A question about Basic JS

Hi!
I have a question about “Basic JS” part of the Front End Certification. Was it built by a single contributor or many? I’m asking because I noticed a certain degree of inconsistency. What I mean is this: there are some JS lessons which are hand-holding user by (for example) providing examples of the code- you only have to mod it in order to pass. But now and then there is a lesson which happen to be, I would say, a pitfall- you are provided with a “pseudocode” and basic sketch on what to do (sometimes this sketch is unreadable because of user’s inexperience).
Thinking things out is essential in this job but I would say it should be restricted only to “Projects” part of the course where you test your knowledge :wink:

Elaborathing further, after a nice time with “if statements” and putting them to a test with a “golf code” challenge we are introduced to “switch statements”. First lesson in those is provided with a pseudocode and go figure it approach. After trying to nail it by myself I eventually went to GitHub for tips. Am I just stupid or is this lesson just poorly laid out? :smirk:

Thanks for answers!

Since no one else is answering…

I don’t know about past versions (I think I heard that we’re on the second one), the the third version is currently in beta. It is on github and many people are contributing. There are a couple of core guys that do most of the work, but anyone can branch of a section, make some changes, and submit it for review. And yes, doing things by committee doesn’t always yield perfect results, but it’s how they do things. If it were a pay site, maybe they could afford a full time staff to make sure everything is consistent an linear. As it is, it’s up to us, and that keeps it free.

You can even go through the new beta version and see if your concerns are still issues. If they are, you can raise the issue yourself.

I’ve always looked at FCC as good roadmap to your overall progress and a supplemental resource more than a definitive hand holding guide. When I first started here I felt much like you did. Simply put I don’t think FCC is really an all in one resource but with that being said it does a very good job of pointing you in the right direction. For instance if your struggling with JS or any other new concept that’s introduced here on FCC I would recommend supplementing your learning with something like codecademy.com. Some say it’s very hand holdy and I tend to agree but when you pair it with FCC where they don’t really hold your hand at all and you can have prompted projects to test your knowledge base and practice the skills learned, I think it goes along very nicely.

I came in knowing html/css so I didn’t spend too much time on those aspects of fcc but when I got to the more js heavy challenges and algorithms I stopped and did the js course at codecademy for the beginning algorithm challenges. When intermediate and advanced algorithms got way above my head again I went and did the javascript30 course. This may not be the best course of action but it’s worked for me and it may be something worth trying if you feel like FCC is outpacing you.

@ksjazzguitar, thanks for pointing out the obvious truth :wink: Didn’t thought it was done via GitHub so I will definitely check it out.

@dgparker, well you essentially told me to do what I am already doing :wink: Previous to becoming Camper I did a few courses on CC which helped me a lot. My understanding of JS is progressing and in about 2h I will complete FCC JS course. When I will hit algorithms definitely your advice will come in handy, thanks.