How long did it take you to learn or Master JavaScript

[SnakesBite101]

html and css were pretty straight forward to learn(not master). still studying those 2 subjects but i've started on Javascript. i generally read through the JS tutorial while studying the other 2, but now i know how to build a static website (with no functionality at all) i read through the the JS tutorial again. it starts off easy(or so it seems), then gets pretty tough towards the end advanced setion. i use the word easy, loosely, because while its easy to read through and understand, trying to put this easy stuff into practise and to perform given tasks seems almost impossible. An example, ive understood everything about loops and conditions in the tutorial but on another site i was set a task that asked for WAYYY TOOO MUCHHH. it wanted me to do: if, else ifs and do__whiles.. and mix them together in the same script/function etc... also to incorporate the use of logical & comparison operators in my tasks. i understand how the operators work but coupled with everything else it got too much. nothing on the tutorial prepared me for the level of depth involved in this. its so upsetting thinking all my efforts are not paying off and this is only entry level exercises:( i havent even made it to forms yets. i hate to think of how fraustrating the advanced level must be. so my question to you guys is, How long did it take you to learn or Master JavaScript? years? months? was it straight forward or very complex for you? can this be learnt via tutorials like on this site without the need of tutors/classes?

[Ingolme]

It took years to completely master Javascript, but these years included studying real programming as well. Javascript is a programming language, unlike HTML and CSS, and for programming you must be proficient with logical thinking and problem-solving abilities.There is also understanding data structures: objects, lists, trees and such things. Understanding these will make Javascript and the DOM much easier to understand.

[ShadowMage]

It took years to completely master Javascript

Is that even possible? :PI've been doing web development for a few years now, and there are lots of things I'm still learning. And I think that will always be true. I do have to emphasize one point that Ingolme made though:

Javascript is a programming language, unlike HTML and CSS, and for programming you must be proficient with logical thinking and problem-solving abilities.

I've had several college courses on programming in general (including Java, C#, and Visual Basic courses) and these courses have helped immensely because they built the foundation required for any kind of programming: logical thinking and problem solving. You need to be able to think through and sketch out your program flow and be able to find and correct errors when they arise. Syntax errors, errors that (usually) prevent your code from functioning, are generally easy to correct because the interpreter/compiler tells you exactly where the error is. It's the logical errors, the errors in how your code functions, that require deeper thinking and good problem solving skills.

[birbal]

How long did it take you to learn or Master JavaScript? years? months?

Even javascript language itself is evolving with time. So you have to make your mind as learner mind all the time.

was it straight forward or very complex for you?

also it is the most misunderstood language. Who came from C family or any other strict language face some problems in understanding OOP in js. It took time when i need to understand inheritance in JS which is conceptualy far away from those strict language. JS is prototype based and C/C++ others are class based. most of us are used with class based language so it is quite different. Being experinaced in any programing languages and knowing the basic concepts will help you to alot as many of things in JS is common with any other languages. But that is not all. you have to know the differences too and other features too. most problemetic part in js is different browser implementetion. multi browser compatiblity makes it harder.

can this be learnt via tutorials like on this site without the need of tutors/classes?

It is up to you which learning process you can adopt well. Tutorials sites are for start up. if you study the manual or resources it will be in depth knowledge. you can find vendor specific resource in opera/mozilla developer network or w3's drafts. If you can ask the right question still you can find the good answer in google. none of classes will go through each and every thing/topic you still need to rely on those manual. that is what we most of us do. Edited June 7, 2012 by birbal

[ShadowMage]

If you can ask the right question still you can find the good answer in google. none of classes will go through each and every thing/topic you still need to rely on those manual. that is what we most of us do.

A very good point. This is part of "mastering" any language. You need to know how and where to look for answers to problems you encounter. I don't think the developer exists who does not, at some point, need to refer to a manual or reference for one thing or another.

