Introduction – JS from the start
It took me a while to get a grasp on JavaScript, so from time to time I think about writing a beginners guide to learning JavaScript. I try to think back about what did it for me. What made me “get it”.
I bought a JavaScript book way back in the day and I really didn’t put the time in to learn it. The time I did put in just had me spinning my wheels. I just didn’t get it.
As I started learning more and more HTML and then CSS, I even started to use some JavaScript. I figured out how to use some of the scripts I found on the Web, but I wasn’t really learning the language.
So you may say, I got the HTML/CSS thing down. Why do I need to know JavaScript? Can’t I just copy someone else’s code? I don’t want to be a programmer.
Sure, you can just copy someone else’s code. I do it all the time. But time after time I find that I need to tweak that code. Even the simplest edits can be problem if you don’t know the basics of the language.
I remember years back I used a Dreamweaver built in function for creating drop-down menus. It was real easy. I created a menu in a matter of minutes and it was ALMOST exactly what the client wanted.
The client wanted me to tweak the placement of the menu and adjust the styling a little. They were very reasonable requests. I started digging through the Dreamweaver widget, then looking online at DW forums, then started searching for JavaScript tutorials. The problem was that when I looked at the JS code that the Dreamweaver widget produced, it was Spanish to me (I don’t speak Spanish). Like Spanish, I recognized a few things here and there, but couldn’t really figure out what was what.
It’s like knowing the word “red” and “hat” in Spanish and then trying to tell a clothing salesperson that you want to buy a red hat. They’ll know you are talking about a red hat, but do you want to buy a red hat, do you hate red hats, do you want to eat a red hat, are you talking about an operating system and not even referring to clothing?
So what did it for me? I put up my hard-earned money and took a JavaScript class. I was going to waste my money. And I didn’t.
Here’s the book we used for the class if you are insterested. I still use it as a reference.
http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Beginning-JavaScript-2nd-Edition.productCd-0764555871.html
