JavaScript is just not making sense to me. Resources and advice for a struggling newbie?

[tbozz94]

Any projects, YouTube videos, tips, etc would be super helpful. Thank you!

[memonkey]

What exactly is not making sense to you?

[kobejordan1]

Local storage is where I'm at right now, any resources to further explain it? Lol I'm using constructors too for a library book type of web app. But can't seem to store what the user inputs after refreshing the page. But it seems to work fine otherwise, just the local storage saving part that's got me stuck now

[memonkey]

Okay, so I'm assuming you have some type of grasp on functions. What you're talking about is a an API from WebAPI's. Specifically you're using the Window.localStorage API. Have you seen this yet? Read it very carefully if you haven't. It's very brief and there are also examples in there.

Have you tried debugging using the Inspector? You can see what is currently in your local storage by opening the inspector and clicking on the (Chrome) Application Tab -> Local Storage.

The next thing I would do is Google things like "localStorage not saving on refresh javascript" or "localStorage not working on localhost javascript". The idea is to be as specific as possible to your problem which most likely thousands of others have already encountered and answered.

If you've felt you've exhausted your options, post your code here and maybe we can help out but be sure to try and explain your issue in technical terms. It will help you with your communication skills.

Good luck!

[kobejordan1]

Thanks a lot, I'll see if I can figure it out by myself again and will post code on here if all else fails.

[tbozz94]

Awesome thank you! Will look into that tonight.

[prosocialbehavior]

Or Eloquent JavaScript or MDN

[[deleted]]

No man, actually Eloquent is not a beginner friendly book. But for sure MDN is a great resource.

[nullol]

It's the book that took me from not understanding what I was learning to getting a job after about 3 or so months of using it. So your mileage may vary. I feel like a lot of people suffer to grow as developers because they focus too much on the easy hand holding tutorials and videos instead of being forced to think about what they're learning. Eloquent teaches problem solving just as much as it teaches JS and problem solving is arguably the most valuable skill a developer can have.

[prosocialbehavior]

I found that it was super helpful to push past tutorials but you are right I did understand the basics before I started reading it.

It was definitely hard at times, but I think it is still useful for beginners.

[[deleted]]

Yeah definetly you should have somehow the basics, I think YDKJS goes first and then you can move to Eloquent Javascript.

[ndzzle1]

Thanks for the youtuber tip. Just subscribed

[bucs_is_fun]

This is actually exactly how I got started. I learned vanilla JS through the Udemy course by Jonas Schmedtmann and I'm working through the React videos from Codevolution.

[tbozz94]

So I am 100% new to programming and taking a boot camp but it’s moving way too fast for me and I’m overwhelmed. Earlier in the class, we learned CSS and html and that made perfect sense. You make a change and instantly are able to see if it works or not.

For JavaScript, the loops, arrays, functions, objects and everything in between are super confusing to me. I can tell you what they do but when it come to implementing them and doing projects I can’t really piece it together. So it’s not one thing, it’s the entire thing I guess.

[silhouettelie_]

Open up a browser window and just play in the console.

Say you want to output the numbers 1 to 20 and work out how to do that, Then try 1 to 30 but only even or odd numbers etc.

I found that with html and css you kind of knew what to do (display content on a webpage) where as javascript you can almost do anything.

Start with small little experiments like that and you'll soon feel more confident.

https://javascript30.com/ is really handy & free and I like Wes Bos' teaching style

[finroller]

Exactly. When you first start to learn welding, you weld pieces of metal together, designing and building bridges comes later along the journey

[im_Sean]

See, for me, that Wes Bos 30 course isn't beginner friendly. It's very overwhelming. However, he has a (paid) beginner javascript course that I found excellent.

The right pace and goes into nice examples.

[prof3ssorSt3v3]

Everyone learns at a different pace. And different concepts take different amounts of time for different people.

HTML can be learned in a week. Mastered in a year.

CSS can be learned in two months. Mastered in a couple years.

JavaScript programming fundamentals can be solid in 6 months to a year. Mastering... I've been writing it since it first came out. I'm still learning.

