JavaScript is Sexy

If you’re delving into the world of programming, especially on your own, it can feel a bit overwhelming.  It’s hard to know where to even begin.

Luckily, thousands of programmers, coders and child geniuses who have gone before us have left sweet maps and signs along the path to guide us forward to our goal.  Remember, we’re never lost.  Sometimes we just need a good map and we’re back on course.

If you’re following along with me and currently learning JavaScript, I highly recommend you check out JavaScript is Sexy – How to Learn JavaScript Properly.  The site has a lot of great information on JavaScript and several JavaScript frameworks such as Backbone.js, Handlebars.js and Node.js, and I am finding their 6-8 week guideline to be a great resource for studying JavaScript.  Properly.

Read through the guide and see what it involves.  I think you’ll be surprised at how straight-forward it is.  Will we be JavaScript geniuses after it completing it?  Probably no.  But we’ll be getting a huge amount of information jammed into our craniums quickly, and this provides a strong base to grow from.

Based on their recommendations, I am working through JavaScript: The Definitive Guide.  See if your local library has this or other JavaScript books.  Also, yes, I’m going slower than the 6-8 week map JavaScript is Sexy provides, but we’re all busy people, right?  The goal is continuous forward motion.

Project Euler

Okay, I’m geeking out a bit over this bit.  If you enjoy logic, problem solving and a healthy amount of maths (which is a strong possibility since you’re interested in coding), check out Project Euler.  This site has hundreds of mathematics problems puzzles that you solve using your coding knowledge.  The puzzles are pretty intense for a noob, and even the beginning ones take a decent amount of programming language knowledge to complete.  Please note: I am in no way a math genius.  I think I pulled a high C in my Calculus class, and not for lack of trying.  If you don’t dream in numbers, you can still enjoy these puzzles.

If you can conceptualize a way to solve the puzzle, you can research the means to accomplish it using the code of your choice.  And this is a good thing.  I have learned a lot of JS code and shortcuts through researching how to, for instance, turn a Number into a String and then reverse that String.  Just start at the beginning and you’ll quickly learn how to write a simple code to print out the numbers 1-10.

In closing

Enjoy yourself.  Take breaks when you need or want.  If you aren’t having fun, you’re doing it wrong.  And if you have any suggestions for other JavaScript guides that work for you, please let me know.