I'm just learning to code, and at 66, I'm only going to get one shot at this. I'm planning to do freelance web development, and I've spent the last 2 months listening to various programmers on RUclips to get a sense of what is going on rather than just start blindly. I don't know how I have missed you Chris, but when I found this video, I am very grateful. I'm learning html and css right now, and I know that I would have charged right on through JS and jumped right into the frameworks. Thank you for what you do and I'm looking forward to checking out everything you have available to learn from. Kudos to ya!!
Daniel Boles, there’s a video series (a few years old but still valid) out by Tony Alicea that you might be interested in (I was able to get it on Udemy for $10). YT videos are great but they can become all consuming.
Hello, sir. You've said that you are a beginner and have only one shot and want to explore big picture instead of going blindly. I think, you should really check out Harvard's CS50 course. It's a masterpiece of 101 (introductory) courses. You can access it freely on eDx (they used to also have a separate website, but I don't know how it works now). RUclips is great, but getting yourself introduced to the world of computer science through one of the best, if not the best, introductory university courses in the world is also a great opportunity) It's a bit challenging, but if you have an opportunity, I bet it will worth it. If you are not familiar with eDx, Coursera and alike, don't worry, those platforms are pretty easy to use. If you will choose to get yourself a solid foundation, to then be able to actually understand what are young doing and not just copy and paste from tutorials and Q&A websites, I recommend you to follow CS50 by Harvard with CS61a and CS61b from UC Berkeley. I believe you can go through all three in 6 month. It's all online for free. You can go without foundations and build things that work (and cost money), but it's a completely different experience when you actually understand what are you dealing with and how it works. For me, it's just a better way to spend my life. I hate feeling like a dumb monkey) More than that, once you grasp foundations, all other more specific things and new technologies will be much easier to grasp. So it probably will even save your time in the long run. Anyways, best luck with your programming journey)
Daniel Boles - it was good to see your comment. I am just few years younger and am considering doing the same. I was having doubts that I may not be young enough to start, but am glad to see there are others. I have intermediate HTML knowledge, so I am starting with filling up areas I am missing first and also CSS from scratch. Want to be able to first know how to construct things manually in HTML and CSS before I start using JS. After that will be JS from ground up. Someone suggested free CS classes and may look into that, but I know from past experience that I get little bored with theory, although I do understand the benefits. What I find appealing about coding is the immediate feedback. You can run whatever code you are working on to see it doing - or not doing - what it should. Kind of immediate gratification when it works, LOL.
@@glebkoshelev I tried them but the constan cheering (likea apple devotees cheering the latest iPhone) got a little bit too annoying for me.. if you can get past that then the CS50 vids will be useful but there are other sources to suit every learning style..
Perhaps... But the only TRUE way to learn JavaScript... Is to code in JavaScript! Indeed, one would be NUTS to code in assembler these days, but yet, it's universally accepted that assembler developers are some of the most powerful developers in the world, simply because they virtually speak in the native language of the CPUs. Perhaps JavaScript, being the native interpreted language in most web browsers, is also gaining a similar recognition... Nonetheless I for one am glad that I know Vanilla JavaScript... It gives me valuable insights into the inner workings of all those libraries and frameworks that are out there!
I'm honestly loving this. Not only the breakdown but the commentary as well. "Your mother... I shouldn't be doing that". LMAO what???! You have my subscription!
@@let_go429 LOL Me too! I was sure I couldn't have been the only one who loved that! If employers were to see the shit I test my code with, I would never be hired! lol!
I had a crappy understanding of JS, then as most of us went on to build several small projects, went into learning Angular and React (ridiculous), then I realized I truly need to lean JS , went back to it, and came up with ways to implement most of the React and Angular concepts with pure Javascript . I feel much more confident building small stuff in Javascript and it feels like I've been learning more about React and Angular by learning low level vanilla Javascript . A while ago I regretted wasting time learning Angular and React with a bad understanding of JS, but now I'm starting to see the benefits because it ended up becoming a puzzle in my head that I had to fill through learning basic JS to reconstruct the frameworks. I have no idea if this is a good advice for anyone
I did exactly the same thing! I skipped vanilla JS pretty much entirely and jumped in to JS frameworks. I got a job and I was (still am) very happy with how it turned out but recently I started to notice just how much I do not know about JS. At least for me it is pretty scary using something in work everyday then I don't really understand how it works. I have this fear that I might break something just because I do not understanding the fundamentals. So I started doing JS exercises, reading about less used functionality of JS and so on.
Exactly what im going through now. Thanks i feel better about all the long hours just me google and udemy react-angular courses. Finishing that portfolio. Can i get a job already lol.
Makes sense to me, might not be the most efficient to do it this way, but it's always good to go ahead and beyond your current understanding and then go back to the basics with more motivation and a clearer vision of where you want to go, what you really need and why you need it. "Use it before you know it" is actually good advice VS going tediously through all the fundamentals with no vision of what's further away in your learning. Jumping to more advanced stuff "prematurely" without having compled the required fundamentals (before going back to the them ) is kind of like teasing yourself so you get back to fundamentals with more purpose, drive and passion.
Skip Addition and Subtraction, go straight to Calculus. That's pretty much what happened. Your trying to learn a framework without knowing the base level itself. You did good going back.
I feel the same way, I have been learning JavaScript in small doses and always missing the big picture by getting overwhelmed with all the other technologies around it, when in reality I got to stick to the basics and that will it self give me a deeper understanding of what those frameworks are doing
That's what I was gonna comment and then I saw the most liked comment. But anyway, this is really the best advice I've heard online. Subscribed with both hands!
Great video! I learned Javascript by jumping straight into game programming with vanilla JavaScript. It was easy to pick up that way. Learning Javascript then got me used to making games and things in not just JavaScript, but when I went to Java, C#, C/C++ frameworks, PHP, SQL, CSS it all felt like the same language to me.
I almost clicked “Not Interested” on this and continued to watch music videos but I’m glad I scrolled back up and clicked to watch it. You present everything very well; like a human to human conversation. Very real but you made it clear. The nonchalant, profane language is comforting. It comes across as friendly because you are talking like a conversation, not like a scripted speech. Thank you. Subscribed.
What REALLY got me understanding JavaScript well was creating Discord chatbots with node. It taught me: - modules - asynchronous code via promises or async await - events, a chatbot is basically relies mostly on events - it doesn't require webpack or other transpilers. It's JS through and through - gives you a good chance to work with databases - writing tests is easy And it was fun!
