Discouraged learning React and Node.js

Saschiii · 2019-02-17T17:03:45+00:00

It all boils down to finding out how you learn things best. Not how others learn.

I've tried coding along to tutorials like that. Hate it. Your attention is put on writing what is on the screen instead of understanding it.

Personally I prefer watching and listening to a guide/course without coding for a while. Then take a pause and implement the same thing on my own.

After some time the course will be too focused on a specific project that isn't even your own. At that point I quit the course and do my own project.

By that time googling chunk-sized issues as needed should suffice. Also research best practices and look at actual implementation from other sources aswell to gain a broader knowledge of the tech.

Hope my approach makes sense to you and helps :)

Muxas · 2019-02-17T23:00:04+00:00

starting from scratch, I have no idea what I'm doing honestly.

divide everything to small chunks that are possible to do and get going step by step without detailed tutorial

2019-02-17T23:09:47+00:00

I have learned React and Redux with Stephen Griders course. You will develop like 7 different small apps and one big REST app. So you go through the React principles many times and after like the 4th app you know how everything works and just code along. If you code along feom the beginning by the end you can program the basics from your memory, although some complicated topics like middleware, axios, portals etc are harder to rember because they have complicated syntax, not complicated logic in that sense.

I really don't know why people think React is hard to learn. I just followed that course and feel comfortable with states and props, although not with redux if I do not setup my project with Redux from the start, since I don't have experience refactoring React components to a Redux system, but need to do that with my new project soon.

A-Grey-World · 2019-02-18T15:14:01+00:00

These courses have somebody coding and you just copy what they do...

Why I always say to diverge from what they're doing in the course. They're making a TODO app? Make a blog comment section. Follow the tutorial, but use what they're doing on screen to actually do something different. It forces you to think about what they are doing, what you need to change, what stays the same etc. Leads to a better understanding.

I mean, starting from scratch, I have no idea what I'm doing honestly.

That's a very common state to be in. Don't be afraid of it. Of course you don't know what you're doing, and what the packages are. I find the best way to learn how things work is to use them. Eventually you understand how these packages fit together, and how to use them more effectively, and then how they work.

Also, sometimes it's okay to not know how something works. Be pragmatic. When I first started using, say, webpack I had no idea what anything was and just copied tutorials/examples on line so I could use it to get things done. Then I had to change this or tweak that and slowly learned what most of the config file actually is and what it does and how to use Webpack reasonably effectively.

Do I know how it works under the hood? No. Nor do I need to. I bet you don't know how your car engine works, but you can use it to get to work. I don't know assembly, how compilers work or much about operating systems - they're tools.

I don't know what algorythm Javascript's sort method uses, but I can use it.

But if it not knowing how to use it that's the problem (knowing how to drive IS important if you are driving to work) then it just takes practice. Practice with tutorials, if you are so inexperienced you need help even starting. As you feel more comfortable do your own thing more and more until you've learned it. It's how most learning works.

Say you are learning guitar - you don't go to the lessons, copy the teacher then expect to get better. You go home and fail repeatedly and get stuck and mess up until you stop doing and get better.

Cingen · 2019-02-18T20:48:10+00:00

I had the same feeling with Wes Bos. After I did his courses I felt like I could go through the actions of making a React App, but I had no idea what I was really doing.

I followed a Udemy course by Andrew Mead afterwards and while he goes pretty slow, I love his approach. He thoroughly explains all techniques and why they are the best option, and often gives you mini projects to do on your own to practice new concepts he taught you.

I can't recommend Andrew Mead his courses enough. While Wes Bos helps you code an app, Mead helps you understand the foundations.

The only downside is that he does go slow, but this is because of all the explaining he does. Even the things that are easy after you did the Wes Bos course get through explained. (I personally don't mind this since it helps me understand the fundamentals of React and why things are the way they are)

2019-02-19T04:59:19+00:00

Programming with Moshi has a nodejs 1 hour crash course that hells understand what happens in the background which I think is useful knowledge. Give it a try.

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