This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
11.5 Conclusion
Congratulations! You now know enough JavaScript to be dangerous.
With the skills developed in this tutorial, you now have the preparation to go in multiple different directions. There are two in particular that I recommend. These are (1) learning more JavaScript and (2) making sure JavaScript isn’t the only language you know.
11.5.1 Learning More JavaScript
There are approximately ∞ resources for learning more about JavaScript. Now that you know the basics, one good thing to focus on is expanding your command of the language syntax, as well as learning more advanced techniques (such as async/await and promises) and continuing to develop real applications. Here are a few resources that I’ve used or that have come highly recommended:
Codecademy JavaScript (https://www.codecademy.com/learn/introduction-to-javascript): A guided in-browser introduction to JavaScript that’s highly complementary to the approach in Learn Enough JavaScript to Be Dangerous.
Treehouse JavaScript (https://teamtreehouse.com/library/topic:javascript): Well-regarded interactive tutorials.
Wes Bos JavaScript (https://javascript30.com/): A free course on vanilla JavaScript. Wes also offers a large number of premium courses (https://wesbos.com/courses), many of them focused on JavaScript topics like ES6 and Node.
Learn JavaScript Essentials (https://medium.com/javascript-scene/learn-javascript-b631a4af11f2#.lsb25e2f5): An excellent list of resources compiled by Eric Elliott (https://medium.com/@_ericelliott), including links to additional courses and books.
11.5.2 Learning a New Language
Ask experienced devs if it’s important to know more than one programming language, and the answers will typically range from “yes!” to “extremely, indubitably yes!” Indeed, there are many reasons not to become a monoglot.
When it comes to building software for the greatest platform ever—the World Wide Web—the language I recommend (other than JavaScript) is Ruby, a powerful language designed for “programmer happiness”. In particular, Ruby is the language of two of the most popular frameworks for making web applications, Sinatra (used at companies like Disney and Stripe) and Rails (used at companies like GitHub, Hulu, and Airbnb).
Though suitable for bigger applications, Sinatra is the simpler framework, and is included as part of Learn Enough Ruby to Be Dangerous (https://www.learnenough.com/ruby). Rails is my preferred framework for making database-backed web applications, and is thoroughly covered by the Ruby on Rails Tutorial (https://railstutorial.org/book). Moreover, both can be used with JavaScript, with Rails/JavaScript integration being especially popular.
As a result, these are the recommended continuations of the Learn Enough sequence:
Finally, for people who want the most solid foundation possible in technical sophistication, Learn Enough All Access (https://www.learnenough.com/all-access) is a subscription service that has special online versions of all the Learn Enough books and over 40 hours of streaming video tutorials. We hope you’ll check it out!