Hi. I have used javascript off and on for years now. Mostly off however. Code production, meaning, tweaks, more than creation. So let’s assume I can find a book or resource to get me up to speed with knowing what I need to know to be more than functional with the basics. I’ll go with Heads First or similar.
And on the pinned thread, I saw a very valuable resource of a site that has the libraries and a description. But let’s back up for a minute. How do you go about knowing that you need or could use a JS library or OOJS to solve your web page functionality in the first place? And once you know that, how do you go about finding the right library to use? Sorry if this question may come across as a bit too elemental, but while the world jumped into JS libraries, it left me behind with some of these basic questions needing an answer.
Finally, what are the best resources, online or off, to read about the various libraries. There are so many libraries now, isn’t there some oreilly book or similar that’s a beginners “best of JS libraries/frameworks” book, or “how to decide which library/framework is right for you?” I just typed that into google and I found some sites, but it’s funny that with all the reviews of frameworks, the author will not usually tell you WHY or WHEN you should use said framework - giving examples.
An important point to note is that you should distinguish between JS libraries (such as jQuery) and JS frameworks (such as Angular or Ember).
That said, let’s turn the question around.
What is it that you need or want to do?
There is such a plethora of JS libraries, plugins and frameworks available (not to even mention server-side JS), that your starting point will depend upon what you aim to accomplish.
My approach was to go to youtube.com and search for javascript frameworks and see what was popular and what people were saying about them. Some of them are in direct competition to each other like Angular and Ember. You can see my question about them here:
In that thread there is a link to another site which compares several frameworks.
Thanks for responding. It’s always funny to see the number of people reading the thread, but not responding.
To answer your questions - I don’t know yet. Right now, I simply want to learn them so that I can put yet something else down on my resume, feel confident in applying for certain jobs that I would otherwise might not consider applying for. Right now, this is simply about catching up. But in doing so, the question you ask is of course the question that I am asking myself as well.
I think at this point, I need to be made aware of what these frameworks/libraries can do. What the possibilities are and in some cases, the end results. Some examples. Then later, I may set out with an actual need. It’s similar to me talking about the website’s metrics to others in my organization. I have been steeped in the numbers already, and have come out the otherside, knowing very little more than when I first started looking. It’s only after I then ask a business needs question, and go into Google Analytics (for instance) looking for the answer that I come out of it with valuable knowledge gained. I try to tell that to all the business related people in my organization - that if they have a business needs-related question, that I can go into the analytics (or they can) and get the answer. But they are always stuck on first knowing what is in there to be discovered in the first place. They want to first establish what is the “baseline” and understand what is “normal”. And in spite of myself, in spite of knowing that that kind of approach is a bit of a fallacy, that’s exactly where I think I am with javascript frameworks/libraries right now. Yes, begin with an end in mind, but this is all so new to me that I need to start to know a bit about what it is that I know I don’t know. You know?
I would start by having a look at jQuery. It is by far the most popular library out there today.
Then I would start solving problems (for example by hanging out here) and see what tools are well suited to which job.
Sorry that there isn’t a magic answer to your question.
The best thing I can advise is to immerse yourself in JS by reading blog posts, reading books, watching videos, visiting forums, asking and answering questions and most importantly making stuff.
By doing this, you’ll be able to get a good idea of the current JS landscape.
right. thank you. So part of this is clearly finding tutorials on making stuff where you don’t need to first have a company’s resources and need backing you. again, thanks.