handled via CSS

Operators – performed some basic mathematical calculations

I even learned to concatenate strings.  Just saying that makes me feel like a Nobel-Prize winner.  It’s a pretty simple aspect of the language and yet remembering the proper structure of putting two strings together requires me doing it over and over.

A reminder – I’m learning via book (Sam’s Teach Yourself Javascript in 24 hours) and on-line (Codecademy).  Of the two, I’m actually finding the book more effective.  Maybe it’s the idea that sitting and focusing on something that’s static and dense forces me to concentrate.  I’m finding the online guidance simplistic and not challenging enough.  At least, not yet. 

So that’s it for now.  Looking forward to learning functions, arrays and loops – and soon enough, basic JSON and jQuery.  Next time I report in, I’ll be a full-fledged Javascript Ninja.  Or not.

TAGS: code, development