Adventures with JavaScript

17 Jan 2016

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In order to dive into the world of website design and web development, I realized I needed to pick up JavaScript. Although at the time, I had no experience with the JavaScript programming language. However, I had worked with various other languages such as C, C++, Python, and Java which have provided a solid foundation of general coding syntax. After completing the JavaScript tutorials on FreeCodeCamp, I became comfortable working with this interesting language.

Surprisingly, I’ve noticed many similarities between JavaScript and other programming languages such as C or Java. The syntax between these two languages almost mirror each other as “for loops”, “while loops”, comparison operators, and conditional control statements seem to be identical to each other. Although syntax for defining functions and creating objects slightly differ, in general, these similarities have made me feel comfortable with the JavaScript language. Initially, I believed learning JavaScript would be challenging with confusing syntax but to my surprise, similarities made it comfortable adjusting. Compared to other languages, JavaScript is probably considered a great programming language since it is widely used in many applications with emphasis in website development. With the casual learning curve, JavaScript excels at being a beginner’s language as it is definitely one of the language’s strong points. But with all applications, the chosen language comes down to what you’re trying to accomplish, personal preference, and comfort. From a software engineering perspective, JavaScript would excel at web development but in other applications such as software development or embedded firmware, C++ should be emphasized.

The athletic software engineering learning style applied simultaneously while learning JavaScript has been beneficial as it has strengthened newly learned concepts through example problems. By consistently practicing “Workout of the Day” (WOD) problems and becoming familiar with the JavaScript syntax, quick critical thinking skills are developed. This fast-paced problem solving style has definitely been beneficial as they provide a structural method of applying newly learned concepts. By consistently working and incrementally learning new concepts, I believe this method of learning JavaScript is effective.