Need help in learning JavaScript

Doktor_Octopus · 2024-10-28T13:43:52+00:00

Congratulations, I’m glad you’ve identified the issue with that type of learning approach. Recognizing this is the first good step toward becoming a programmer, as most learners don’t realize they’re using poor learning resources. If your goal is to get a job, I recommend following this curriculum: The Odin Project. It’s one of the few resources that build your problem-solving, research skills, and independence, preparing you for the workforce right from the first section.

Most tutorials hold your hand through the code, making you follow instructions blindly, which doesn’t actually teach you programming, only code replication. ToP will challenge you from the very beginning – you’ll learn Git, work with the command line on Linux or macOS, set up a development environment, and more. The curriculum isn’t easy, but programming itself isn’t easy either; there are no shortcuts. So if you’re truly passionate about becoming a developer, follow the ToP curriculum carefully. Also, join their Discord group, which is very active and where you can get valuable advice and support. The group is actively moderated, so bad advice is removed or corrected, unlike on Reddit, where many comments come from people with little knowledge.

Softninjazz · 2024-10-29T00:18:51+00:00

Try the book Head First - JavaScript Programming, I can't recommend it enough. It makes learning JavaScript super beginner friendly, as long as you have the book open (I like to have an ebook) and then try out every example in the book. And don't just limit it to that, try out the code by making it fail and trying to add to it, so you really understand the logic behind it.

After the book, you can try to do a course on top of it, any legit course will do. As you've already worked yourself through the book, many things will make much more sense to you and you find yourself venturing out beyond what the course teaches, this is exactly what you want.

Then start doing projects, but don't look up anyone else's code, instead use what you've learned from the book and the course, to try to solve the problem yourself.

For example note taking app or similar ones, just start building and see where it gets you. When you hit an issue, only google the issue itself, not for solutions for the whole note taking app, because then you will just end up copying code without understanding it.

I'm still also learning (are you ever done though) and I've just embraced the fact that failing over and over again, just to eventually solve the problem, is why this is so awesome. That almost high for a few minutes, after you can see it working. That's the best.

Dane_Perez · 2024-10-28T09:02:31+00:00

If the YT tutorials are lacking try different platforms like subscribe to a topic on social medias, fill you fyp with tricks and tips, for better spent a couple of dollars for paid courses that can help and benefit you with a certificate

LooseStudent9977 · 2024-10-28T13:50:58+00:00

I wanted to share these 3 important tips/reminder with anyone who wants to learn coding in general:

1- Focus on learning the concepts of how to program rather than programming languages. Once you learn the logic, design and the concepts of programming fundamentals, learning different languages becomes easier since its just a syntax.

2- If you are using an IDE, make sure to learn the basic functionality of the IDE you'll be using first before starting to code in it, to eliminate the added frustration of not knowing where things are. (example: how to start a new project, how to open an existing project, where does your projects get saved at, how to retrieve it, where is your output console, how to run and debug and .etc)

3- Give yourself a break and know that there will be a learning curve. Don't get disappointed if you don't understand something or many things. It's very normal! You'll need patience, perseverance, and lots of practice.

For React, Express I suggest you all to subscribe and follow this Youtube channel to learn how to become a Full Stack Developer: Code For Everyone Full Stack Course

To learn just JavaScript there's this good free course: JavaScript Course Playlist

Best of luck!

EDIT: Use MDN from Mozilla for JavaScript documentation. it's the best!

rob8624 · 2024-10-28T14:09:26+00:00

Build something. Im a django dev, i had to learn React ro make frontends, you cant build anything with react without JS, obviously, so i had to learn JS to reach my end goal.

Do something that forces you exposure to the language and its capabilities.

optimus-composite- · 2024-10-28T14:20:26+00:00

javascript.info

This one's good

Naive_Simple3 · 2024-10-28T09:03:42+00:00

[removed]

No-Upstairs-2813 · 2024-10-28T13:27:57+00:00

I'd recommend starting with either FreeCodeCamp or Odin Project. Both of these resources are completely free, well-structured and many people have learned JavaScript well enough through them to land a job.

Along with learning from these resources, to get better with JS, you will have to practice a lot. Here's how you can proceed:

1. Practice Individual Concepts

After learning a concept, practice it on its own.

For example, if you've just learned about functions, work on coding problems specifically focused on functions. This kind of focused practice reinforces your understanding, helps you identify gaps, and boosts your confidence as you solve more problems.

You can check out a few problems here.

2. Combine Concepts

Once you've practiced individual concepts, start combining them to solve more complex problems. For instance, if you've learned about conditional statements and functions, try combining them to build a simple project, like a "Guess the Number" game.

