2017 has ended. I didn't do a review earlier in the year because I wanted to wait till enrollment for Learn JavaScript closes. Everything that's going to happen in 2018 depended on the results of the launch.
Now that it's over, it's time for a proper review.
I want to begin the review by talking about the projects I've worked on.
There’s a high chance you came across the term “REST API” if you’ve thought about getting data from another source on the internet, such as Twitter or Github. But what is a REST API? What can it do for you? How do you use it?
In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about REST APIs to be able to read API documentations and use them effectively.
When should you use CSS for your web animations? Or when should you use JavaScript? Is one better than the other? In this article, I'll show how you to use both to produce smooth animations for your web site.
Unexpected changes in your JavaScript code can be a real headache. When working with objects, it can be even harder to prevent unintended mutation. In this article, I'll show you some tricks (and libraries) to prevent these unintended changes and ensure stability when working with objects.
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You'll have to pay the full fee to enroll in my courses. I don't discount anymore, with the exception of early-bird prices. This article explains why I offer early-bird prices, and why I don't discount anymore.
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Greensock Animation API (GSAP) is an animation library that helps you create performant animations. It can be used safely (back to IE6!) to create animations without jank, and it's the only animation library (as far as I know) that handles SVG animations seamlessly.
Many animation experts, like Sarah Drasner and Chris Gannon, use and recommend GSAP.
In this article, you'll learn how to use GSAP to build simple animations.
The second way to animate your components is through CSS Animations. CSS Animations are like CSS Transitions, except they're way more powerful.
Two days ago, I sent out a tweet that says, "The more I learn about code, the less I realize I know, and the less confident I feel about teaching people how to code. Compound this with the fact that I'm writing a course AND selling it".
That sums up how I'm feeling these two days. If I were to put it in a nice way—I feel like shit. I haven't been sleeping well the entire week. I woke up today at 3am these two days.
When I had dinner with my wife yesterday, she said I look like I might be better off dead. Obviously that's not what she said in my face, but that's what I inferred.
The simplest (and most straightforward) way to animate your components is through CSS Transitions. In this article, you'll learn how CSS Transitions work, and how to make animations with it.
How do you make a website interactive? That's one question that many beginners get stuck at. In this video, I walk you through you need to know to build an interactive website.
Let's say you want to run a function, bounceBall, four times. How would you do it? Like this?
function bounceBall() {
// bounce the ball here
}
bounceBall()
bounceBall()
bounceBall()
bounceBall()
This approach is great if you need to bounceBall only for a few times. What happens if you need to bounceBall for a hundred times?
The better way is through a for loop.
Let's say you're walking on a busy street in the middle of town. You're about to cross the road when you notice the traffic light for pedestrians turns red. What do you do?
You stop, don't you?
And what happens when the light turns green again? You start walking.
We can put this analogy into code too. It sounds something like: "If the light turns red, stop walking. Otherwise, continue walking".
And that, my friend, is the foundation of an if/else statement.
It's normal for you to make errors when you code. So if you see an error, you don't have to be afraid. I get error messages all the time. When I have bad days, I get more error messages!
Have you tried to learn a JavaScript related topic/framework and found that you understand almost nothing?
There is a simple reason why you don't understand what you're learning – you skipped steps. You tried to learn something advanced without having the fundamentals to back yourself up.
What you're trying to do by learning things that are far too advanced is like trying to drive an F1 without a drivers' license. Can you imagine how badly you'll crash?
When you write Javascript, you're bound to be unsure of something in your code somewhere. That's a normal thing.
When you're unsure, you need to clarify what that unknown thing is. Otherwise, you won't be able to code anything up.
And how do you clarify?
You write console.log statements.
Imagine you live in an village without tap water. To get water, you need to take a empty bucket, head to the well in the middle of the village, draw water from the well and head back home.
You need to draw water from this well multiple times a day. It's a hassle to say "I'm going to take an empty bucket, go to the well, draw water and bring back home" every time you explain what you're doing.
To shorten it, you can say you're going to "draw water".
And my friend, you've created a function.
I promised I'd start making videos last week, didn't I? Well, here's the first video! Today, I'd like to talk about semicolons.
There are people out there that say you're not a real developer if you don't use semi-colons in JavaScript. Is that really true? Should you listen to them and use semi-colons?
That's what I dive into in this video. I also show a very important tool to help you write good, consistent code in the video.
The main purpose of coding is to solve problems. What happens when you click on a button? That's also a problem for us to solve.
So, let's begin this article by solving a simple problem.
Are you struggling with JavaScript?
When you face that blank JavaScript file, does your mind goes blank?
Do you wish to stop copy/pasting code or modifying what you find online, and write code from scratch instead?
Do you feel that your code is messy and you want to improve?
If you're facing any of these challenges with JavaScript, I've got good news for you. I'm writing a course called Learn JavaScript, which will guide you, step by step, to build real components from scratch.
JavaScript can be scary. It can be scarier for you if you've never been to programming school before, and it is even scarier if you tried to learn it through different books and courses, but you found that you've failed along the way.
"I don't get it. I'm smart, but why can't I learn JavaScript?"
"Can you really learn JavaScript without going to school?"
So these questions pop into your head. It gets even scarier. When you look at JavaScript you don't even dare to begin learning it. You look at your computer and you put it down, thinking you'll do it another day.
Don't worry if that applies to you.
You're not the only person who has the same problem. I did before too. When I tried to learn JavaScript, I failed. There was a period of time where I was really afraid of JavaScript.
But that doesn't mean you'll never succeed at learning JavaScript. You can know JavaScript and you can write JavaScript even though you don't have a programming background.
So the first step to learning JavaScript is to overcome that dreadful feeling you feel when learning JavaScript. That's what you'll learn in today's article.