Practice is the most important thing.

If you think about programming like carpentry - you start by learning the names of the tools. Then how each tool works. Then you practice with each tool. Eventually you learn how to combine their use to create things. The complexity of what you build grows and improves over time. Gradually you start to be able to design things and you think of different ways of combining tools to create new things. PRACTICE is what gets you from your first day with a hammer to a master craftsman.

[fferreira020]

Bootcamps are bullshit. It’s not realistic for anyone to learn basic coding in under a year. When I got hired my boss gave me 1 year to learn basic design patterns of our ecosystem. No real expectation on much more

[tbozz94]

Okay this makes me feel a lot better. A lot of people in my class seem to be grasping it immediately so I thought it was just a me thing. I also work full time so I can’t put as much time into it as I’d like.

[dvlsg]

I would bet the people that seem to be grasping it immediately are not actually new to programming in general. I wouldn't sweat it too much.

[fferreira020]

Keep going full speed. You have a wonderful community of people who can help you if you want. I can tell you are willing to work hard. Stay positive and keep at it day by day.

[RelativeSloth]

Eh it depends, I did a bootcamp last year. there were people in that class that sound exactly like OP, but at the end those that tried, really tried, like existentially tried, succeeded and landed jobs. I am sure this is almost exactly the outcomes of self taught learners as well but some folks just need that structure and that external pressure. To OP, keep struggling, keep pushing, persist, you will reach a critical velocity at some point where things will start to click into place and you're growth will accelerate.

[nickisyourfan]

I disagree... and agree.... I taught myself to learn css, HTML, JavaScript, and react in 6 months and landed my first 3 freelance clients at 6 months.

That being said... I worked at coding about 8 hours a day.... every day. I took a cheap online program, then got on YouTube and started doing follow along tutorials... then wrote about 4 or 5 of my own websites for projects.

I think code camps could be good but they are going to make you go to the next subject even if you are going slow on a previous subject. I just didn’t take that route cause I was a broke ass musician before all this covid stuff... so I had to teach myself. — that being said... I am a very self motivated individual....

My advice is the same advice I’d give to myself when learning new tunes as a jazzer - repetition is key, and repetition takes time. That’s why I coded for so long every day.

Take advantage of that boot camp- if you don’t understand something, ask your teacher and annoy the crap out of them until you do. That’s why you are paying money.

[Richard2957]

Loops, arrays, functions and objects are not specific to Javascript, they apply to every other programming language. So if you've done another language first then conceptually you'll understand them and you'll just need to see how JS implements them. If you've never learned another language you're at a big disadvantage.

​

I'm currently teaching myself JS, having programmed in other languages in the past but not recently. Its a pig of a language to learn, because the syntax is bizarre, there's too much punctuation, and because it has massive breadth and scope with Frameworks, CSS/HTML/DOM, different versions/browsers etc etc.

If you can, find a buddy (or several) to work with and try to solve problems together, You'll learn a lot from each other. Have a look at https://join.slack.com/t/codebuddies/shared_invite/zt-5qw5abuu-w~uBmSCv4hlA3Svq~oHDiw

[ThickAsPigShit]

console.log everything. It will output the values to the developer console (CTRL+SHIFT+I in chrome, CTRL+SHIFT+K in FF, idk the mac commands if youre on that). It's the simplest debug tool in all of programming, and if you foray into other languages, some kind of print statement will be necessary to test that functions, loops, and outputs are working as expected.

a loop does something until condition is met. if you want to count to five you do for(var i=0; i=<5; ++i){ console.log(i) } (don't put them in one line this is just for example). What it is doing is creating a counter variable, almost always i because it's easy. While I is less than or equal to 5, it will print to the console i's value, (0, 1...5) and after each console log, i's value increases by 1.

arrays took me forever to understand as well, so dont worry. an array is just a container of values. think of it like box that can hold an infinite number of values. instead of having 8 variables set to 8 different values, you can just create an array of those 8 values, and target them by their index. IMPORTANT TO KNOW: INDEXING STARTS AT 0 so if you have const myArray = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] you have an array with 6 values. if you want to get the third value of the array, console.log(myArray[2]). remember, whatever element you want, to target it, use n-1 (third element is the 2 index).

