JavaScript: Taking Off the Training Wheels

JavaScript is the third pillar of front-end web development. Of those pillars, it is both the most powerful and the most complex, so it’s understandable that when 24 ways asked, “What one thing do you wish you had more time to learn about?”, a number of you answered “JavaScript!”

This article aims to help you feel happy writing JavaScript, and maybe even without libraries like jQuery. I can’t comprehensively explain JavaScript itself without writing a book, but I hope this serves as a springboard from which you can jump to other great resources.

Why learn JavaScript?

So what’s in it for you? Why take the next step and learn the fundamentals?

Confidence with jQuery

If nothing else, learning JavaScript will improve your jQuery code; you’ll be comfortable writing jQuery from scratch and feel happy bending others’ code to your own purposes. Writing efficient, fast and bug-free jQuery is also made much easier when you have a good appreciation of JavaScript, because you can look at what jQuery is really doing. Understanding how JavaScript works lets you write better jQuery because you know what it’s doing behind the scenes. When you need to leave the beaten track, you can do so with confidence.

In fact, you could say that jQuery’s ultimate goal is not to exist: it was invented at a time when web APIs were very inconsistent and hard to work with. That’s slowly changing as new APIs are introduced, and hopefully there will come a time when jQuery isn’t needed.

An example of one such change is the introduction of the very useful document.querySelectorAll. Like jQuery, it converts a CSS selector into a list of matching elements. Here’s a comparison of some jQuery code and the equivalent without.

$('.counter').each(function (index) {
  $(this).text(index + 1);
});

var counters = document.querySelectorAll('.counter');
[].slice.call(counters).forEach(function (elem, index) {
  elem.textContent = index + 1;
});

Solving problems no one else has!

When you have to go to the internet to solve a problem, you’re forever stuck reusing code other people wrote to solve a slightly different problem to your own. Learning JavaScript will allow you to solve problems in your own way, and begin to do things nobody else ever has.

Node.js

Node.js is a non-browser environment for running JavaScript, and it can do just about anything! But if that sounds daunting, don’t worry: the Node community is thriving, very friendly and willing to help.

I think Node is incredibly exciting. It enables you, with one language, to build complete websites with complex and feature-filled front- and back-ends. Projects that let users log in or need a database are within your grasp, and Node has a great ecosystem of library authors to help you build incredible things. Exciting!

Here’s an example web server written with Node. http is a module that allows you to create servers and, like jQuery’s $.ajax, make requests. It’s a small amount of code to do something complex and, while working with Node is different from writing front-end code, it’s certainly not out of your reach.

var http = require('http');
http.createServer(function (req, res) {
  res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/plain'});
  res.end('Hello World');
}).listen(1337);
console.log('Server running at http://localhost:1337/');

Grunt and other website tools

Node has brought in something of a renaissance in tools that run in the command line, like Yeoman and Grunt. Both of these rely heavily on Node, and I’ll talk a little bit about Grunt here.

Grunt is a task runner, and many people use it for compiling Sass or compressing their site’s JavaScript and images. It’s pretty cool. You configure Grunt via the gruntfile.js, so JavaScript skills will come in handy, and since Grunt supports plug-ins built with JavaScript, knowing it unlocks the bucketloads of power Grunt has to offer.

Ways to improve your skills

So you know you want to learn JavaScript, but what are some good ways to learn and improve? I think the answer to that is different for different people, but here are some ideas.

Rebuild a jQuery app

Converting a jQuery project to non-jQuery code is a great way to explore how you modify elements on the page and make requests to the server for data. My advice is to focus on making it work in one modern browser initially, and then go cross-browser if you’re feeling adventurous. There are many resources for directly comparing jQuery and non-jQuery code, like Jeffrey Way’s jQuery to JavaScript article.

Find a mentor

If you think you’d work better on a one-to-one basis then finding yourself a mentor could be a brilliant way to learn. The JavaScript community is very friendly and many people will be more than happy to give you their time. I’d look out for someone who’s active and friendly on Twitter, and does the kind of work you’d like to do. Introduce yourself over Twitter or send them an email. I wouldn’t expect a full tutoring course (although that is another option!) but they’ll be very glad to answer a question and any follow-ups every now and then.

Go to a workshop

Many conferences and local meet-ups run workshops, hosted by experts in a particular field. See if there’s one in your area. Workshops are great because you can ask direct questions, and you’re in an environment where others are learning just like you are — no need to learn alone!

Set yourself challenges

This is one way I like to learn new things. I have a new thing that I’m not very good at, so I pick something that I think is just out of my reach and I try to build it. It’s learning by doing and, even if you fail, it can be enormously valuable.

Where to start?

If you’ve decided learning JavaScript is an important step for you, your next question may well be where to go from here.

I’ve collected some links to resources I know of or use, with some discussion about why you might want to check a particular site out. I hope this serves as a springboard for you to go out and learn as much as you want.

Beginner

If you’re just getting started with JavaScript, I’d recommend heading to one of these places. They cover the basics and, in some cases, a little more advanced stuff. They’re all reputable sources (although, I’ve included something I wrote — you can decide about that one!) and will not lead you astray.

• jQuery’s JavaScript 101 is a great first resource for JavaScript that will give you everything you need to work with jQuery like a pro.
• Codecademy’s JavaScript Track is a small but useful JavaScript course. If you like learning interactively, this could be one for you.
• HTMLDog’s JavaScript Tutorials take you right through from the basics of code to a brief introduction to newer technology like Node and Angular. [Disclaimer: I wrote this stuff, so it comes with a hazard warning!]
• The tuts+ jQuery to JavaScript mentioned earlier is great for seeing how jQuery code looks when converted to pure JavaScript.

Getting in-depth

For more comprehensive documentation and help I’d recommend adding these places to your list of go-tos.

• MDN: the Mozilla Developer Network is the first place I go for many JavaScript questions. I mostly find myself there via a search, but it’s a great place to just go and browse.
• Axel Rauschmayer’s 2ality is a stunning collection of articles that will take you deep into JavaScript. It’s certainly worth looking at.
• Addy Osmani’s JavaScript Design Patterns is a comprehensive collection of patterns for writing high quality JavaScript, particularly as you (I hope) start to write bigger and more complex applications.

And finally…

I think the key to learning anything is curiosity and perseverance. If you have a question, go out and search for the answer, even if you have no idea where to start. Keep going and going and eventually you’ll get there. I bet you’ll learn a whole lot along the way. Good luck!

Many thanks to the people who gave me their time when I was working on this article: Tom Oakley, Jack Franklin, Ben Howdle and Laura Kalbag.