Finally someone who actually recommends the documentation instead of some guy trying to make money off a Udemy course. Also agree with the no shortcuts, some of these books are pretty meh. If you can find a good author it helps.
Documentation has total combined worth of 0 to each and any 1st timer. To make any use of documentation one usually have to be at least intermediate or have prior programming knowledge. Hence why Udemy courses or books are so popular and why that won't ever change.
Learn how to write tests on first day. Then writes tests to assert you code the right way. Keep doing it over time as you meet new functinality/problems, organise your files and you will have super effective reference of tested code
This is really usefull cause it's not just a 'How to javascript' it's a kind of game plan. Especially useful for beginners who have no idea what they're doing. And of course by them I mean me.
In my opinion, learning algorithms, data structures and design patterns is essential in terms of JavaScript. Some techniques are different from classical languages. Frameworks and libraries are built on top of these concepts. This way is the most tough, but the only way to really understand the JavaScript. Creating a non trivial game is one example.
All I can say is "THANKS A LOT!" for this advice. You're awesome. Let me go back and start coding at the lower level, manipulate some DOMs rather than beating my head off trying to understand very complex JS concepts.
There are so many frameworks and libraries on the market now- one could easily spend all of there time learning and doing nothing else. Most of the stuff that I learned 3 years ago has gone from my memory
I'm so glad to find this -- I immediately subscribed and joined. I've been coding this way since being bitten by the Smalltalk bug in 1982. The buzzword that I like best to describe it is "Debugger Driven Development" ("DDD"). I've been using VSC for about two years now, it seems to be the best available JS tool at the moment. Now I have to go back to VSC and do what you did -- I'm still fighting with the preferences and such. Still, this is just a marvelous exercise. I come to JS from more than a decade of Python. Both Python and JS have strong roots in Smalltalk -- the mother of all decent modern languages. The V8 javascript engine was actually created by the same giants who created "Self" -- an awesome flavor of Smalltalk from decades ago. The big idea of Self, in comparison to classical Smalltalk, was to move a reference to the method dictionary from an explicit "class" object (the Smalltalk way) back into the instance itself ("prototype"). Not surprisingly, modern JS still relies on the same approach. Given all this, everything you say in this clip is right on the money. I find that Python and JS play very well together. I tend to use Python for back-end stuff, but that's just habit. I have my own python framework that I prefer to both Flask and Django. I'm still finding my way around the JS ecosystem. FWIW, I've been doing a lot with Neo4J instead of a relationship DB for the last few years. Excellent drivers for both nodejs and Python exist for Neo4J. There actually IS an excellent Python IDE -- "WingIDE pro", from Wingware (https:wingware.com/). I develop in Python exactly the way you do here, using Wing. I'm most productive when I develop on a Linux-based VM (I like Centos 7) while running my IDE on my Windows 10 pro system. I use the "Remote SSH" extension to VSC and its counterpart in Wing. One trick that I suggest in addition to what you present here is that you can create a baby unit test as your very first act and use it to invoke the behavior you describe here. The result is that your unit test suite evolves along with your code. My typical development cycle is therefore: 1. Code up a unit test that exercises the behavior I want to add or change 2. Create a stub with a breakpoint or set a breakpoint in existing code 3. Run the unit test and make sure it pauses at the breakpoint 4. Add new code or change existing code 5. Add unit tests or change existing unit tests as needed to exercise new semantics 6. Iterate until the result does what I want I'm looking forward to learning from and contributing to your channel.
The method you show in this video, element creation on the javascript side, is what finally started to make me comfortable with javascript itself. Nothing i did before that has helped me feel as comfortable with javascript other than this method. I finally felt like i was growing in understanding and steam rolled it too.
Great video. I've had to force myself to learn Javascript. I enjoyed learning Python a lot more. The more I learn, the more I can see the benefits of learning Javascript though. Thanks for the tips.
I'm 13 and I completely agree with you. A lot of youtubers teach useless things and don't explain the significance/value of knowing some of the syntax/code itself. When I was taught if statements I took an hour to make a simple prompt input/output and I still edit it. Thanks for these tips.
I jumped into React without much understanding of lower-level JavaScript. The higher abstractions are fine, but I often feel lost when it comes down to lower-level stuff, especially when working with events. Thanks for pointing out where to look to fill this gap. Glad I clicked on this video!
I love that your direct and to the point in your videos. Keep up the excellent work Chris! I'm going to be taking your courses if they are anything like your RUclips videos.
If you are a newbie (like me), and you are wondering why you cannot run the code in an external js file (as opposed to inside the body tag), you have to wrap your code in a window onload event listener/function. Also, if you have this code in a html document with existing markup, to add "you mother" to the top of the body tag, use prepend, instead of appendChild. Append Child will add it to the end of the body tag.
I kind of hate how good this video is... I've been struggling to find out how JS worked, and I thought I would never find out how it worked. But from out of no whère this video came in my recommended, and now I have a better understanding of what you can do in JS, and how to do it. Where was this video a week ago?? =_=
Definitely one of the best RUclipsrs so far to teach coding. I watched the entire video without getting bored at all! I actually felt more motivated to learn more. Lol u have my subscription
You hit the nail on the head Chris! I have been going back and forward... In and out of frameworks and finally a lightbulb came on. I was literally thinking what you said. Frameworks of any kind are just a compilation of basic programming. Bootstrap is shorthand for plain CSS. React is Vanilla JavaScript... Performing vanilla JavaScript functionalities. Of course it's JSX, an extension, but in the grand scheme... Learning the absolute basics of JavaScript will save me the headache. I'm stepping back to gain a deeper understanding of JavaScript with the practice you mentioned... I'm excited to step back...
@@realchrishawkes I appreciate that. I've been following you for awhile and you definitely don't get caught in the hype. You give it straight forward. I hope you continue doing what you do. I think you are one of the last of a dying breed!
great advice, I agree learning the basics before jumping into a framework or library allows you to appreciate what it is actually doing for you. I remember when jQuery was a must-have, also this is the first video I have seen of someone talking about debugging and stepping through code in a beginner video which is so important in the long run. Subbed!
