best way to get up to speed with javascript and js frameworks

boardie100

hey all,

Just wondering if anyone could give me advice on the best way to pick up javascript at a quick enough pace?... I've used the dojo js framework for a project before and was reasonably successful with it but the project was kind of thrown at me having no JS experience before, i managed to just about get by with minimal basic JS.

I've like to go back to square one so to say and try learn the basic language first to give me a good footing in the future....
whats the best way to go about this?..
Would open source projects be an idea?.. or is a matter of hacking away in JSfiddle

bpmurray

Teaching is a great way to learn - mentor at your local CoderDojo.

AnLonDubh

Reading "Speaking Javascript", it removes a lot of bad practice and warns one of the pitfalls in the language.

Talisman

If you haven't learned JavaScript by now you could save yourself some hassle and learn TypeScript. TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript and transcompiles to JavaScript which you can run in current browsers. The benefit of skipping the current JavaScript (or ECMA Script 5 to give it it's standard name) is that TypeScript has been aligned with the features of the next version of the language (ECMA Script 6) which is due for release in June 2015.

boardie100

Talisman wrote: »

If you haven't learned JavaScript by now you could save yourself some hassle and learn TypeScript. TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript and transcompiles to JavaScript which you can run in current browsers. The benefit of skipping the current JavaScript (or ECMA Script 5 to give it it's standard name) is that TypeScript has been aligned with the features of the next version of the language (ECMA Script 6) which is due for release in June 2015.

hi there, thanks for the advice but in terms of jobs i think Javascript is what i need to learn at the moment.... i havent heard typescript being sought after in many job descriptions... I probably should have said i would like to change jobs at some stage!

Talisman

It's your choice but I think you'd be very foolish to ignore TypeScript simply because you hadn't previously heard of it. If you are looking for a job in JavaScript then it makes sense to learn TypeScript. TypeScript is JavaScript now with features that JavaScript will have as standard later this year. Learning TypeScript is future proofing your skillset - in the process you will learn JavaScript because TypeScript encompasses it. And when JavaScript has the additional features you won't need to learn them.

AngularJS developed by Google, is one of the most widely used JavaScript frameworks. The current version 1.3 uses standard JavaScript (ECMAScript5). The 2.0 release will use AtScript. AtScript is actually a superset of TypeScript, and uses the exact same type and class syntax as TypeScript. You will be able to write an Angular 2.0 application in ECMAScript5 if you like. However, Google aren't recommending it.

Bottom line: Knowing TypeScript will give you an advantage over those that haven't kept their skills up to date. If you can put TypeScript on your CV, you can also put JavaScript on it.

Ludo

So is the official TypeScript website the best place for learning TypeScript? Can you recommend any other resources or does it cover it all in a decent way?

boardie100

interesting.... im actually in the middle of some angular courses so thanks for the heads up....

Talisman wrote: »

It's your choice but I think you'd be very foolish to ignore TypeScript simply because you hadn't previously heard of it. If you are looking for a job in JavaScript then it makes sense to learn TypeScript. TypeScript is JavaScript now with features that JavaScript will have as standard later this year. Learning TypeScript is future proofing your skillset - in the process you will learn JavaScript because TypeScript encompasses it. And when JavaScript has the additional features you won't need to learn them.

AngularJS developed by Google, is one of the most widely used JavaScript frameworks. The current version 1.3 uses standard JavaScript (ECMAScript5). The 2.0 release will use AtScript. AtScript is actually a superset of TypeScript, and uses the exact same type and class syntax as TypeScript. You will be able to write an Angular 2.0 application in ECMAScript5 if you like. However, Google aren't recommending it.

Bottom line: Knowing TypeScript will give you an advantage over those that haven't kept their skills up to date. If you can put TypeScript on your CV, you can also put JavaScript on it.

Talisman

Depending on where you're coming from in terms of development background, here's a list of resources. There isn't an all encompassing resource for learning TypeScript, it's an extension of JavaScript and it's assumed you already know the JavaScript language.

JavaScript resources:
YouTube: Douglas Crockford Lectures on JavaScript
OReilly: Speaking JavaScript
Leanpub: JavaScript Allongé
Leanpub: JavaScript Spessore
OReilly: Programming JavaScript Applications

TypeScript resources:
Anders Hejlsberg: Introducing TypeScript
DefinitelyTyped
InfoQ: TypeScript for C# Programmers
SyncFusion: TypeScript Succinctly
Videos on Channel 9
Codebelt Archive for TypeScript
Tutsplus: Getting Started with TypeScript

If you have a Tutsplus or Pluralsight subscription they have a few videos available.
Tutsplus: Easier JavaScript With TypeScript
Tutsplus: Getting Started with TypeScript
Pluralsight: TypeScript Fundamentals
Pluralsight: Using TypeScript for Large AngularJS Applications