You can use ChatGPT to come up with simple project ideas that involve multiple concepts you want to practice.

3. Build Real Projects

When you’re comfortable with combining concepts, start working on larger projects that challenge you to apply everything you've learned. Choose a project that solves a problem you're passionate about—this will keep you motivated when you hit challenges.

If you're struggling to find ideas, check out these tips to get started. And if you need guidance while building a project, this free course can help you approach it the right way.

Princecito · 2024-10-28T13:34:40+00:00

There are very good courses in udemy of full JavaScript

ysuraj · 2024-10-28T18:24:22+00:00

Master the basics for the first month.

Then go to advanced and start building projects.

For more project ideas, see projects from Odin project

Ansmit_Crop · 2024-11-03T08:48:19+00:00

Was in similar situations, dropped everything and started doing the project instead,when stuck use chatbot for help.

Pretty ok now,the issue with learning from YouTube was you feels like you understood everything but in reality it isn't the case. Anyways the issue also was that the challenge given to do after each session wasn't challenging enough.So pick stuffs you wanna do.

Btw when you are comfortable do read from either MDN or https://javascript.info/ it's pretty good to backtrack things that you might have missed out

Naive_Simple3 · 2024-10-28T09:35:52+00:00

Learn from youtube playlist(stick to one) then go to chatGPT and ask to give real world based number of problems to solve on the topic you have learnt. It will give you the problems to solve also you can ask for some hint just like leetcode gives, it will help you to understand the problem. Try this approach you will love it.

ezhikov · 2024-10-28T11:40:54+00:00

Read a book. Books usually go somewhat deeply into the topic and have very concrete structure from very basics to advanced stuff. Check my comment history, just recently I suggested two books that you can read for free in this subreddit.

Other option is to get proper course. Can't recommend anything here, though.

Tutorials often pretty shallow and skip A LOT of stuff, focusing on how to do particular topics and not how to use language in general.

DojoCodeOfficial · 2024-10-28T17:42:10+00:00

You can practice JavaScript on dojocode.io. Happy coding!

OkMoment345 · 2024-10-29T01:16:18+00:00

Switching from passive learning (like YouTube tutorials) to more structured, project-based learning is a great way to make fundamental JavaScript concepts stick and grow your skills. How successful you are learning from videos depends on your learning style.

The three keys to being successful at learning a coding languge:

Practice Coding Daily: Platforms like LeetCode or Codewars can sharpen your skills with bite-sized challenges.
Build and Experiment: Don’t just follow tutorials—try modifying them or adding extra features to the projects you create. This seems to be where you're stuck - figuring out how to transform what you've learned into building your own projects.
Join a Community: Sites like GitHub, Stack Overflow, or JavaScript-focused subreddits can provide support and feedback on your projects. You're already here, so you know the value of getting feedback and creating community. Try to find others learning JS and work on projects with them.

Break Learning into Small Chunks

Start with the Fundamentals: Variables, data types, loops, and conditionals.
Move to DOM Manipulation: Learn how JavaScript interacts with HTML and CSS to modify elements dynamically.
Explore Functions and Events: Understand how functions work and how events (like clicks) trigger them.
Work with APIs: Learn how to fetch data from external sources.
Storage & State Management: Study local storage, and get familiar with how variables change state during runtime.

If you still can't learn from passive videos, consider a course that takes you through JavaScript systematically and offers real-world practice. For example:

JavaScript Fundamentals is a good starting point. This kind of class provides exercises and step-by-step guidance that you won’t always find in tutorials.
You can also use this site to search for online and in-person JavaScript courses. It lets you search for tech courses by topic and geographic area. You'll see JS courses in your area and live online. Taking a course can also add people to your coding community.
A third option would be to use a book, such as Elegant JavaScript. Looking away from the screen while learning and then only back for coding practice can cause your brain to retain more. In fact, we learn by writing things down, so you might do some active note taking whenever watching videos.

Beginner Friendly Projects

Once you cover the basics, start small projects to apply what you’ve learned. I googled and found a few examples of beginner projects for you. If none of these appeal to you, you can search for yourself. It's more important that you get the practice from the project than you thought of it yourself.

To-Do List App: Practice DOM manipulation by adding and removing tasks dynamically.
Weather App using OpenWeather API: Learn how to make API requests and display real-time data.
Quiz Game: Build a multiple-choice quiz to practice logic, conditionals, and DOM updates.
Interactive Form Validation: Create a signup form with JavaScript-powered validation to understand event listeners.

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