This is awesome Chris, thanks for sharing. I'm primarily a UX designer with a lot of experience in WordPress and I've dabbled in various frameworks before. It of course feels very essentially to have some foundation programming experience and I feel like Javascript for what I'm/we're doing makes the most sense. I really appreciate your video and have always dabbled in MDN. I've decided to challenge myself to set aside a little time each day to tinker and learn Javascript, locally and perhaps my codepin. Ideally I'll be able to add snnipets to projects as time goes on in both WordPress and Webflow! Thanks for the input!
Practice is best and not only on programming, finally someone who says it right (Other than me xD). If you guys want to learn programming, just practice and FAIL, you will get the hang of it.
There is no shortcut for sure. Even now, 10 years into this gig I have to learn new things and sometimes they come to me quicker than others. Sometimes I realize I don't have the time or energy to learn everything exactly the way I want so I'll scrap the idea. We have to pick and choose our battles sometimes.
Coming from the Unix world, with vi, shell, awk, now I need to learn html, css, JavaScript I got very little concepts of the three but never done anything with it. I think this is the best way to learn it. I'm glad I run into this video. Thank you!
This is my second month on front end, and this is exactly how im learning js, you don't know how awesome it feel to know that im on the right fucking path
The problem with learning programming languages is the information and programming techniques aren't "centralized" and progression isn't linear the way mathematics, science or really any actual real world language is, and that may just be because programming is still a surprisingly new field and is evolving all the time. It's not always as easy as looking up a formula some 16th century mathematician pieced together to get a desired result. The modern equivalent of this is whining on stackexchange and hoping someone more experienced answers you (lol), and not always well. Beyond the fundamentals, you pretty much have to experiment yourself and build off of the experiments of others to do exactly what you want, pouring through forums and code bases until you eventually end up with a half-decent product, maybe. It's a messy ordeal from start to finish.
Personally I learned plain JS first before going to learn framework(s) and I don't regret it, of course it takes a lot of time, but I had nearly completed my whole webpage with only plain JS and plain PHP (like comment system with likes, emoji, tooltips, user cards, pagination, etc, which was only for learning purposes, not meant to be published as a public website). And only after that I jumped on learning the framework and porting some of my creation into it, lol.
This is the best advice. Learn the foundations!! I did try to learn to code with the the latest tech but again & again I had to spend time doing research into the language I was using - I could've avoided lot of headaches, mistakes and lost days (feeling like an idiot) had I started with the low-level fundamentals, and really understand the concepts first. Thanks for the video!
i started doing the MDN thing...since last week.....n after completing the basic of html css js....i saw that it was so detailed......ánd it started with detailed html tutorials....once again...in depth
Well it is a detailed documentation, not a book. You are supposed to use it as reference not learn everything. Nobody knows everything on MDN. The point of this video is to instead of learning millions of things to try building your own little "framework" and relying on MDN when you get stuck.
@@TheChodex nopes.....i dont think mdn is a reference....and i am pretty sure.....what ever they know on mdn....they know more and much better than others out there....coz those are the people who created and creating it from long time.....and it is lots better than many books.(by experience (have read and practiced at least 40 - 45 PDF books(paid n free))) and if mdn is less for you then......try your brain with w3.org documentation....and if that also feels weak.....then try your mind on ecmascript documentation site... i have and i felt peaceful.....because i could understand it just by reading it as a beginner/intermediate user. coz i can write programs by my own literally....without checking stackoverflow. if i get stuck or anything....then i go to mdn...w3.org...or w3school....thats all....because now i can read speak and understand code as a daily life spoken language for communication.
I think the hardest part of getting started once you learn some of the basics is putting that knowledge to use and thinking of what to build as a beginner. I am back to learning after a 4yr hiatus. I left off knowing basics of css and html, have refreshed on that. in 2017 jquery was still pretty much the go to JS framework and some ES6 concepts like arrow functions weren't that widely adopted when I look back at the bits of JS notes I have from then. Anyways, I agree, the best way to learn is to practice.
A few years ago I bought a JS Book from a "university teacher" from here in France and I just completely never understand it at all. Since few weeks I just try to do some programs by myself and I just enjoy it a lot, I google and find MDN most of the times and there is everything in there, awesome, no need books. Thanks for the video, really good one !
Chris this was a great help! I haven't seen many other videos on manipulating the DOM with JavaScript. I would love to see more videos like this. Thank You!
A month ago I watched this video couldn't understand a thing, now after practicing js for a month I was able to follow it. Now I know when to start framework, thank you so much 😊
As a beginner this was very helpful. I agree with most of what you said, books are far too slow to learn programming as they include a lot of technical details and the practical stuff is blended amidst it.
I started in JQuery and suddenly something clicked. I decided I need to learn vanilla JS. I studied the MDN and did little tests and console logged objects and soon enough it made sense. Since then I made my own little library, my own text editor (using the actual range and select API not the execCommands), my own syntax hilighter and all that has taught me so much stuff. I tend to veer from frameworks however. I have an insatiable appetite to understand the inner workings of things. Which may be bad but it's so satisfying doing something yourself and gaining a wealth of knowledge from it.
After using JS for 20 years... you never really feel like you know JavaScript. Usually because you're busy learning some new framework's syntax and methods that obfuscate JS.
So true. I'm building a new framework now. No Babel, no webpack, framework agnostic. Just a JS file like jQuery but with state and dom like react and redux
Very helpful! I was doing web design several years ago, and before I really learned javascript, I kind of just stopped because my job didn't require it much. I'm not at that job anymore and I'm rusty and trying thi get back into out only to find out there are all these new technologies that have taken over and jquery is no longer the thing. I kind of freaked out. But I guess I'll just dig into vanilla js again and really learn it before exploring frameworks and stuff, thanks for your help!
When it comes to events I guess Svelte does way better than react. I think It is stupid to generate everything from JavaScript. We should write the most of HTML and CSS first, and use JS to accompany them with DOM interactions. And yes writing your own JS without using Frameworks is like composing your own music without using loops from other people.
LOL, my path as a self taught developer was HTML > CSS > NodeJS > jQuery > PHP > SQL > Java > C# and then realize it's all wrong and return to HTML and then CSS > JS > Bootstrap > jQuery > LESS/SASS > PHP > SQL > WordPress > ReactJS > React Native
This is the perfect video for a person who went through tutorial hell and trying to get out. For a total begginer will not be helpful if they do not even understand the basics.
