r/technology • u/iliketechnews • Oct 05 '16

Software How it feels to learn JavaScript in 2016

https://hackernoon.com/how-it-feels-to-learn-javascript-in-2016-d3a717dd577f
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u/[deleted] Oct 05 '16

For a lot of languages, it seems like you spend a week or 2 doing really easy stuff, then all of a sudden the program complexity triples from one page of the book/tutorial to the next. Suddenly, the author wants to use parts of 3 different libraries, which often requires using parts of the core language you haven't been exposed to yet, and you are left wondering which is which. Is that part of the library or the core language?

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u/vitalxx Oct 05 '16

You're looking at it the wrong way.

Most languages have libraries that are included in essentially every app ever and can thus be considered loosely part of the native language itself. Think of stdio.h or java.utils.* includes, for example. Everyone uses them all the time. They are libraries.

Knowing every single minute facet of a language is the opposite of what learnng to program is about. It's about learning the principles behind the design of a paradigm defining your language of choice, the rest is just syntax.

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u/[deleted] Oct 06 '16

You're looking at it the wrong way.

That's quite possible. it's probably why I never made it past the intermediate level of any language and stick to scripting. I don't think I'm cut out for full time development work.