[niche]

How well you understand anything depends on how you use it. So, just start using it. I think the only way to learn coding is just to do it. No doing means no learning. Using it a little means learning a little. Coding a site mostly in JS means you're learning a lot about JS. Here's a tip that might help. With server side code, like php, I'm telling my machine what to do. With client side code, like JS, I'm telling my machine, to tell the user's machine what to do. It's cheaper and frequently provides the user with a better experience provided the user's JS is enabled.

Edited June 7, 2012 by niche

[Ingolme]

I've had several college courses on programming in general (including Java, C#, and Visual Basic courses) and these courses have helped immensely because they built the foundation required for any kind of programming: logical thinking and problem solving. You need to be able to think through and sketch out your program flow and be able to find and correct errors when they arise. Syntax errors, errors that (usually) prevent your code from functioning, are generally easy to correct because the interpreter/compiler tells you exactly where the error is. It's the logical errors, the errors in how your code functions, that require deeper thinking and good problem solving skills.

This isn't the exact reason you need problem solving skills. Errors don't come until you've actually written some code. Problem-solving is the ability to take the knowledge you have and use it to solve a problem. The "problem" is actually the description of the program you want to make. You need to be able to break your idea down into data structures, functions, loops and logical statements. The problem-solving ability is the very core of the programming mind. It is what turns an idea into code. When somebody comes to the forum and ask me "How do I do this?", where do I get the answer? I don't go and search for it on the internet, I break the problem down into its components and find the data structures and logical operations that make up each component.

[ShadowMage]

This isn't the exact reason you need problem solving skills. Errors don't come until you've actually written some code. Problem-solving is the ability to take the knowledge you have and use it to solve a problem. The "problem" is actually the description of the program you want to make. You need to be able to break your idea down into data structures, functions, loops and logical statements.

I was going more for logical thinking being the ability to take an idea/concept and break it down into the necessary components, how the different components work together, and the logical flow of the program. I guess this fits under the "problem solving umbrella" but I was thinking of problem solving in the stricter sense of solving particular issues that arise with your code. Writing code is the easy part (once you understand the data and control structures). Figuring out why your code didn't do what you expected is the part that can get a little tricky.

When somebody comes to the forum and ask me "How do I do this?", where do I get the answer? I don't go and search for it on the internet, I break the problem down into its components and find the data structures and logical operations that make up each component.

Right. But it's logical thinking that tells you which structures and operations you'll need. You need to think about which ones would make the most sense. For example, if you need to print a list of items, logic says use an array and a loop. EDIT: Here's another great example, I just ran into. It's PHP but the same concepts apply:I have three different arrays to which data is added to in a loop. At one point I need to figure out which array to add data to. Well, I know about variable variables, and I know about if and switch statements. Variable variables made the most logical sense to me so that's what I used:

switch($strStructCalcs) {	case 'N': //Calcs needed		$whichArr = 'arrCalcsNeeded';		break;	case 'O': //Calcs out		$whichArr = 'arrCalcsOut';		break;	case 'R': //Calcs recieved	default: //No calcs needed		$whichArr = 'arrAvailJobs';		break;} $t = count($$whichArr);$$whichArr[$t][$Prod_Dwg_By] = $tmpProdDwgBy;$$whichArr[$t][$Submit_Change_Drafter] = $strDrafter;$$whichArr[$t][$Parts_For_Open_Lines] = $strPart;$$whichArr[$t][$Est_Prod_Hours] = $TotalEstProdHours;$$whichArr[$t][$Act_Prod_Hours] = $TotalActProdHours;

I was a little surprised when the above didn't work. But that's where the problem solving comes in, and led me to the solution:

$$whichArr[$t][$Prod_Dwg_By] = $tmpProdDwgBy;

should be

${$whichArr}[$t][$Prod_Dwg_By] = $tmpProdDwgBy;

Edited June 7, 2012 by ShadowMage

[SnakesBite101]

thanks for all your input and advise guys.