Sounds about right. I've a Masters in IT but have been out of the game so long I'm just getting back and absolutely; applying the KISS rule is always best. There's a series of books, that okay, are a bit dated now but called "the smart way to learn......." and it describes for maybe 2 pages and get's you answering and coding 20 examples on something like 200 topics (the JavaScript one focuses on the DOM and events too). So I think this is probably the best advice I've seen on RUclips.
Great video Chris, I’m just 3 months in into learning JavaScript so it’s always nice to learn from someone who has over 10 years of experience. Is it beneficial for a beginner to copy solutions(or re-writing code from somebody) as answers to difficult Js exercises? Because you said it’s a lot about memorizing and practicing your code. I feel like this is just like learning a new language. At first it’s hell, but then you slowly get into it even if you don’t get 95% of it in your first days.
React is hard, but luckily it does a lot of the hardes work for you. You don't need create element. The react library does all the dom handeling for you.
This actually was and is my plan to learn javascript, by doing pure JS first and getting good at it, and using React afterwards because it's going to be helpful, instead of something new I struggle to learn.
i like your style. Instead of teaching countless concepts in 10 minutes you only focus on the main ones while also throwing in some jokes and random insults to stuff lmfao
Very good video, my next step is to learn the DOM because I know the fundamentals. Question? I can't find this nowhere. When I search JSX courses all I find is complete courses learning React. What if you first want to learn JSX, then afterwards learn in chunks the rest of React? Wouldn't it be easier to learn React is small steps? If I am mistaken, could you recommend a site or course that I may take just to learn JSX? Thanks buddy.
I only realized how badly insufficient my grasp of JavaScript is after trying to learn React and running into trouble every step of the way and not understanding why because I don't understand JavaScript as well as I thought I did.
Dude, you're a badass! First minute into your video i started smiling because of your approach to this. I recently started a bootcamp and we're on js es5 for now. We're in bom/dom now and incorporating objects and methods within them and manipulating them is trickier than i thought! Thanks for your video man. Also, any additional suggestions specifically on bom/dom clarity when it gets more complex?
Great video! You inspired me to rewrite some of my blog using this low level javascript method before implementing more high level frameworks like React. Thanks Chris!
@@bamxuberant It's better just to use MDN, a lot of w3 is regurgitating (and in some cases actually translating it bad) from the documentation to begin with. They're essentially the same in terms of resource the difference from MDN is it actually contains deeper embedded why's and how's over w3 which just straight forward tells you to "do this, do that".
Dude this is hilarious, thank you for injecting some humor into these videos. I'm about to finish my boot camp, and I'm going to build my final project with React and Nodejs......only problem is your boy has no idea what the hell he's doing when it comes to javascript. So here I am!
which bootcamp and what stack? I'm starting my bootcamp next month, MERN stack. I'll appreciate any advise you have on getting ready. I'm beginner level javascript at the moment. Thanks
I'm just learning to code, and at 66, I'm only going to get one shot at this. I'm planning to do freelance web development, and I've spent the last 2 months listening to various programmers on RUclips to get a sense of what is going on rather than just start blindly. I don't know how I have missed you Chris, but when I found this video, I am very grateful. I'm learning html and css right now, and I know that I would have charged right on through JS and jumped right into the frameworks. Thank you for what you do and I'm looking forward to checking out everything you have available to learn from. Kudos to ya!!
Daniel Boles, there’s a video series (a few years old but still valid) out by Tony Alicea that you might be interested in (I was able to get it on Udemy for $10). YT videos are great but they can become all consuming.
Hello, sir. You've said that you are a beginner and have only one shot and want to explore big picture instead of going blindly. I think, you should really check out Harvard's CS50 course. It's a masterpiece of 101 (introductory) courses. You can access it freely on eDx (they used to also have a separate website, but I don't know how it works now). RUclips is great, but getting yourself introduced to the world of computer science through one of the best, if not the best, introductory university courses in the world is also a great opportunity) It's a bit challenging, but if you have an opportunity, I bet it will worth it. If you are not familiar with eDx, Coursera and alike, don't worry, those platforms are pretty easy to use. If you will choose to get yourself a solid foundation, to then be able to actually understand what are young doing and not just copy and paste from tutorials and Q&A websites, I recommend you to follow CS50 by Harvard with CS61a and CS61b from UC Berkeley. I believe you can go through all three in 6 month. It's all online for free. You can go without foundations and build things that work (and cost money), but it's a completely different experience when you actually understand what are you dealing with and how it works. For me, it's just a better way to spend my life. I hate feeling like a dumb monkey) More than that, once you grasp foundations, all other more specific things and new technologies will be much easier to grasp. So it probably will even save your time in the long run. Anyways, best luck with your programming journey)
Daniel Boles - it was good to see your comment. I am just few years younger and am considering doing the same. I was having doubts that I may not be young enough to start, but am glad to see there are others. I have intermediate HTML knowledge, so I am starting with filling up areas I am missing first and also CSS from scratch. Want to be able to first know how to construct things manually in HTML and CSS before I start using JS. After that will be JS from ground up.
Someone suggested free CS classes and may look into that, but I know from past experience that I get little bored with theory, although I do understand the benefits. What I find appealing about coding is the immediate feedback. You can run whatever code you are working on to see it doing - or not doing - what it should. Kind of immediate gratification when it works, LOL.
@@glebkoshelev I tried them but the constan cheering (likea apple devotees cheering the latest iPhone) got a little bit too annoying for me.. if you can get past that then the CS50 vids will be useful but there are other sources to suit every learning style..
Thank you Sir for your transparency. This proves you can learn to code at ANY age!!!
The best way to learn Javascript is with a bottle of something alcoholic to numb the pain.
After watching that video I know what you meam
And coffee
Perhaps... But the only TRUE way to learn JavaScript... Is to code in JavaScript!
Indeed, one would be NUTS to code in assembler these days, but yet, it's universally accepted that assembler developers are some of the most powerful developers in the world, simply because they virtually speak in the native language of the CPUs.
Perhaps JavaScript, being the native interpreted language in most web browsers, is also gaining a similar recognition... Nonetheless I for one am glad that I know Vanilla JavaScript... It gives me valuable insights into the inner workings of all those libraries and frameworks that are out there!
LOL
but what settings would you suggest to use on your booze cup?
