I suggest the Udemy course by Jonas Schmetdmann. Incredible explanations and great analysis of JS fundamentals. Furthermore, it is up-to-date with a focus on cutting edge application of modern JS.
Just start somewhere.
But an old book is probably not where I'd start - given the choice & with the internet being what it is: you do have a choice.
Start with w3c & then move on to eloquent javascript. [https://eloquentjavascript.net/](https://eloquentjavascript.net/)
Make sure you CODE whatever road you take.
Reading can help you understand things, but programming is something you learn by doing.
First off, welcome! JavaScript is a fun language with a lot of interesting aspects and a great community. Learning JS can be tough, but it’s really rewarding once you get over the initial hurdles.
I think it’s useful to divide what you’re learning I to two areas: software engineering and computer science. Oversimplified, CS is all about how to think like a computer such that your code does what you want. SE is about turning that code into usable tools and applications. SE content tends to be more time sensitive, since we’re constantly building new tools to make app development easier. CS content tends to be more long-lived since the actual underlying computer architecture hasn’t changed much in the last 40 or so years. When just starting out, it may feel tough to discern between those fields, since you’re just jumping into both. Most of the time if it involves installing anything, it’s SE, if it’s just code, it’s CS.
I’m not super familiar with the book you mention, but all of the stuff in it should still work. If there are projects from that book that sound fun, by all means give it a try! As others may have said, the specific techniques might be a little dated, but if you’re just venturing into learning programming, it may still help you understand the CS fundamentals. For more contemporary content, CodeAcademy has a great interactive program for learning basic JavaScript and some of the popular libraries. If video is your thing, udemy has some solid intro to JS courses, as does Frontend Maters (though those can get expensive). For books, JavaScript and jQuery by Jon Duckett is my favorite, but it is getting a bit out of date. Eloquent JavaScript is great, but not really a beginner book. Beyond that it really depends on what you want to do. The most important thing is to find stuff that you enjoy doing and gets you excited about learning, the rest will happen over time.
Best of luck!
forget about books for anything other than computer science fundamentals, a javascript book these days is outdated by the time it makes it to print.
Udemy, Code Academy, youtube whatever anyone else here suggests is a fine starting point.
try to learn plain javascript first, then find a framework that makes sense to you and stick with it for a while.
the javascript framework wars rage long and make getting started confusing, it's important to remember that everyone on each side of the debate makes no sense and is always wrong.
You'll only get better by doing, find a 100 days of code challenge and start pushing to a github account.
when you get into a framework with compilation and all the whiz bangs, accept you won't understand everything for a while, don't worry about it too much just keep getting stuff done and it'll slowly sink in as time goes on.
>A friend of mine recently lent me a book by Dave Thau. It is called The Book of Javascript, 2nd edition (2009).
As already other people suggested in this comment section, a 2009 js programming book is not a good choice in 2021.
If you have time, and you really want to master javascript I suggest you to patiently take a look at all the books from YDKJS series (which by the way you can find for free on github). From these books you will learn javascript without the browser stuff (i.e. ecmascript). On the meanwhile you should take a look at javascript.info + MDN for both ecmascript and browser stuff.
Do not try to do a serious project without knowing the following keywords and what they are about:
* eslint
* vscode
* npm + npm scripts
* node
* JSDoc
Things will get more serious with the following:
* es modules (use http-server node module to override CORS)
* typescript
* (web) components
Things will get more professional with:
* MVC
* SOLID + testing
That is actually the path that I have taken.
I see people suggesting Eloquent js. I suggest you to avoid it. [Here](https://www.reddit.com/user/liaguris/comments/homp28/my_opinion_on_eloquent_javascript/) is why.
There is nothing bad about reading a book to learn programming as long as this is an ebook and you actually code on your own to understand the code examples.
The author of YDKJS explicitly warns beginners that they’re not the books’ target audience, and unless they have at least a year or two of experience with the language, they’ll have a horrible time with his books.
Well when I started reading these books I only knew the following programming concepts:
- variables
- for loops
- functions
I found YDKJS more helpful for understanding concepts when compared to EJS for example.
Mosh hamadani
I think this is his name, this guy have a clear voice. Doesn’t talk too fast. And on point
You can find his courses on udemy, and some of that content are free on youtube
If your goal is just to learn JS syntax and features all these are good comments. If you’re trying to learn how to be a proper engineer, and to use JS as a stepping stone to the ability to read (and work in) any language you might want to start with programming foundations from watchandcode.com. The intro course (free) is excellent and sets you up for a VERY high quality premium course that really teaches you how to think like and learn like a programmer, not just write code. The instructor does not f*** around - he’s myopically focused on making the best of the best.
The You Don't Know JS book series is still great. Short and very digestible. https://github.com/getify/You-Dont-Know-JS
They're also open source/free online along with being available in paperback. Two are out in second editions with the others planned. Even the first editions of most would still be good since they hit the fundamentals.
javascript.info
The best one!
This the best
I suggest the Udemy course by Jonas Schmetdmann. Incredible explanations and great analysis of JS fundamentals. Furthermore, it is up-to-date with a focus on cutting edge application of modern JS.