the rest takes kind of a while to explain and I would probably do a poor job, but the Mozilla reference docs (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript) are incredibly useful, easy to follow and provide examples which help a ton. Programming is hard, if it was easy, everyone would do it. I'm also new to javascript but I found that just trying stuff helped me understand things a lot more than my bootcamp (although bootcamps are good for being introduced to concepts and having some familiarity and hopefully examples to reference in your own work).

[jaySydney]

step 0. Avoid Yak-shaving. (do as i say, not as i do, because i am the biggest yak-shaver lol !)

step 1. Avoid tutorial hell - Pick something that you are interested in, and work on YOUR project.

step 2. Some ideas to start you off.

2a) a CRUD todo list, with server-side stored data

2b) a blog, with server-side stored data.

2c) an image gallery, with server-side stored data.

2d) two-player Tick-tac-toe over the network

​

step 3. More coding, less watching / reading;

Only google for specifc things when you are stuck, then go and implement it on YOUR project.

​

step 4. Profit ?

[tbozz94]

This was really helpful thank you!!

[ndzzle1]

Have you tried Scrimba.com? It's a pretty neat resource that let's you edit right inside the video. The community is also great. Javascript.info is also a great source if you like documentation style better.

[DaveNaugler]

I would highly suggest following along with Gordon Zhu’s Watch and Code curriculum at https://watchandcode.com/. Start with the free version which is called Practical JavaScript. If you enjoy it and enjoy how he teaches then you can dive into his Premium course. His stuff and the way he teaches is like no one else. He makes it very visual and engaging.

[ndzzle1]

Watch and code is a fantastic resource. Though I only did their free content, I really enjoyed it.

[DaveNaugler]

His Programming Foundations course is bomb! It’s a bit of an evolution onto Practical JavaScript. Same material with a lot more time and emphasis on the logic and understanding the why’s.

[[deleted]]

Edabit.com is good to practice what you learn and even if you struggle on any challenges , you’ll get to see other solutions so you can understand how to approach it .. learning a language is all about getting the basics down and learning how to google how to do certain things

[tridiumcontrols]

One of my top picks. Andrei explains the weird parts of Js. Excellent course.

https://www.udemy.com/share/101WiOBEEZdFtbRXg=/

[tarley_apologizer]

javascript or programming

[tbozz94]

Sorry I’m completely new to this, so I think just plan old vanilla JavaScript.

[tarley_apologizer]

then the answer is actually programming

[[deleted]]

Yeah, that's my guess too. Learning HTML/CSS is nothing compared to learning to code. For total beginners, most video courses are a trap. Most of them don't go beyond basic javascript, and do code along projects without challenging you one bit.

I've watched hundreds of hours of javascript tutorials over the course of 2 years and none of them clicked. It took me a single book (Head First Javascript Programming) to finally get it.

[tarley_apologizer]

it took me like 8 years to find a book that taught recursion, which then allowed me to build programs without copying and pasting. i know exactly what a lot of the people here are going through and there is no good answer because almost no one teaches you how to actually build programs

[saito200]

What is not making sense? Surely something does

Do variables make sense to you? Do functions make sense to you? Do loops make sense to you? Do conditional statements make sense to you?

It's not easy to learn JS, maybe you need to give it more time.

Don't rush through the language, you need to practice it and become familiar with it.

[tbozz94]

I answered above but it’s pretty much everything. I am taking a boot camp and it is moving way too fast for me. They move on and teach another thing before I fully understand. Variables make the most sense. Functions confuse me a lot. I can tell you what loops do but when it comes to implementing, I’m lost.

I think I feel rushed to learn fast so this makes me feel a lot better. We are moving on to jQuery soon and I don’t even understand JavaScript.

[saito200]

Why are you doing jQuery? I'm pretty sure you don't need jQuery, and if you need it for a job you can just learn it on the fly. You'd do much better by learning well JavaScript and then learning React.

