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Robert Donnelly
6,043 PointsGetting into node.js
OK, this is a very general question.
I would like to get into node.js to build a website/web app.
How would one get started?
As I said, a very general question! What kind of languages should I learn? What good resources are there for getting into this kind of development? From looking around, the Ruby journey seems to cover a lot of related topics (Javascript, git, etc.) but is that all I'd need?
1 Answer
Keri Nicole
15,134 PointsIt looks like you've done a fair bit of HTML/CSS on here already, so I'd definitely jump straight into JavaScript. From what I've read (because I, too, would like to get into Node.js), it's best to have a solid understanding of basic JS first (which obviously makes sense). This excerpt from an article I have saved is what has me holding off on Node.js until I feel I have a really good JS foundation.
Before digging into Node.js, you might want to read up on the benefits of using JavaScript across the stack which unifies the language and data format (JSON), allowing you to optimally reuse developer resources. As this is more a benefit of JavaScript than Node.js specifically, we won’t discuss it much here. But it’s a key advantage to incorporating Node in your stack.
From: http://www.toptal.com/nodejs/why-the-hell-would-i-use-node-js
This is also great, too, from: Is it possible to learn Node.js without knowing JavaScript?
This is like saying, "do I need to learn French to be able to sing French songs"? Well, you can just learn the words and how to say them, but you won't be able to make any French song yourself if you don't know French.
As for resources, the Front-End Developer Track here is a good start. There's some JavaScript and jQuery stuff in there that I really liked. You mentioned the Ruby Track, but that won't help you much if you're wanting to get into Node.js. They've added a few more JavaScript courses recently as well, so be sure to check in the Library for those. There's tons of free JavaScript lessons online, so do some searching around for those as well. You'll know when you have a good enough grasp on it and are ready to jump into Node.js or other possibilities out there.
Robert Donnelly
6,043 PointsThanks Keri, that's some great info! Every article I read seems to jump into setting up projects, using frameworks, installing Bower, Grunt, etc... and I just feel too overwhelmed.
You're absolutely right and I need to focus on improving my JS skills. The only reason I thought Ruby might be relevant is because I see it being an installation requirement for frameworks like Zurb's Foundation 5 SASS version. But if I can avoid it, I will. I know it's not a difficult language but I'd rather focus my attention on just one at the moment.
Again, thanks for the useful info and good luck with your own journey into the node.js abyss!
Keri Nicole
15,134 PointsI totally feel what you're saying. It seems like I could close my eyes, pick a word out of the dictionary, add .js to the end, and I've probably found yet another framework, library, etc. to look into! It does feel a bit overwhelming, but I feel okay knowing that once I've got JavaScript down, the rest should probably come pretty easily. I went through the Front-End Development Track and am almost finished with the Ruby Development Track. If I had to do it over again, I would have gone deeper into JS before jumping over to the Ruby stuff. I definitely intend to go back to focusing on JS soon so that I can really get into all the fun extras. :)
Thanks, and good luck to you too!
Robert Donnelly
6,043 PointsFollowing up on this, I've just started reading a book called Eloquent Javascript and I am floored by how good it is!
I despise text books, that kind of learning is just not my thing which is why Treehouse is such a good resource for me. But this book is fantastic, so straight forward and easy to read. It's final chapters even go into how Javascript is used in node.js, which I can't wait to get to. I've gone through countless JS lessons before so going through the basics at the start again and again have always been a bit of a chore, but not with this book.
I will, of course, be trekking through Treehouse's lessons but as I find it very hard to get away with watching videos in work, this book is the best thing to keep me going until I'm free in the evening.
I'm sure lots of people have read this already and find my revelation a bit outdated, but I can't recommend this enough! And the best part is that it's free to read online with a built-in JS sandbox.
Keri Nicole
15,134 PointsThanks for the follow-up, Robert! I've had Eloquent JavaScript downloaded for a couple of months now, but haven't really looked at it yet because, like you, I wasn't too pumped about learning from a text book. I'll definitely give it a better look now, as I've heard lots of good things and your recommendation has motivated me.
Harvey Ngo
4,164 PointsHarvey Ngo
4,164 PointsJavascript for sure.
It may be helpful to start with the Web Development track to quickly pick up some HTML/CSS foundations, otherwise you're probably fine just jumping straight into Javascript lessons here.