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Greg L Gomez
11,913 PointsJavaScript Foundations.. Practical work?
I've just started on the JavaScript Foundations, and I'm wondering if there's any practical work in this module?
I've found the module incredibly hard to absorb simply because none of the concepts are practically applied.
I guess what I'm trying to say is the course is great at explaining what JavaScript is, but so far has failed to enlighten how and why to use JavaScript in any practical way, therefore dramatically decreasing the likely hood that I'll remember or know how to apply any of it!
4 Answers
geoffrey
28,736 PointsSame feeling shared here, but at the same time, I guess the treehouse team did it intentionally as the others JS tutorials focused mostly on using the Jquery framework. Maybe they provide it as base, and consider that's enough knowledge to work after with framework such as Jquery !
However, I'd like on my side to be able to verify forms and such things with pure JS before jumping into a framework. Just because I want to be sure to 'master' it enough, but It's known JS isn't easy at all. So that would take probably a lot of time.
Otherwise, I've just seen there was another JS introduction planned in the roadmap, maybe It's going to fill our needs. There is no release date though.
Alessandro Elkan
Courses Plus Student 7,447 PointsI agree, they should give you examples of when and how to use it. When it comes to JS they make it look so easy, but when I try to do it its like I have writer's block
geoffrey
28,736 PointsThank you for your message, it enlights me a bit.
Honestly, I'm nearly done with the Javascript introduction and I had already seen most of those basis. The question now is the following one. Do you think knowing those JS basis is enough to use after a framework such as Jquery or even Angular after ?
I mean is it necessary to know how to check as exemple forms in pure JS before using any framework ? I asked already the question in a previous post, but I would like to have your opinion, your advice, as you seem to be an experienced coder with JS.
Thank you.
Constantijn Asamoah
8,820 PointsI agree with Gregorio,
I understand that JavaScript is a hard language to teach, but the lessons are incredibly abstract and kind of hard to follow, because of it.
I'm passing the challenges, but I still have the feeling of not really knowing what it is I'm learning.
Some real world usage examples might be nice, without creating entire projects. Just so that I can make associations in my mind.
Dino Paškvan
Courses Plus Student 44,108 PointsDino Paškvan
Courses Plus Student 44,108 PointsThe problem with JavaScript is that implementations vary across different browsers. Even now, there are a lot of inconsistencies in certain DOM APIs. That's one of the reasons why the Treehouse team might've decided that you're better off with jQuery for such things.
What you call pure JavaScript can become very complex quickly and unless you're really familiar both with the DOM API quirks and JavaScript quirks, you'll be lost.
To be honest, I'm not sure if even an extensive collection of video tutorials can really give you a feel for JavaScript. If you're looking for some intro-level material, Marijn Haverbeke's Eloquent JavaScript is wonderful and also freely available here. After that Douglas Crockford's JavaScript: The Good Parts is always recommended but it can be a hard read if you don't have plenty of programming experience.
I've been programming in JavaScript in one form or another for almost ten years and I still manage to discover things that surprise/amaze/disappoint me every other day.
While the intro to JavaScript might seem a bit dry, there are certain rules you should follow if you want to avoid trouble, and it's hard to present those rules in an interesting fashion.