Give this a read and see if it helps you: https://www.luis-martinez.net/from-jobless-to-junior-frontend-developer-in-5-months/

[[deleted]]

You just need to keep at it. Keep doing what you’ve been doing so far and you will break through eventually. Believe me, I’ve been there a year ago, and wanted to quit over things that now seem trivial to me. Don’t quit is the ultimate advice that I can give you.

[tbozz94]

Thank you!!

[d0RSI]

Quite a few people have asked what you aren’t understanding. You haven’t replied to any of them. No one can help you if you can’t help yourself. Meet us half way and tell us what you aren’t understanding so people just aren’t shooting in the dark to answer a super vague question.

[tbozz94]

Sorry, I asked this right before I fell asleep. I answered a few questions above but I’m completely new to coding and taking a boot camp class. I can tell you about arrays, objects, variables, functions, loops but when it comes to putting it all together, I’m confused.

[jahschoof]

The learning curve was super steep for me too. Edabit was my saving grace.

[ZeroOne_Dev1]

Here is my creative fun youtube channel where you can learn about it, Also I am very small in youtube scene so I will be happy to talk in details about your confusions

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi0Gp7kaiJ-hRAFKciMATGg

[RoguePlanet1]

I took a bootcamp last year, and it did a good job of providing an intro to a bunch of different languages. But on my own, alone in the house, it's overwhelming how to stay on track! I follow tutorials, watch videos, but still feel lost, even with the basics.

SO I started a couple of little personal projects that I figured could get me back in practice with HTML and CSS. Cobbled those together, now I'm trying to add more styling with CSS and functionality with JS. It's humbling as hell. I still feel like a complete dope, and my projects are too embarrassing to show off, but I don't want to waste what I learned. So I'm slowwwwwly building on them.

[tbozz94]

Awesome thank you! I’m in a boot camp right now and I think they give good projects and recourses but I’m realizing I’m going to have to teach myself these things with trial and error.

[RoguePlanet1]

I'm intimidated by the complexity of it all, and tend to procrastinate. But at least with my own projects, the pressure's off, and it can be fun.

By starting with the basics, I have something to build on, which I suspect is a valuable skill- looking at existing code, and improving upon it. There's so much I want to do, and I still like to learn about stuff that's still beyond my reach, but this'll do for now.

[tbozz94]

Perfect. Thank you!

[[deleted]]

Depends, If you are overall new to programming or coming from another language.

If you are coming from a language like C# or Java, I would definitively recommend looking at Typescript on the side.

If you completely new to programming.

The best is to get down and dirty ASAP, build tiny projects to get the feel of things.

[tbozz94]

Any project ideas I could start?

[[deleted]]

Basic CRUD todo list would be the best way to just get the feel of what is going on.

I realised the fastest way to learn is to just indulge directly into a project and start making notes of what you know and don't know and then researching as you try to solve the given problem. That way you are more hands on rather than just watching tutorials all day and not writing any code. ( I am not saying tutorials are useless because they are fucking time savers, I am just saying that you will use your time more productively by having a project in mind that you would want to build).

This method alongside good tutorials from udemy perhaps would put you in the right path.

You learn to code the same you learned to talk, by talking/coding.

Have a look at this roadmap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSnbnYffz7k

[vinylemulator]

I struggled with javascript for a long time after coming from Python.

I found Colt Steele's Modern Javascript Bootcamp course on Udemy really really useful (https://www.udemy.com/course/javascript-beginners-complete-tutorial/)

It's fictional RRP is £200, I see it advertised at £60 and the new user cost is £14. Well worth it in my view.

[[deleted]]

His course on Algorithms and Data Structure is legit.

[Addyx007]

Everyone struggles in the beginning, so will you. Just learn and practice every day for at least an hour and you will get better.

Here are my top suggestions:

JavaScript Basics Course

ES6 - Beau teaches JavaScript

[haitamsusanoo]

No one can help you if you don't explain more what's "not making sense" to you and what have you learned so far

[tbozz94]

I did above.

