Trouble with jquery/javascript

Abram;

Well, I would suggest taking the information you have learned already between your reading and Treehouse courses and trying to expand upon them.

For example, the Creating a Simple Drawing Application in the jQuery Basics Course has room for enhancement. Or explore some of the additional jQuery UI widgets and incorporate them into a web site. Spend some time on the Mozilla Developer's Network for JavaScript and see if there is something that peaks your interest in terms of functionality. There are some beginner, intermediate, and advanced tutorials there which are worth a look.

In terms of additional resources, there are tons out there online and in print format. I would caution, however, that before you spend a lot of money on hard print books to really take a look at them for their level. Getting a book that is too advanced or too basic can be frustrating. One of the books I picked up after going through the Treehouse courses on JavaScript was JavaScript & jQuery: The Missing Manual. One of the things I really enjoy about this particular book is that it covers JavaScript and jQuery across a broad range of levels. While it is not, perhaps, the best reference for well seasoned programmers, I am sure they would learn something from it as well. Also, and I really am not trying to make this sound like a sales pitch for him, the book is written by Treehouse's Dave McFarland and as such the writing style is very similar to that found in the Treehouse videos. For me it is a benefit to have that continuity.

There are obviously lots of other printed resources out there, but read the reviews, sample pages, etc. to make sure you are not wasting your money.

Hope it helps,

Ken

I'm not sure where the problem may be coming from, but I'd consider that maybe you're doing too much studying and not enough implementing. Focus more on making things and less on reading or watching videos.

I had this kind of a problem starting out.

Get a really good IDE (webstorm rocks!) and learn how to debug in your IDE & in the browser.

Avoid shorthand techniques until you get it down. Because JavaScript is a very "loose" language it's easy to fall into the traps of bad practice. Once you get it down THEN learn how to optimize and refractor.

I'm not sure if you are having trouble with the general concepts, or if it's more of an implementation thing. In my case it was both. JavaScript is difficult for many people to grasp. I know developers with years of experience in compiled languages who have trouble with it at first. You really just have to get your hands dirty and make mistakes, to learn how to get it right.

I started with jQuery, but I felt like I was guessing most of the time. Then I started looking up sites on "JavaScript best practices" and learned little by little how to implement in real applications. The main things I see people struggle with over and over are Closure, loops, and returning properly.

Just practice and read, man. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

I was looking for this last night when I answered this question, but I was on my phone and couldn't find it. This is a really good guide IMO to understanding how to design your JavaScript, and it clears up a lot of confusion. There are many paths, however some are just "bad."

JavaScript Style Guide

Let me know if this helps!

Jarrod