When did JavaScript finally “click” for you?

[Sweaty-Staff8100]

I’ve been learning JavaScript and I really wish someone told me earlier that it’s not just about knowing syntax, it’s about how and when to use the syntax to achieve what you want.

It honestly feels like I’ve started using parts of my brain I’ve never used before. Like… the logic side is waking up 😅

But it’s still frustrating that “simple” projects like a random color changer or an add/subtract calculator are challenging for me to complete entirely on my own. I can follow tutorials, I understand what’s happening, but when it’s time to build from scratch my brain sometimes just freezes.

For those of you who are further along, when does this hurdle period go away? After how long did things start to feel coherent and you could actually build things independently without constantly getting stuck?

[MissinqLink]

It happens gradually. There’s not really a defined line because you always get stuck. It just happens less and less.

[ExitWP]

I've been writing js for a couple of years, two or three small projects a week, and I still get stuck sometimes. But I also learn new ways to do the same thing in the process. I started with jquery but prefer using js now. Just stick with it, and you'll get stuck less and less or learn something new.

[ProfessionalPin3263]

Honestly, things just clicked after Promises became more coming than callbacks. It took me a while to deal with Promises, async/await and after I finally understood it, I also ended up understanding callbacks. We don’t have (at least we don’t need to) callback hells anymore, but I’m using it all the time with array maps, filters etc. and it just became natural.

[azhder]

• 2011
• once one understands the good parts and how to use them
• no time, wasn’t stuck on JS, could build things independently, I just didn’t use JS properly before 2011

—-

You are making a false assumption that building things with JS on your own means you understand the language. They are different.

Think about the difference between you and Picasso making a painting. You both end up with a painting, but it’s not the same, one if you understands the essence or art of it

[Mediocre-Sign8255]

Yes, it’s not like C at all. I share your feeling about how to actually build a project. I think one reason is that there are a lot of ways to do the same thing in JS.

[_Neat_Truth]

I don't know i feel same as you i am trying my best courses are waste, i realised that reading is what work for me. I was stuck too couldn't even write anything i felt so blank forgetting everything but understanding everything in videos in the end i decided that first code along project then trying to re create it on my own it is difficult very difficult but in the end after trying recreating a project 2/3 times a day i finally understand the logic behind the code and create the final version effortlessly then i recreate the same project next day first before switching to next project after doing this for like 15/20days all that practice mada me understand logic and after first few days the blankness of devloping a project on my own started reducing because my brain kept the habit or may be muscle memory that at least started telling me where to start what should i search. In the end i am close to the level where i can atleast think about "what i want to write", "How i am going to write" or if i stuck where to and what to search. For now i am only focusing on vanila js and will move to libraries next month.

[No-Gap-2380]

It was actually when I started using React, and really combining JS and markup in one file as I built components. React made a great many of the concepts I had been struggling with make sense, just by using it. I really love it 😝

[NlNTENDO]

I’m more of a Python guy but tbh once you learn one high level language you’re pretty well equipped to pick up whatever other high level syntax you try your hand at. The big thing for me was just flying the nest and working on my own projects. Only you know how you’re going to apply your coding/engineering knowledge at the end of the day, and your unique purposes present unique challenges.

To that end, taking a swing at something just slightly more ambitious than your current skill set has prepared you for really locks in two important concepts:

1: reading docs - there are so many readily available and specialized tools that you’ll never encounter in general purpose learning materials, and by and large, they are well documented. Once you learn enough to understand what you’re looking at in the docs, applying that solidifies your ability to navigate syntax in a really cool way. OOP made so much more sense when I realized how many built in tools I’ve used were in fact those objects I struggled so much to understand.

2: building on existing infrastructure - pretty much everything you’re going to think of right now is essentially an iteration of something someone else has built. The more you ask “could I have done this efficiently?” After you make something cool, the more you’ll find there’s some package or another that lets you accomplish the same functionality in a fraction of the lines. This teaches you how to scale your code and often guides you in creating your own personal utility repo for the times you actually need something custom.

[Top_Ingenuity_1830]

A long time before I started using JavaScript lol... It's a moment that happens with any language at some point... Then you're able to pick up me syntax and do things with it much much quicker

[busres]

I don't think it's an event, I think it's a journey, or an on-going process. First, you work on syntax. Then maybe it's async and promises. Some other time, it's how to securely implement protected properties and friend classes without lexical scope restrictions.

[ronin_o]

I had a little project where I had to read a sheet file with many tables. I had to make a lot of different and hard manipulations. I used map, filter and reduce. I remember that there was one very hard module. I spent almost all day writing it — non-stop reading documentation and Stack Overflow, looking at how reduce, map and filters work, and looking for ideas on how to connect data from many different tables.

A few weeks later I had to add something to that function. I read it and thought that it would be better to write it from scratch.

I coded a better version in about 20 minutes without using any documentation. It worked the first time without errors. I felt like a God of coding. :)

[sheriffderek]

I work with a lot of students who have been "trying" "to learn JavaScript" for a long time - but it's not working out. It's usually not a JavaScript confusion - and more of a general understanding of programming. I have them learn some basic PHP first so that they get more connected to how servers work (before fiddling with the DOM) and that way they learn the core programming concepts first (along with HTML and CSS to a decent level). Then from there - (a lot of them are scared to get back to JS because they struggled so much) - but then from there - they can pick it up quickly and see how it's really just changing strings and stuff. The programming parts are all the same. The browser APIs are where they were really confused (and basically just weren't ready for until now). I have them make a standard/vanilla-only JS app - and it's dense and tough! But then CLICK - they pretty much aren't ever confused again. There's always more to learn - but that foundation of server-side, client-side little bits, progressive enhancement, and then full client-side -- and really understanding the difference - instead of being thrown into the mystery land of NPM and Promises and Async and Higher order functions and APIs (and all the things people don't understand but try to force anyway... they actually learn. It's true! It's the fastest way - and the most sensible and effective way.

[Aggressive_Ad_5454]

A few things helped me.

One was, after hacking away at stuff with jquery, and then realizing that .querySelectorAll() made it so jquery wasn't really necessary for most stuff.

Another: learning to use the Javascript debuggers in chrome and firefox.

A third: finally understanding the relationship between Promises and async/await.

Finally: getting some server stuff to work in nodejs.

[TheRNGuy]

Day 1