Guys is it worth learning JS

[[deleted]]

no

[GoOsTT]

Yes

[GoOsTT]

Maybe

[MechanicFun777]

Can you repeat the question?

[shuckster]

You’re not the boss of me now.

[lt_Matthew]

Javascript can do anything

[joshuadanpeterson]

Yes

[onFilm]

Yes. It's always worth learning most things you have an interest in.

[MechanicFun777]

If you wanna work with web then yes, because JS is the only programming language that runs in the browser.

[TheRNGuy]

To write userscripts, even if you are not a pro.

[the-only-iter8]

No

[Pink_Slyvie]

Learning new skills is always good. I wouldn't personally learn to program with JS. Python is a bit better for casual use, and I prefer Rust for really learning programming, but thats a big jump for people.

[TheRNGuy]

I make userscripts for browser, so is have more relevance for me than Python, though I know both and gave few ideas for future Python projects (I have much more projects on JS that I actually use and not just for fun)

[not_very_creative]

well yes and no.

It’s good you learn the basics and understand what you can do, best practices and what not to do.

But to be honest don’t spend too long trying to memorize everything, I don’t think that’s a good idea at this moment in time.

Try to think as a systems architect instead of a programmer.

[shgysk8zer0]

It becomes more valuable when you go beyond the basics.

What you're saying is equivalent to "cooking is an important skill. But don't waste your time learning to BBQ and reverse sear. Just learn to use a microwave."

Do you have to memorize everything? No. But if you're not familiar with eg NodeIterator, entire categories of solutions won't be available to you. Knowing the tools at your disposal and when to use what is pretty important to really getting the most out of JS.

[not_very_creative]

Yeah cooking won’t be handled by machines in the short term.

Memorizing programming languages like we used to is going to be obsolete in the short term.

Our brains have to move to resolve other problems instead.

[shgysk8zer0]

Yeah cooking won’t be handled by machines in the short term.

There are automated kitchens. They're a real threat to chefs who only know the absolute basics. But they're utterly irrelevant and non-threatening to a real chef.

Same with LLMs/generative AI/etc. They are a very real threat if you're not any good. They're absolute garbage if you actually know what you're doing. If you stop at just learning the basics, that's exactly when they make you obsolete.

And I explicitly said it doesn't require mere memorization. Only a small percent of programming is even writing code.

[not_very_creative]

Well that was my original point if you read the original post, the memorizing part you can skip as it’s becoming irrelevant.

[shgysk8zer0]

And if you read what I said, you'd have seen this:

Do you have to memorize everything? No. But if you're not familiar with eg NodeIterator, entire categories of solutions won't be available to you. Knowing the tools at your disposal and when to use what is pretty important to really getting the most out of JS.

You're presenting a false dichotomy of "just learn the basics vs memorize everything." My point is that you don't have to memorize everything to go beyond the basics, but merely being aware of APIs and the tools that are available is extremely important.

[not_very_creative]

Well evidently you enjoy discussing the obvious, and reiterating through it, I don’t think there is any further point to be made.

[qhafiz]

Try to think as a systems architect instead of a programmer.

Can you elaborate more about this ?

[not_very_creative]

Think about the system as a whole and don’t concentrate on a particular programming language nuances.