I truly appreciate that you use a vocabulary I can really relate with like "shit" and "fuck"
THANK YOU
lmao
I thought exactly the same thing! 😄
Yes, more this
1 year later what did you learn? What is the progress
@@starzzz3774 I will comeback in one year and let you know...
I'm honestly loving this. Not only the breakdown but the commentary as well.
"Your mother... I shouldn't be doing that". LMAO what???! You have my subscription!
LOL was looking for this comment
@@let_go429 LOL Me too! I was sure I couldn't have been the only one who loved that! If employers were to see the shit I test my code with, I would never be hired! lol!
Yup, I followed because that your mother comment lol
That’s what I put in all my code 2. It’s like my hello world lol
Same!
I had a crappy understanding of JS, then as most of us went on to build several small projects, went into learning Angular and React (ridiculous), then I realized I truly need to lean JS , went back to it, and came up with ways to implement most of the React and Angular concepts with pure Javascript .
I feel much more confident building small stuff in Javascript and it feels like I've been learning more about React and Angular by learning low level vanilla Javascript .
A while ago I regretted wasting time learning Angular and React with a bad understanding of JS, but now I'm starting to see the benefits because it ended up becoming a puzzle in my head that I had to fill through learning basic JS to reconstruct the frameworks.
I have no idea if this is a good advice for anyone
It is GOOD advice, greatly appreciated. Thank you
I did exactly the same thing! I skipped vanilla JS pretty much entirely and jumped in to JS frameworks. I got a job and I was (still am) very happy with how it turned out but recently I started to notice just how much I do not know about JS. At least for me it is pretty scary using something in work everyday then I don't really understand how it works. I have this fear that I might break something just because I do not understanding the fundamentals. So I started doing JS exercises, reading about less used functionality of JS and so on.
Exactly what im going through now. Thanks i feel better about all the long hours just me google and udemy react-angular courses. Finishing that portfolio. Can i get a job already lol.
Makes sense to me, might not be the most efficient to do it this way, but it's always good to go ahead and beyond your current understanding and then go back to the basics with more motivation and a clearer vision of where you want to go, what you really need and why you need it. "Use it before you know it" is actually good advice VS going tediously through all the fundamentals with no vision of what's further away in your learning. Jumping to more advanced stuff "prematurely" without having compled the required fundamentals (before going back to the them ) is kind of like teasing yourself so you get back to fundamentals with more purpose, drive and passion.
Skip Addition and Subtraction, go straight to Calculus. That's pretty much what happened. Your trying to learn a framework without knowing the base level itself. You did good going back.
This is probably one of the best pieces of advice i have ever heard in regards to JS. Thank You.
I appreciate that comment. Thank you for watching.
I feel the same way, I have been learning JavaScript in small doses and always missing the big picture by getting overwhelmed with all the other technologies around it, when in reality I got to stick to the basics and that will it self give me a deeper understanding of what those frameworks are doing
That's what I was gonna comment and then I saw the most liked comment.
But anyway, this is really the best advice I've heard online.
Subscribed with both hands!
your mom
Great video! I learned Javascript by jumping straight into game programming with vanilla JavaScript. It was easy to pick up that way. Learning Javascript then got me used to making games and things in not just JavaScript, but when I went to Java, C#, C/C++ frameworks, PHP, SQL, CSS it all felt like the same language to me.
HE360 hey nice info... how did you learn it? I mean what materials and maybe video recommendations. Thanks.
Well you’ve got it!!! They are all the same that’s why I prefer learning the core of programming like OOP and algorithms
What resources did you use to learn game programming with vanilla JavaScript
How
I almost clicked “Not Interested” on this and continued to watch music videos but I’m glad I scrolled back up and clicked to watch it. You present everything very well; like a human to human conversation. Very real but you made it clear. The nonchalant, profane language is comforting. It comes across as friendly because you are talking like a conversation, not like a scripted speech. Thank you. Subscribed.
you made the right choice
Thank you for watching!
Thank you! :)
What REALLY got me understanding JavaScript well was creating Discord chatbots with node. It taught me:
- modules
- asynchronous code via promises or async await
- events, a chatbot is basically relies mostly on events
- it doesn't require webpack or other transpilers. It's JS through and through
- gives you a good chance to work with databases
- writing tests is easy
And it was fun!
Creates a JS tutorial. Mentions "I don't really feel like doing this" in the middle. I love this guy.
Finally someone who actually recommends the documentation instead of some guy trying to make money off a Udemy course. Also agree with the no shortcuts, some of these books are pretty meh. If you can find a good author it helps.
Never go to the documentation. Udemy and Team Treehouse have everything you need to go from beginner to senior dev in 3 weeks.
YDK JS book series are good
the documentation is written by engineers for engineers.... not new folks
Documentation has total combined worth of 0 to each and any 1st timer. To make any use of documentation one usually have to be at least intermediate or have prior programming knowledge. Hence why Udemy courses or books are so popular and why that won't ever change.
i landed a job at hooli after a 1 week udemy course
This is so true learnt reactjs first and had to go back to vanilla JS to grasp the true concept of what's happening under the hood, thanks bro !!
Thank you for watching and the comment! Best of luck!
Learn how to write tests on first day. Then writes tests to assert you code the right way. Keep doing it over time as you meet new functinality/problems, organise your files and you will have super effective reference of tested code
This is what I needed to hear. We all learn differently. I prefer repeated practicing to understand vs reading a book.
Thank you and best of luck!
9:14 "I shouldn't do that", does it anyway :D
I love this guy
lol, thank you!
Finally someone uses real life examples!! I use "your mother" all the time!! Thumbs up!
This is really usefull cause it's not just a
'How to javascript' it's a kind of game plan. Especially useful for beginners who have no idea what they're doing.
And of course by them I mean me.
I love that he writes his span 'your mother' followed immediately by "I shouldn't do that" hahaha love it!!
dont know which is better, your tech skills or your honesty. That felt real, thank you.
"Frameworks are probably a roadblock to become a really really good JavaScript developer"
Not only just JS but every languages.
Master the language, then conquer the world of bloat code
Absolutely right!
the realest js entry point imo
In my opinion, learning algorithms, data structures and design patterns is essential in terms of JavaScript. Some techniques are different from classical languages. Frameworks and libraries are built on top of these concepts.
This way is the most tough, but the only way to really understand the JavaScript.
Creating a non trivial game is one example.
