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Lisa Ess
7,193 PointsA question about the course order for Front End Development Track
I am curious about this. I learned a bit of HTML, and then a bit of CSS, and now the next series in the Track is JavaScript.
I mean, it's cool because it gives me a glimpse of what all is involved, but I feel like I am jumping ahead instead of really developing the HTML/CSS stuff.
Is there a purpose to this that I am missing? Or would I be better off grabbing a few more HTML/CSS courses so I don't lose what I learned there while trying to wrap my brain around a new language?
Did anyone else feel like this was too much newness at once? Or did it actually help you to get the basics in all 3 down before learning more?
I just wonder if there is an intentional purpose behind the ordering of it that I am missing.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts. :)
3 Answers
Anjali Pasupathy
28,883 PointsHTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the languages used for developing the structure, appearance, and interactivity of a website respectively. These three aspects of a website could be taught as courses in and of themselves, but they don't act independently of one another. JavaScript can be used to change the structure and appearance of a website based on how the user interacts with the website by adding, removing, and changing both HTML elements and CSS styling. For example, suppose you have a website that shows a question and its answer right below it, and you want the answer to be hidden unless the user clicks on the space where the answer will appear. You can do this by using JavaScript to create an element that sits on top of the answer, and associating that element with a function that hides the element when the user clicks on it. You need to know HTML to create that element and put that element in the proper place so it covers up the answer. I started on the JavaScript track before I took any HTML or CSS courses, and I learned quite a bit of both HTML and CSS from that track. Because of this, I think learning these three languages together is better than trying to learn them separately. The structure, appearance, and interactivity of a website are all related and can all affect each other, so learning all three languages together can help you build your understanding of how these aspects of a website, as well as the languages associated with them, interact.
Lisa Ess
7,193 PointsThanks! I appreciate your thoughts.
You're right in that they're not similar enough to be major problems. It's just that (with the exception of HTML) it's all new enough to just start to turn into SYMBOLS! NUMBERS! STUFF! in my brain at various points.
I am still working through it and doing pretty okay on my quizzes and code challenges, so I guess this is more just me worrying than anything else. :)
Anjali Pasupathy
28,883 PointsYou're welcome!
And it's alright! You're learning a few new languages, and everyone has different patterns of learning. Do what works best for you! And try out coding things beyond what the quizzes and challenges give you - I know I learn a lot more experimenting with code on my own than I do when I just try out the challenges. And when you get deep enough into coding, you'll start to notice a lot of patterns that most code uses, which will in turn make it easier to learn a new coding language. It's a lot of fun once you get the hang of it, and it's even more fun just learning all the things you can do with a computer!
Joel Bardsley
31,258 PointsDon't forget that you always have the option of switching to the web design track at any time if you decide to master HTML/CSS before taking on JavaScript, then switch back once you're ready.
Lisa Ess
7,193 PointsI actually took Joel's advice and switched to web design to solidify my HTML/CSS skills a little more before moving on to adding more JavaScript in the mix. :)
Anjali Pasupathy
28,883 PointsSounds good! I hope that works out for you! (:
Lisa Ess
7,193 PointsLisa Ess
7,193 PointsThat makes sense. I just find it's sometimes like trying to learn French, Italian, & Portugese at the same time; they all have a common root, but they differ just enough to make it hard to keep them straight in my head, if that makes sense?
Anjali Pasupathy
28,883 PointsAnjali Pasupathy
28,883 PointsThat's understandable. I'm currently learning Esperanto and Catalan at the same time, and I've previously learned Spanish, so I often get things mixed up there. But I don't think HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are similar enough to cause that sort of problem. They're all structured very differently, and they all do different things. In my time studying here, I've found that the places where the three languages overlap are places where you have to switch between writing one language or another - for example, writing CSS in the style tags in an HTML document, or writing a string in JavaScript that contains HTML formatting because you want to insert that string into an HTML document. If mixing up the three languages does become a problem for you, perhaps you can switch to the Web Design track (which has some overlap with the HTML and CSS in the Front End track) or the Full Stack JavaScript track (which has a lot of overlap with the JavaScript in the Front End track) until you get the hang of the language you're learning.