

Ask HN: Best resources for learning javascript? - dsawler

I should preface this by saying I have no programming knowledge, but am a designer looking to learn some new things, and mainly, to help my prototyping move along a bit quicker.<p>I tried reading and doing the exercises in Eloquent Javascript, but, it was a bit confusing for me even in Chapter 2.<p>I tried jQuery Fundamentals, even without js knowledge, as there was a "Javascript Basics" chapter -- I was lost right around "syntax basics".<p>I've read that the Lynda tutorials were bad. I can't find a review for the Think Vitamin js videos, and the Peep Code videos are strictly jQuery.<p>Anyone know of a video series?<p>Or, maybe since I get lost so early on in the process (ahem, chapter 2), I should start with another language?
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hendzen
For someone with your background, I would suggest O'Reilly's "Head First
JavaScript". It really assumes nothing.

As a counterpoint, most people on this site tend to recommend Crockford's
"JavaScript: The Good Parts". However, that book might be better coming from a
stronger programming background.

~~~
nextparadigms
Head First books are usually pretty goos for beginners, with a lot of pictures
to accompany the explanations.

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hayley
I found out after far too much time, that a huge part of my personal success
with a programming language is whether or not I "click" with its syntax. So my
previous attempts at learning javascript failed miserably because I just never
got over the syntax.

However, after getting into coffeescript (<http://jashkenas.github.com/coffee-
script/>) I've actually started to _enjoy_ doing javascript related
programming.

So you might take a look and see if its syntax appeals to you. The big
downside is that it assumes a prior knowledge of JS, so you'll still need
other resources to really learn what's possible with JS/CS.

And my even more niche advice is that, for me, what really built up my
momentum was to rewrite someone else's JS site in coffeescript. It's
definitely a roundabout way of learning, but I basically got to learn
coffeescript and javascript at the same time as I pored over this other
person's code line by line as I rewrote it.

I don't know how common my syntax "hang-up" is, but if you do start looking at
other languages, I would advise that you seek out sample programs so you can
get familiar with what the syntax looks like. And then pick the language that
makes the most sense to you even without any programming knowledge.

------
CyberFonic
JavaScript is rather tricky as a first language, it owes a lot of it's syntax
to C, C# and Java - so that presumes some prior programming chops.

I would suggest learning Python. It has far less syntax and the indentations
actually are logical if you think of them as sub-sections to the enclosing
section - as in structured writing.

If you do decide to give Python a try, have a look out for tutorials with
Turtle Graphics, it's nice to have early feedback. Since you are starting out
now, I recommend going straight to Python v3.x - BTW it works equally well on
Windows, Mac and Linux - so nothing to fear there.

~~~
dsawler
This is exactly what someone else keeps telling me. Time for me to listen, I
guess. Thanks!