All I can say is "THANKS A LOT!" for this advice. You're awesome. Let me go back and start coding at the lower level, manipulate some DOMs rather than beating my head off trying to understand very complex JS concepts.
There are so many frameworks and libraries on the market now- one could easily spend all of there time learning and doing nothing else. Most of the stuff that I learned 3 years ago has gone from my memory
You can loose any skill without practice :)
I'm so glad to find this -- I immediately subscribed and joined.
I've been coding this way since being bitten by the Smalltalk bug in 1982. The buzzword that I like best to describe it is "Debugger Driven Development" ("DDD"). I've been using VSC for about two years now, it seems to be the best available JS tool at the moment. Now I have to go back to VSC and do what you did -- I'm still fighting with the preferences and such. Still, this is just a marvelous exercise.
I come to JS from more than a decade of Python. Both Python and JS have strong roots in Smalltalk -- the mother of all decent modern languages. The V8 javascript engine was actually created by the same giants who created "Self" -- an awesome flavor of Smalltalk from decades ago. The big idea of Self, in comparison to classical Smalltalk, was to move a reference to the method dictionary from an explicit "class" object (the Smalltalk way) back into the instance itself ("prototype"). Not surprisingly, modern JS still relies on the same approach. Given all this, everything you say in this clip is right on the money.
I find that Python and JS play very well together. I tend to use Python for back-end stuff, but that's just habit. I have my own python framework that I prefer to both Flask and Django. I'm still finding my way around the JS ecosystem. FWIW, I've been doing a lot with Neo4J instead of a relationship DB for the last few years. Excellent drivers for both nodejs and Python exist for Neo4J.
There actually IS an excellent Python IDE -- "WingIDE pro", from Wingware (https:wingware.com/). I develop in Python exactly the way you do here, using Wing. I'm most productive when I develop on a Linux-based VM (I like Centos 7) while running my IDE on my Windows 10 pro system. I use the "Remote SSH" extension to VSC and its counterpart in Wing.
One trick that I suggest in addition to what you present here is that you can create a baby unit test as your very first act and use it to invoke the behavior you describe here. The result is that your unit test suite evolves along with your code. My typical development cycle is therefore:
1. Code up a unit test that exercises the behavior I want to add or change
2. Create a stub with a breakpoint or set a breakpoint in existing code
3. Run the unit test and make sure it pauses at the breakpoint
4. Add new code or change existing code
5. Add unit tests or change existing unit tests as needed to exercise new semantics
6. Iterate until the result does what I want
I'm looking forward to learning from and contributing to your channel.
Thank you for being upfront man. This is my first video of yours. Appreciate it. Got yourself a new follow.
Welcome aboard!
The method you show in this video, element creation on the javascript side, is what finally started to make me comfortable with javascript itself. Nothing i did before that has helped me feel as comfortable with javascript other than this method. I finally felt like i was growing in understanding and steam rolled it too.
Awesome
Excellent advice. Getting into React and Angular without the core understanding of JS was my biggest mistake.
Great video. I've had to force myself to learn Javascript. I enjoyed learning Python a lot more. The more I learn, the more I can see the benefits of learning Javascript though. Thanks for the tips.
I'm 13 and I completely agree with you. A lot of youtubers teach useless things and don't explain the significance/value of knowing some of the syntax/code itself. When I was taught if statements I took an hour to make a simple prompt input/output and I still edit it. Thanks for these tips.
That's normal for things to take time. These concepts are not in our normal day to day thinking.
I jumped into React without much understanding of lower-level JavaScript. The higher abstractions are fine, but I often feel lost when it comes down to lower-level stuff, especially when working with events. Thanks for pointing out where to look to fill this gap. Glad I clicked on this video!
I love that your direct and to the point in your videos. Keep up the excellent work Chris!
I'm going to be taking your courses if they are anything like your RUclips videos.
Awesome, thank you!
If you are a newbie (like me), and you are wondering why you cannot run the code in an external js file (as opposed to inside the body tag), you have to wrap your code in a window onload event listener/function.
Also, if you have this code in a html document with existing markup, to add "you mother" to the top of the body tag, use prepend, instead of appendChild. Append Child will add it to the end of the body tag.
I kind of hate how good this video is... I've been struggling to find out how JS worked, and I thought I would never find out how it worked. But from out of no whère this video came in my recommended, and now I have a better understanding of what you can do in JS, and how to do it.
Where was this video a week ago?? =_=
Definitely one of the best RUclipsrs so far to teach coding. I watched the entire video without getting bored at all! I actually felt more motivated to learn more. Lol u have my subscription
Other way of writing "you mother"...... just writing you mother in html is enough.... or in js document just write, document.write("you mother")
This guy is the man.
>>> best_python_ide == pycharm
True
You gained a follower from this realistic advice video! Thanks bro
I really appreciate that, thank you!
You hit the nail on the head Chris! I have been going back and forward... In and out of frameworks and finally a lightbulb came on. I was literally thinking what you said. Frameworks of any kind are just a compilation of basic programming. Bootstrap is shorthand for plain CSS. React is Vanilla JavaScript... Performing vanilla JavaScript functionalities. Of course it's JSX, an extension, but in the grand scheme... Learning the absolute basics of JavaScript will save me the headache. I'm stepping back to gain a deeper understanding of JavaScript with the practice you mentioned... I'm excited to step back...
It takes time, this is a tough thing to learn. Try not to be hard on yourself.
@@realchrishawkes I appreciate that. I've been following you for awhile and you definitely don't get caught in the hype. You give it straight forward. I hope you continue doing what you do. I think you are one of the last of a dying breed!
Framework is used for developing a website fast, because here in philippines they want us to build a website faster but low on salary
The only way to learn javascript is not by mixing it with Browser programming...
Lol
great advice, I agree learning the basics before jumping into a framework or library allows you to appreciate what it is actually doing for you. I remember when jQuery was a must-have, also this is the first video I have seen of someone talking about debugging and stepping through code in a beginner video which is so important in the long run. Subbed!
jQuery brings back so many memories.
This is awesome Chris, thanks for sharing. I'm primarily a UX designer with a lot of experience in WordPress and I've dabbled in various frameworks before. It of course feels very essentially to have some foundation programming experience and I feel like Javascript for what I'm/we're doing makes the most sense. I really appreciate your video and have always dabbled in MDN. I've decided to challenge myself to set aside a little time each day to tinker and learn Javascript, locally and perhaps my codepin. Ideally I'll be able to add snnipets to projects as time goes on in both WordPress and Webflow! Thanks for the input!
