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JavaScript is one of the main tools of web development and together with HTML and CSS, we use them to build websites and web applications. There are hundreds of thousands of resources out there on the internet and just finding the right ones can be so overwhelming that you might as well not going to start at all.
This following resources I'm going to list below are the ones that have helped me to learn JavaScript. Not only I will show you the list of these resources, but also how I utilize it to learn this programming language effectively.
The best part? All of them are free so no need to take a credit card out of your pocket!
1. YouTube
The first thing that I do before everything else when I want to know any new concepts of programming is watching YouTube videos. YouTube has tons of coding videos ranging from one short video to full-course playlist.
In my case, I watched JavaScript Crash Course For Beginners by Traversy media because he is good at breaking difficult concepts into a simple and easy to digest information. Plus, I want to learn basic enough to get started playing around and this video provides me with exactly what I hoped for.
I also like to see how JavaScript is done in action instead of reading since I am a visual learner. When I finish watching the tutorial, I keep the resource codes for future reference and I rarely delete them because there's no telling when I'm going to need it.
2. MDN Web Docs
The second place to go when I want to learn more about the JavaScript is MDN Web Docs a.k.a the official documentation of JavaScript. MDN Web Docs (previously Mozilla Developer Network) provides everything all the information what there is to know about JavaScript. There is no denying that reading documentation can be very boring, but some coding issues can be solved if you spare a few minutes to read through the documentation.
Now here's how I read the documentation: First, I don't read the entire documentation - it's way too big for anyone to read and they update it regularly. Second, I read them the way how I read the product manuals. So for example, if I don't know what querySelectorAll is and how it works, I'll look up the docs, read about it, test it in my editor and that's it.
While reading the documentation is good for learning in-depth about JavaScript, I think it's best to spend your time practice writing codes as this will let you retain the information for much longer.
3. W3Schools
When I need to refresh the knowledge or forgot the syntax for the hundredth time, the quickest way is head over W3Schools. What I love about W3Schools is how short and concise their tutorial is. With plenty of examples to help you get a better understanding of how certain JavaScript features works and an online text editor to experiment those said features, it is a great resource for those who want to get straight to the point.
I've used W3Schools extensively and it served as the foundation for my early projects. In my opinion, it is one of the best resources for absolute beginners.
4. JavaScript.info
Sometimes the concepts of JavaScript can be too complicated to wrap my head around and neither MDN nor W3Schools is enough to clear whatever confusions I had at the moment. Whenever this happens, the next place I look for clues is JavaScript.Info.
What's the cool thing about this website is the way how they explain the concepts. They make full use of analogies and illustrations that make the concepts easier to visualize it which in turn helps you to see the concepts in a new light.
JavaScript.info is my go-to resources when I need more clarification about the JavaScript features. So if you had a hard time understanding anything related to JavaScript, then JavaScript.info might be the key to your problem.
5. FreeCodeCamp
What if I want to practice JavaScript but I don't have an idea for the project yet and I don't want to solve the never-ending algorithm problems in hacking platforms? Well, this is where FreeCodeCamp comes in. FreeCodeCamp has many challenges that allow you to practice what you've learned from tutorials.
When I got stuck, I would ask for help on the community forums. The folks there will not give you the answers directly, but rather the directions and guidance which will help you to come up the solutions on your own. These approaches will make you develop problem-solving skills which are a huge plus for any developers to possess.
What to do if you don't understand the concepts after going through the resources?
At this point, if I went over more than three resources and I still didn't understand the concept, then I will ask questions to the community on Twitter using the #CodeNewbie hashtag. This is because I have developed a blind spot and there's no way I would notice the missing pieces until someone pointed out to me.
It is very important to ask the questions as most tutorials and resources will teach you about the whats and hows of the concepts, however, they rarely teach you about whys or when to use the concepts and you can only find the answers to these questions by asking fellow developers.
Conclusion
In this article, we go over 5 resources for learning JavaScript and a bit of how I use it to get the most of these resources.
- YouTube - to learn new concepts
- MDN Web Docs - to learn more details about JavaScript
- W3Schools - to refresh the JavaScript concepts
- JavaScript.info - to clarify more JavaScript concepts in case MDN and W3Schools wasn't enough
- FreeCodeCamp - to practice JavaScript what we learned from the tutorials
I hope you find this article helpful and wish you the best in your journey of learning JavaScript and programming in general.
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