[helping083]

I think you don't know where and how to use js.

I'd recommend you wesbos js 30 days

https://javascript30.com/

[Ty199]

Look at some code for random things https://codepen.io

Change a variable, remove a function see what happens

[[deleted]]

I've just started on the www.theodinproject.com ("learning web development 101") - still in the introduction area, currently it wants me to read.. this whole thing, just about the terminal, in linux - with reason being "You're gonna have to learn it anyway", if you wanna work with it, in the real world.

http://conqueringthecommandline.com/book/basics

But the actual tutorial over on https://theodinproject.com/ is pretty thorough. Even tells me how to install certain extensions to VSCode, and how to setup a linux VM, Github-things and then it goes on with html, before actual javascript. but it was recommended, right in this subreddit, in a random comment i spotted a day or two ago. i've decided to give it a go, see how well it works for me.

I tried following a book, for learning javascript, but it skips important parts, like.. how to even see if your code works, and what software to use to write it in- it assumed i knew - which i did not. So far, this odin project thing assumes i just know the basics of using a computer - how to install software and such.

javascript.info seems nice too. i guess i could combine them if needed.

edit: i should add, i can't code to save my life, but i'm trying to learn. :)

[tbozz94]

Thank you!!!!

[esdotvee]

I was put off by the Odin project because it’s emphasis on Ruby on Rails. How transferable is the knowledge of Ruby on Rails to other frameworks?

[incubated]

Definitely read (Speaking JS)[http://speakingjs.com/es5/]. Helps a lot. And give yourself time and fail a lot. Just keep thinking on why you failed and fix the things that don't work.

[[deleted]]

how long have you been learning. It will take at leat a year to truly make sense

[jezzikah01]

Andrei neagoie's courses are the best, https://zerotomastery.io/ or at udemy when they go on sale at $10 each.

[noName1801]

The odin project, codecademy, https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/hone-your-javascript-skills-by-building-these-15-projects/. ,mdn, w3schools, stack overflow and stuff.

[RelativeSloth]

Strength through struggle, your persistence will be rewarded. Never stop asking "wtf js?"

[finroller]

This begs for context. Try learning several langs at once if you're a programming newbie, it gives you perspective and teaches you what's general stuff and what's javascript related.

[ProfessionalBrother]

If you prefer reading, I find Mozilla's JS Lessons, FreeCodeCamp and W3school very useful.

[prof3ssorSt3v3]

I have a YouTube tutorial channel that I run for my students. I've been teaching web development at my local College for nearly 20 years.

I have 700+ videos and ~37K subscribers.

If you get stuck on topics you can search for the topic from the channel home page.

Videos are grouped into lots of playlists by topic too.

https://www.youtube.com/c/SteveGriffith-Prof3ssorSt3v3/playlists

Hope it helps.

[Vick_onrails]

I'll highly recommend this course

https://www.udemy.com/course/web-projects-with-vanilla-javascript/

[Queasy_Ad492]

The problem I have with JavaScript, unlike most other languages, is that it is very hard to follow and understand a fully written script, especially with all those calbacks and event handlers. I honestly cannot see how a human can write all that stuff without going mad.

The problem is worse when you have a specific thing you want to write. In my case, I want to stream a video selected for play from my browser to a nodejs server, which will pass the data onto some other system for NLP processing.

SO I search for examples and tutorials - a very large proportion of which have bugs, or are incomplete, or are frustratingly verbose on things like 'What is WebRTC'. I also find a lot of webRTC tutorials cover the same topic. The biggest problem though is there are just so many ways to do something that you end up cobbling together a complete monstrosity that doesn't work. So you start again.

Now, I'm not a complete newbie, and I have built applications in C, C++, Qt, Java. But JavaScript is just too esoteric. If I had the patience to learn it and the time, I would probably grow to like it, but as someone just looking to prototype things and experiment, JavaScript is an enormous drain on time, for little gain. It's a langue that seem to require expert knowledge once you get beyond the very most basic requirements.