One of the only non BS programming vids out there. Good work.
Thanks for watching!
Practice is best and not only on programming, finally someone who says it right (Other than me xD). If you guys want to learn programming, just practice and FAIL, you will get the hang of it.
There is no shortcut for sure. Even now, 10 years into this gig I have to learn new things and sometimes they come to me quicker than others. Sometimes I realize I don't have the time or energy to learn everything exactly the way I want so I'll scrap the idea. We have to pick and choose our battles sometimes.
I can copy and past 🤣, no practice
Coming from the Unix world, with vi, shell, awk, now I need to learn html, css, JavaScript I got very little concepts of the three but never done anything with it. I think this is the best way to learn it. I'm glad I run into this video. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
This is my second month on front end, and this is exactly how im learning js, you don't know how awesome it feel to know that im on the right fucking path
Awesome. I wish you the best!
Oh I immediately liked this guy. He's straight up and tells it like he sees it. Zero BS.
The problem with learning programming languages is the information and programming techniques aren't "centralized" and progression isn't linear the way mathematics, science or really any actual real world language is, and that may just be because programming is still a surprisingly new field and is evolving all the time. It's not always as easy as looking up a formula some 16th century mathematician pieced together to get a desired result. The modern equivalent of this is whining on stackexchange and hoping someone more experienced answers you (lol), and not always well. Beyond the fundamentals, you pretty much have to experiment yourself and build off of the experiments of others to do exactly what you want, pouring through forums and code bases until you eventually end up with a half-decent product, maybe. It's a messy ordeal from start to finish.
Lots of magic hidden in boxes as well where you're supposed to just assume something works and tie the magical boxes together in harmony.
@@realchrishawkes this
Personally I learned plain JS first before going to learn framework(s) and I don't regret it, of course it takes a lot of time, but I had nearly completed my whole webpage with only plain JS and plain PHP (like comment system with likes, emoji, tooltips, user cards, pagination, etc, which was only for learning purposes, not meant to be published as a public website). And only after that I jumped on learning the framework and porting some of my creation into it, lol.
Nice.
This is the best advice. Learn the foundations!! I did try to learn to code with the the latest tech but again & again I had to spend time doing research into the language I was using - I could've avoided lot of headaches, mistakes and lost days (feeling like an idiot) had I started with the low-level fundamentals, and really understand the concepts first. Thanks for the video!
i started doing the MDN thing...since last week.....n after completing the basic of html css js....i saw that it was so detailed......ánd it started with detailed html tutorials....once again...in depth
Well it is a detailed documentation, not a book. You are supposed to use it as reference not learn everything. Nobody knows everything on MDN. The point of this video is to instead of learning millions of things to try building your own little "framework" and relying on MDN when you get stuck.
@@TheChodex nopes.....i dont think mdn is a reference....and i am pretty sure.....what ever they know on mdn....they know more and much better than others out there....coz those are the people who created and creating it from long time.....and it is lots better than many books.(by experience (have read and practiced at least 40 - 45 PDF books(paid n free))) and if mdn is less for you then......try your brain with w3.org documentation....and if that also feels weak.....then try your mind on ecmascript documentation site...
i have and i felt peaceful.....because i could understand it just by reading it as a beginner/intermediate user. coz i can write programs by my own literally....without checking stackoverflow. if i get stuck or anything....then i go to mdn...w3.org...or w3school....thats all....because now i can read speak and understand code as a daily life spoken language for communication.
I think the hardest part of getting started once you learn some of the basics is putting that knowledge to use and thinking of what to build as a beginner. I am back to learning after a 4yr hiatus. I left off knowing basics of css and html, have refreshed on that. in 2017 jquery was still pretty much the go to JS framework and some ES6 concepts like arrow functions weren't that widely adopted when I look back at the bits of JS notes I have from then. Anyways, I agree, the best way to learn is to practice.
Thanks for this! I immediately started playing with this and learnt a lot.
That is awesome! I wish you the best!
@@realchrishawkes At 47 it all looks a bit daunting but will give it a go!
A few years ago I bought a JS Book from a "university teacher" from here in France and I just completely never understand it at all. Since few weeks I just try to do some programs by myself and I just enjoy it a lot, I google and find MDN most of the times and there is everything in there, awesome, no need books. Thanks for the video, really good one !
It is true for any language - learning lower level
3:07 raise hand if you agree with him
Chris this was a great help! I haven't seen many other videos on manipulating the DOM with JavaScript. I would love to see more videos like this. Thank You!
I appreciate the comment and I wish you the best!
A month ago I watched this video couldn't understand a thing, now after practicing js for a month I was able to follow it. Now I know when to start framework, thank you so much 😊
I like this guy. I'm confident than I used to be
nice.
As a beginner this was very helpful. I agree with most of what you said, books are far too slow to learn programming as they include a lot of technical details and the practical stuff is blended amidst it.
Yep, there is no better way than just practice.
I started in JQuery and suddenly something clicked. I decided I need to learn vanilla JS. I studied the MDN and did little tests and console logged objects and soon enough it made sense. Since then I made my own little library, my own text editor (using the actual range and select API not the execCommands), my own syntax hilighter and all that has taught me so much stuff. I tend to veer from frameworks however. I have an insatiable appetite to understand the inner workings of things. Which may be bad but it's so satisfying doing something yourself and gaining a wealth of knowledge from it.
You have taught me what I have never heard from other developers. Thanks Chris.
Your choice of words and colors are unbeatable
After using JS for 20 years... you never really feel like you know JavaScript. Usually because you're busy learning some new framework's syntax and methods that obfuscate JS.
So true. I'm building a new framework now. No Babel, no webpack, framework agnostic. Just a JS file like jQuery but with state and dom like react and redux
they way you say "all that shit" somehow makes me want to learn JS
You should! There is a lot of opportunity. Just dropping this here... in case anyone wants to learn with me directly codehawke.com/all_access.html
The fact that this approached JS from a a completely different, comprehensible angle makes it a great piece of advice! Thanks man!
hands down the best video on learning javascript FROM THE GROUND UP, especially in this world of marketing and shiny new web technologies.
