How to Learn JavaScript from Scratch

Before we dive in, it’s essential to understand what JavaScript is first. JavaScript is a programming language that has evolved significantly over time. It is a client-side language most commonly used in browsers to perform web-based things but can be used to perform server-side tasks too. Although it’s just used to make dynamic pages and interact with users, JavaScript can do numerous things in a more simple way than other programming languages.

Prerequisites for JavaScript:

Before starting with JavaScript, you should make sure that you are familiar with HTML and CSS. 

Moreover, you can use JavaScript on a computer, tablet, or any other device on which you create files. This can be done by using online coding programs such as JSBin or Glitch.

We are also going to use math that will include combining numerical digits and operators so you must have knowledge of that as well.

How to Learn JavaScript

Learning JavaScript can be a hard task initially. Whether you are just getting started, or you are an experienced programmer, due to the vastness of this language, you might not be able to figure out where to start.

JavaScript is different from other computer programming languages because it can be used on both the client-side, and the server-side. Other programming languages just have the ability to do one of these things.

Getting Started

There isn’t a fixed point to start, in fact, it pretty much depends on what you are trying to do. So this article will impart sufficient knowledge to such an extent that you are able to get started with your JavaScript journey. As mentioned earlier, there are two sides to JavaScript; 

• Client Side
• Server Side

The client-side, also referred to as the front end, is used more often as it performs the task of interacting with the client through web pages. Although it may seem that the client-side is pretty widespread, it mainly falls into three categories which are; Angular, React, and Vue. 

The server-side is also known as the back end. You can run JavaScript directly on your server, and Node.Js is one of the most popular examples of doing that. A commonly used example is when you log in to a website; as soon as you press the ‘login’ button, after entering your username and password, you are sending a request to the server. The server checks the validations and authentication the same way we do it using the Node.Js. There are numerous server-side frameworks, with JS server-side framework being the most popular.

Learning JavaScript

JavaScript can be learned in two ways:

• Learning JavaScript from scratch
• Starting off with a framework

Before you get into a framework though, I recommend you have some knowledge of the basics.

Where Should You Start?

To figure out where to start, consider the following things:

• Whether you’re a beginner, or experienced in other programming languages. A proficient programmer might be able to jump right into the framework and understand syntax and the inner workings much easier.
• Your learning style. You might be the person that likes to understand things thoroughly step by step, or, you might prefer to jump right into the process.
• Whether you want to learn to make a website or an application. A website is different from an application because, in an application, you are only supposed to provide a view to users. This means that the users are only able to see the content related to them. With a website, however, some of the admin users get the ability to edit some of those things.
• Your goals. Your goals make you curious to learn and in that case, you might just run into the framework from the start.
  

Thinking about all of these aspects will help you understand whether you should start with the front end or with the back end.

The Best Platform to Learn JavaScript

I learned JavaScript as a student at Microverse, an online coding school for software developers globally, and believe it’s the best platform to do so. Microverse enables you to learn both ways, and provides a great foundation so you can easily and efficiently understand JavaScript.

Their method of teaching is second to none in the world. Throughout your learning, you understand how to use these modules, go through examples, practice, check your knowledge through assignments, then, you’re given a project to complete. All of these aspects play an important role in helping make you a full stack developer.

Regardless of how you learn JavaScript, it’s important you develop a strong grasp of this language. To do so, ensure you understand all the concepts of JavaScript. You can test this by performing tasks like making a proper game in JavaScript by using the front end through the database connectivity. For example, when you are browsing for products on e-commerce stores like Amazon or eBay, the displayed results are shown from the server to the front end. Initially, nothing is on the front end, everything is present on the server.

In Conclusion

As you can see, there simply isn’t a standard way to learn JavaScript. It really depends on your experience level, learning style, what you’re building, and your goals. So if you’re trying to fully understand JavaScript and become a software developer, I recommend you look into Microverse.

Photo by Alvaro Reyes on Unsplash