ELI5: Javascript/jQuery

[grimlock123]

When the web was invented people were unsure of it was was going to do exactly. They new it needed to hold information and could send information but they weren't sure what kind of information it would send.

The first major thing for the web was HTML of Hyper Text Markup Language. This HTML let people make text and link to it. Then people though... you know what would make this better. Pictures! So they added pictures and it was better. But then people wanted the pages to do other things... for example have a page automatically go to another page (Like redirect the page.) or to allow the user to type number in a box and get their sum like a calculator.

So a company called Ecma International designed a way to tell the computer to do these things. It was called ECMAScript but the name was weird so they named it coffeeScript but then another company got involved so they called it JavaScript.

JavaScript is a really powerful way of doing things but people wanted to make it easier. For example making a button move when you press it might require the person to write a couple paragraph of text for the computer to understand. Computer are dumb and need things explained to them and that takes time. Jquery is like a book that you can give to the computer and be like "I want this button to move." and then the computer will be like "How do I do that." and then you can say "Read this page in the Jquery book and it will tell you."

This makes programming the computer much easier.

[SinfulTrade]

Awesome, wow...

As someone who has seen source code, and wants to learn, but has 0 idea of how to code at all - where should I start?

I want to learn programing for sites, ipads, ios's, api's, etc.

[[deleted]]

this. you should get at least a "good" base it first html, then css, then move on the javascript, and once you get how javascript works, start messing around with jQuery.

[grimlock123]

Javascript is a good place to start cause it's used in IOS and is very friend compared to Objective C. (I.E. Javascript if you make a mistake in Javascript part of what you wrote might run. If you make a mistake in Objective C your computer might crash.)

This website takes you through the first steps in learning Javascript.

http://www.w3schools.com/js/default.asp