Thank you, my new project is a baby, but in my opinion... it's the best way to learn to code. www.codehawke.com/all_access.html It is growing rapidly.
Very helpful! I was doing web design several years ago, and before I really learned javascript, I kind of just stopped because my job didn't require it much. I'm not at that job anymore and I'm rusty and trying thi get back into out only to find out there are all these new technologies that have taken over and jquery is no longer the thing. I kind of freaked out. But I guess I'll just dig into vanilla js again and really learn it before exploring frameworks and stuff, thanks for your help!
I was puzzled by JavaScript and I watched this video, it changed my whole perspective.
Your mother.. I shouldn't do that. Yet I did!
Who made you mad, Chris? 😂
When it comes to events I guess Svelte does way better than react.
I think It is stupid to generate everything from JavaScript.
We should write the most of HTML and CSS first, and use JS to accompany them with DOM interactions.
And yes writing your own JS without using Frameworks is like composing your own music without using loops from other people.
me: C++ > HTML, CSS, JS > JQuery > PHP > JAVA > Reactjs
see that how fuckup that path is 😂
HabelFoc _ What’s the point of learning Java? Ur path is good for Web purpose.
Also u don’t need jQuery if u build React apps
Typical programmer route. Mine started with Perl > Python and basically everything you did except replace Java with C#.
LOL, my path as a self taught developer was HTML > CSS > NodeJS > jQuery > PHP > SQL > Java > C# and then realize it's all wrong and return to HTML and then CSS > JS > Bootstrap > jQuery > LESS/SASS > PHP > SQL > WordPress > ReactJS > React Native
Its still a route. You moved forward. That's all that matters lol
@@aseel1024 consider this as a span of several years. and jquery came before react.
This is the perfect video for a person who went through tutorial hell and trying to get out. For a total begginer will not be helpful if they do not even understand the basics.
Honestly, this is the best video I've ever found about learning JavaScript. Never thought about making a website all in JavaScript lol.
Sounds about right. I've a Masters in IT but have been out of the game so long I'm just getting back and absolutely; applying the KISS rule is always best. There's a series of books, that okay, are a bit dated now but called "the smart way to learn......." and it describes for maybe 2 pages and get's you answering and coding 20 examples on something like 200 topics (the JavaScript one focuses on the DOM and events too). So I think this is probably the best advice I've seen on RUclips.
I've watched this video so many times, thank you for posting this. It's been very helpful.
It's astounding how important this video is.
Great video Chris, I’m just 3 months in into learning JavaScript so it’s always nice to learn from someone who has over 10 years of experience. Is it beneficial for a beginner to copy solutions(or re-writing code from somebody) as answers to difficult Js exercises?
Because you said it’s a lot about memorizing and practicing your code. I feel like this is just like learning a new language. At first it’s hell, but then you slowly get into it even if you don’t get 95% of it in your first days.
React is hard, but luckily it does a lot of the hardes work for you. You don't need create element. The react library does all the dom handeling for you.
Agreed. I was trying to use something else but ended up going back to react
Chris Hawkes what about angular?
This actually was and is my plan to learn javascript, by doing pure JS first and getting good at it, and using React afterwards because it's going to be helpful, instead of something new I struggle to learn.
i like your style. Instead of teaching countless concepts in 10 minutes you only focus on the main ones while also throwing in some jokes and random insults to stuff lmfao
Thank you
"your mother".. (i shouldn't do that) LOL
I love Quokka as a tool
What are your thoughts On Flutter and Dart Chris. Be Nice to hear your professional opinion in a vlog..All the best.
Ripitation and practice is the bestway to learn any programming language.
This is a huge help! Thank you!!
The video ends at 2:05 to be honest. There's nothing left to say 🤷🏾♂️
I got my answer
Very good video, my next step is to learn the DOM because I know the fundamentals. Question? I can't find this nowhere. When I search JSX courses all I find is complete courses learning React. What if you first want to learn JSX, then afterwards learn in chunks the rest of React? Wouldn't it be easier to learn React is small steps? If I am mistaken, could you recommend a site or course that I may take just to learn JSX? Thanks buddy.
Excellent content bro.
I only realized how badly insufficient my grasp of JavaScript is after trying to learn React and running into trouble every step of the way and not understanding why because I don't understand JavaScript as well as I thought I did.
What did you do then? Same happened with me now! Tried to learn react but find it tough as I thought I'm good as js but I'm not
Dude, you're a badass! First minute into your video i started smiling because of your approach to this. I recently started a bootcamp and we're on js es5 for now. We're in bom/dom now and incorporating objects and methods within them and manipulating them is trickier than i thought! Thanks for your video man. Also, any additional suggestions specifically on bom/dom clarity when it gets more complex?
Thanks for keeping the info concise!
The best way to learn javascript or any other programming language is that you have to love to learn.
Great video! You inspired me to rewrite some of my blog using this low level javascript method before implementing more high level frameworks like React. Thanks Chris!
good luck!
Thank you..... this 15-minute video unlocked the mysteries of learning Javascript (at least for me) !!!!!
awesome! thank you once again! Any project ideas? Todo list?
Anything you want, but maybe a simple template engine. Basically, writing a JS program that outputs html like React.
Yesterday I went to MDN and I thought the same thing, learning through MDN and w3 now today this video came out lol
W3schools is also an amazing resource.
@@bamxuberant It's better just to use MDN, a lot of w3 is regurgitating (and in some cases actually translating it bad) from the documentation to begin with. They're essentially the same in terms of resource the difference from MDN is it actually contains deeper embedded why's and how's over w3 which just straight forward tells you to "do this, do that".
Well,
if (one is entirely new to this)
he should go for udemy tutorials;
Else
W3 is a good and quick resource;
Dude this is hilarious, thank you for injecting some humor into these videos. I'm about to finish my boot camp, and I'm going to build my final project with React and Nodejs......only problem is your boy has no idea what the hell he's doing when it comes to javascript. So here I am!
Have fun! Thanks for watching!
which bootcamp and what stack? I'm starting my bootcamp next month, MERN stack. I'll appreciate any advise you have on getting ready. I'm beginner level javascript at the moment. Thanks
Thanks Chris for such a quick trick. No other content on RUclips taught that way!!
the best honest advice on youtube about learning js, i like your way of passing information!!!!!!!
Awesome video, beginner here, love the approach
Thank you, best of luck. Check out my website www.codehawke.com