Basic JavaScript Class - Difficulty Grasping it All

[Tracy]

Am I alone here? I got through HTML in a snap. CSS took a little more effort, but all in all, not terrible. JavaScript??? Pfffft…fuggetaboutit! I have just 13 lessons to go to complete the Basic JavaScript course, and I’m amazed at how LITTLE I actually know. Is this normal?? I haven’t even begun any projects yet, and I’m terrified. When moving onto the next course, ES6, I’m worried I’m going to be completely lost…

[hbar1st]

I think it is normal. Just remember you can always go back and review. (as many times as you need).

[JeremyLT]

JavaScript is hard. Programming is hard. Don’t worry, this is totally normal!

HTML is a markup language, which tends to be a bit friendlier to learn.

JavaScript takes time and practice to get good at.

[Tracy]

At this point, I’m needing to just copy whatever the hints are giving me for solutions. Totally cheating lol…at least on the lessons. My fear is that once I get to the projects, I won’t have a clue. Ugh…thanks for the encouragement!

[Tracy]

OK, I’ll take your word for it that it is normal …I guess I need to be more patient with myself. Thanks for the encouragement!

[JeremyLT]

I would stop copying immediately and go back before you started copying!

The point isn’t to get the answer but rather to practice the process of getting to the answer. When you get stuck, we are here to answer as many questions as you like about the problems!

There isn’t really any good evidence that reading answers will help you write answers:

Reading Code vs Writing Code

It’s an attractive theory for some learners to “learn by reverse engineering”. Anecdotally we have seen consistently over the years that this is not very effective, but I wanted to see what the research says. Unfortunately, the strategy of “learning by primarily reading” isn’t well studied. Most studies involve university students and programming learning coursework requires students to actually write code. So, I’m left pulling relevant pieces out of related studies. Hopefully, this summary o…

[Tracy]

That’s not a bad idea. I keep forgetting I can just go back and redo everything! While sometimes it does help me to see how the code is written, in other instances it just confuses me even more. Especially when I haven’t mastered (or at least GRASPED) the concepts preceding it. Which brings me back to my initial fear that I will never get it (sigh)…alright, I think I’m starting over, as much as it kills me, I believe it’s the only way I will get anywhere! Thanks again Jeremy.

[kevinSmith]

And don’t be afraid to google alternative explanations. Devs are googling all day long - no one can keep track of all this stuff. But google the concepts, the terms, not the solution. That is not cheating - it is training.

[Tracy]

Thank you Kevin…I do LOTS of googling! I do get tripped up on the “lingo” though…I have a book, “Coding for Dummies”, that I haven’t yet delved into, but may be helpful as well, just to better grasp concepts, etc.

[kevinSmith]

Just give it time. Coding pays well because it takes a while to learn. If it were easy, it would pay minimum wage. You’ll get there if you keep working at it.

[igorgetmeabrain]

FWIW, when I started coding in 2020 I knew NOTHING. Couldn’t even write an HTML tag. I can only cram in a bit each week but have been working through the certifications in order (as recommended).

Javascript was extremely daunting at first but it does get easier and really rewarding too.
I take notes on everything I learn and make sure that I understand what’s going on as much as possible (which sometimes takes a lot of Googling etc).

For the first Javascript Algorithms and Data Structures certification I ended up with 97 pages of notes!

I’m now just finishing off Quality Assurance and it’s been an uphill battle at times but I’m beginning to feel like I sort of know what I’m doing… at times.

[Tracy]

I haven’t been taking any notes, maybe that is part of my problem. I’ve never really needed to take notes in the past, but this is a very different concept for me. Always had that sort of photographic memory that got me by HA! Not so with JS, so thank you for that reminder and encouragement…love your username btw

[lasjorg]

It is hard to remember something you do not yet fully understand.

Learning to code isn’t about reading information and memorizing it. It’s a lot more tactile. It is more like muscle memory, only the muscle is your brain.

[ar.wiley805]

Senior level software engineers have to ask questions, look things up and collaborate with others to solve problems. So, if you are not grasping it at first, I would not worry too much about it. It is perfectly normal. It often takes people years to learn coding.