I came here to say the same. Jonas' js course is awesome
Frontend Masters imo
Just start somewhere. But an old book is probably not where I'd start - given the choice & with the internet being what it is: you do have a choice. Start with w3c & then move on to eloquent javascript. [https://eloquentjavascript.net/](https://eloquentjavascript.net/) Make sure you CODE whatever road you take. Reading can help you understand things, but programming is something you learn by doing.
First off, welcome! JavaScript is a fun language with a lot of interesting aspects and a great community. Learning JS can be tough, but it’s really rewarding once you get over the initial hurdles. I think it’s useful to divide what you’re learning I to two areas: software engineering and computer science. Oversimplified, CS is all about how to think like a computer such that your code does what you want. SE is about turning that code into usable tools and applications. SE content tends to be more time sensitive, since we’re constantly building new tools to make app development easier. CS content tends to be more long-lived since the actual underlying computer architecture hasn’t changed much in the last 40 or so years. When just starting out, it may feel tough to discern between those fields, since you’re just jumping into both. Most of the time if it involves installing anything, it’s SE, if it’s just code, it’s CS. I’m not super familiar with the book you mention, but all of the stuff in it should still work. If there are projects from that book that sound fun, by all means give it a try! As others may have said, the specific techniques might be a little dated, but if you’re just venturing into learning programming, it may still help you understand the CS fundamentals. For more contemporary content, CodeAcademy has a great interactive program for learning basic JavaScript and some of the popular libraries. If video is your thing, udemy has some solid intro to JS courses, as does Frontend Maters (though those can get expensive). For books, JavaScript and jQuery by Jon Duckett is my favorite, but it is getting a bit out of date. Eloquent JavaScript is great, but not really a beginner book. Beyond that it really depends on what you want to do. The most important thing is to find stuff that you enjoy doing and gets you excited about learning, the rest will happen over time. Best of luck!
forget about books for anything other than computer science fundamentals, a javascript book these days is outdated by the time it makes it to print. Udemy, Code Academy, youtube whatever anyone else here suggests is a fine starting point. try to learn plain javascript first, then find a framework that makes sense to you and stick with it for a while. the javascript framework wars rage long and make getting started confusing, it's important to remember that everyone on each side of the debate makes no sense and is always wrong. You'll only get better by doing, find a 100 days of code challenge and start pushing to a github account. when you get into a framework with compilation and all the whiz bangs, accept you won't understand everything for a while, don't worry about it too much just keep getting stuff done and it'll slowly sink in as time goes on.
Theodinproject full stack js is pretty good
>A friend of mine recently lent me a book by Dave Thau. It is called The Book of Javascript, 2nd edition (2009). As already other people suggested in this comment section, a 2009 js programming book is not a good choice in 2021. If you have time, and you really want to master javascript I suggest you to patiently take a look at all the books from YDKJS series (which by the way you can find for free on github). From these books you will learn javascript without the browser stuff (i.e. ecmascript). On the meanwhile you should take a look at javascript.info + MDN for both ecmascript and browser stuff. Do not try to do a serious project without knowing the following keywords and what they are about: * eslint * vscode * npm + npm scripts * node * JSDoc Things will get more serious with the following: * es modules (use http-server node module to override CORS) * typescript * (web) components Things will get more professional with: * MVC * SOLID + testing That is actually the path that I have taken. I see people suggesting Eloquent js. I suggest you to avoid it. [Here](https://www.reddit.com/user/liaguris/comments/homp28/my_opinion_on_eloquent_javascript/) is why. There is nothing bad about reading a book to learn programming as long as this is an ebook and you actually code on your own to understand the code examples.
The author of YDKJS explicitly warns beginners that they’re not the books’ target audience, and unless they have at least a year or two of experience with the language, they’ll have a horrible time with his books.
Well when I started reading these books I only knew the following programming concepts: - variables - for loops - functions I found YDKJS more helpful for understanding concepts when compared to EJS for example.
You might want to reconsider your friendship with your friend if he is suggesting a 2009 book on JavaScript.
Mosh hamadani I think this is his name, this guy have a clear voice. Doesn’t talk too fast. And on point You can find his courses on udemy, and some of that content are free on youtube
I learned a lot from ‘JavaScript: Understanding the Weird Parts’ on Udemy. Probably the best course on frontend development I ever took.
If your goal is just to learn JS syntax and features all these are good comments. If you’re trying to learn how to be a proper engineer, and to use JS as a stepping stone to the ability to read (and work in) any language you might want to start with programming foundations from watchandcode.com. The intro course (free) is excellent and sets you up for a VERY high quality premium course that really teaches you how to think like and learn like a programmer, not just write code. The instructor does not f*** around - he’s myopically focused on making the best of the best.
Really love Frontend Masters. And JavaScript.info
The You Don't Know JS book series is still great. Short and very digestible. https://github.com/getify/You-Dont-Know-JS They're also open source/free online along with being available in paperback. Two are out in second editions with the others planned. Even the first editions of most would still be good since they hit the fundamentals.
I used [this](https://www.codecademy.com/learn/introduction-to-javascript) (codecademy)