How do you learn JavaScript?

[Limbach Design]

Hi,
my question is: How do you learned JavaScript. I found this site: W3Schools – Javascript

[Kuzyo]

Hi, I now in process of learning and here is good course with exercises http://www.learnstreet.com/

[Merri]

W3Schools is one of the worse sites to learn from. They don’t teach things right and at some things are just outdated and wrong.

I learned Commodore 64 Basic, then Visual Basic (classic, not VB.NET), PHP and then JavaScript. Also have written bits of C and Pascal at some point, but can’t really tell I’d know them. And the reason I tell you this…

Learning any programming requires you to change the way you think. You need to learn programming logic, to understand how to structure things so that a computer can do what you want (and so that other programmers can understand and work with your code).

The other part is learning a language like JavaScript, so you know how to tell what computer needs to do.

Learning a programming language well takes probably only half a year or so, and the time grows shorter the more languages know. To truly learn programming logic takes a much greater amount of time, at least ten years, and even then there is some requirement for the mind. As harsh as it may sound like, not everyone can become a good programmer.

I’m telling this only to give some perspective. My suggestion is that you shouldn’t only learn JavaScript, but also have a take on other languages (at some point, not a requirement immediately) and especially pay attention to how data (strings, numbers, arrays) is structured and behave from the perspective of a computer. Also different languages deal with the same issues differently. The better you understand the inner workings the better programmer you can become. It is also a very good idea to read on things, blogs and then try those things yourself. Only way to become a good programmer is to use a lot of time on it.

Of course if you only need/want to learn enough to get some stuff done then all of the above doesn’t apply and you can just learn what you need. Or just pay others to do what you want.

[srikarg]

@LimbachDesign I would like to reiterate what @Merri said: Don’t use W3Schools. Check out this site if you want to learn the disadvantages: http://w3fools.com/. To learn JavaScript, just use this resource: http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/javascript-ajax/the-best-way-to-learn-javascript/. Or check out a site like: http://www.codecademy.com/#!/exercises/0. When you need to play around with code, use http://codepen.io/ and use this forum to post any questions you may have in the JavaScript Jungle category.

[Mottie]

Here is another nice list: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/learn/javascript

[CrocoDillon]

I think there are a lot of sites which gives bad info and no one cares and if it wasn’t for w3fools, no one cared about w3schools. I don’t say you should learn from them, but I did (html and css), and I don’t regret it ;p

Anyway, I never really was good at JavaScript until I started studying computer science. I’m all with Merri on this point, going into the basics of computer interaction really helps, both with getting your code to work and especially to optimize it. They were really thorough by the way, all the way to using processor instructions to work directly on the memory stack.

[JohnMotylJr]

Go to a local college book store and purchase a used somewhat recent copy of intro to (language). Codeacademy.com is free and kinda cool as well. I really suggest you learn something lesson based and structured. Reason being, you will start off with basics then get into more advanced programming techniques likes inheritance, modularity, classes, constructors, etc. Those deal will other languages like C, java, etc.

[Kuzyo]

What is most important points in JS for web developer, on which I have to pay special attention in studying? Some points that you use everyday in your practice?

[Merri]

One of the things to pay attention to is that JavaScript is a very different beast compared to many other traditional style languages (such as C, Java, PHP or Basic). You use and think about it differently.

The major stuff to pay attention to:

1. JavaScript is functional: function is a top class player in the language. You create an object? It’s a function. You deal with existing object? It’s a function and thus you can do almost anything to it to change it. The ideal way to use JavaScript is to make a lot of small specialized functions instead of big “monster” functions that you easily end up with in more traditional languages (when making a complex task).
2. JavaScript has a very interesting way to deal with closures that may first seem quite complex, but once you understand how it works it feels genius.
3. Because you most often use JavaScript in a browser you also need to pay attention to the fact many of what seems “typical JavaScript” at first is actually the DOM. Stuff like `getElementById()` is a browser side interface that you separately need to learn. Cross-browser issues are part of web developer knowledge despite NOT really being part of JavaScript.
4. Regular expressions. Learn them to make yourself a true wizard. You can use RegExps in many tasks to make your code short and efficient. (This is something I need to learn better myself.)

For anyone who wishes to make the jump to really understand JavaScript I highly recommend John Resig’s [Secrets of the JavaScript Ninja](http://jsninja.com/). It is probably the best JS book you can find.

[Limbach Design]

**Oh my goodness!**

Thats so amazing. I posted my first question yesterday and just a few hours later there are so many good answers. Thanks!

@Kuzyo This site looks very great. I just do one task and love the way how you could write your javascript snippet directly there. And they check for issues.

@srig99 The [W3Fools](http://w3fools.com “w3fools”) site shocked me. There are so many issues on the w3schools website. I’m quite sure I don’t use this site to learn.

@JohnMotylJr This site looks also very well. I think i will start learning with this site.

@Merri Yes you’re right but this isn’t my first progamming language. I learned HTML, CSS, PHP many years before. And of course the basics of JavaScript. But now the basics are not enough for me. So i learned about 20% of JavaScript and 90% of HTML etc. And now i wont everything on 90%. You know? Thats my target. But you’re right of everthing so say.

So thanks to everyone. Love this Forum now :D Have a nice day.

/*solved*/

[Mottie]

@LimbachDesign: You might want to also check out this thread about [learning jQuery before (or after) learning javascript](https://css-tricks.com/forums/discussion/comment/98824). You decide :)

[Garrett]

@Merri Great comments I would like to also suggest the book “JavaScript: The good parts” by Douglas Crockford.

@Mottie I would also suggest using the jQuery source to learn with. Although not to be hating the current 1.9 source is a complete mess, they’re cleaning it up with v2 however.

[ex_jedi]

I’m currently using the guide below to learn. It’s a well thought through comprehensive course which includes code academy, a couple of reassuringly large books and some other stuff. I’m a couple of weeks in and it’s exactly what I was looking for. Have a peek…

http://www.reddit.com/r/learnjavascript/comments/1ceefw/learn_javascript_properly_omnibus_post/

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