
Ask YC: Learning Javascript (for non-programmers) - icey
I have a number of non-developers here that will be trying to learn some rudimentary Javascript over the next few months.<p>All the resources I have for Javascript are geared more towards people who are already developers.<p>Can anyone recommend good training materials for Javascript? I'd prefer videos or something interactive.<p>I already sent them:<p>http://www.juixe.com/techknow/index.php/2007/09/09/learning-javascript/<p>and http://www.intelligentedu.com/blogs/post/best_new_training_sites/3720/top-40-javascript-video-tutorials-on-youtube<p>But I'm looking for something a little more formal.<p>Videos that must be purchased are totally fine as well, as long as they're good.<p>There's already a copy of the Rhino book here, so that base has been covered.<p>Thanks!
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geuis
Javascript, the good parts by Douglas Crockford. Seriously, your guys need to
learn the fundamentals of JS before diving into dealing with the various DOM
api's. Then use jQuery for all your code. It will make your guys better
developers and make them happier

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icey
I was under the impression that _JavaScript: The Good Parts_ was directed more
at people who are currently developers. Was I mistaken?

They are just making the logical progression from doing straight HTML to doing
HTML & Javascript.

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geuis
That book is oriented at the language itself. My philosophy is to get new
folks started with the best info currently available.

Most people who dabble in javascript get confused and frustrated because they
don't have a foundational understanding of the language itself. Do a search on
Twitter for 'javascript' and you'll see this demonstrated every couple of
minutes. Remember, DOM API's are _not_ javascript. They are simply program-
level API's that make browser features available to the language.

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ph0rque
Can't recommend enough this resource: <http://eloquentjavascript.net/>

It's a little lacking in some of the details, but that's what the follow-on
resources are for.

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icey
This looks pretty decent; I'll send it on, thanks!

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brianto2010
<http://www.javascriptmall.com/learn/contents.htm>

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csomar
If they start with Jquery this would be better. JavaScript sucks, it's hard
and annoying to code it, but if you have the Jquery (or prototype) framework,
you can accelerate their learning and also increase productivity.

There's also books and a lot of tutorials on the web about Jquery. Try
jquery.com or google it

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geuis
Javascript as a language doesn't suck. For people that have no background in
the language itself and have only learned via messing with DOM api's, it can
be confusing because there are different implementations of those DOM api's.

The language itself is quite flexible, and its underpinnings are
different(prototypal) versus class-basesd.

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csomar
Sure Javascript doesn't sucks, but i'm not talking about the language, I'm
talking about Browser Compatibility. browsers (especially IE) sucks, and
javascript works on browsers...

