Is JavaScript a Hard Class?

According to computer scientists and working programmers, JavaScript is one of the simplest programming languages and among the easiest to learn. If you ask beginning students, though, many say that computer programming is a challenging subject, requiring concentration, logic, creativity, and frequent practice. Both of these views are valid. Many novice coding students find the basic principles, terms, and techniques of JavaScript easy to learn. They usually need only a few weeks of casual exploration or a few days of full-time study to start using the language. Greater challenges arise in intermediate and advanced lessons, as students encounter more complex structures, apply JavaScript to specific tasks and projects, and learn to improve the efficiency and security of their scripts. Such deeper study includes more powerful but less intuitive programming techniques and added tools like libraries and development environments, each requiring further study and practice to master. However, with sufficient commitment, anyone can overcome these challenges and learn JavaScript thoroughly enough to build useful products and work in associated fields like web development or software development. Prior experience in these fields, or with computer science in general, can improve a student’s understanding and reduce their difficulties when learning JavaScript. 

What is Hard about Learning JavaScript?

Initially, novice programmers may be intimidated by JavaScript’s structure and terminology. The language does have several specialized terms and distinctions, and like other programming languages, it has a strict syntax that must be applied correctly. While prior programming experience can provide analogies for most of these concepts, JavaScript, as a scripting language, has some unique concepts and behaviors compared to general-purpose languages like Java or C++ or specialized languages like HTML or SQL. JavaScript’s early challenges are usually overcome by clear, varied explanations, such as those provided by well-written lessons, along with multiple examples of each concept. Coding practice also helps to demonstrate the correct and appropriate uses of each command and structure.

Once students are familiar with JavaScript’s fundamental elements, their next challenge is to assemble these elements into segments of code, understanding how separate pieces combine to accomplish specific functional goals. Understanding each coding technique requires more explanation and practice before it becomes familiar. Some techniques are particularly difficult due to their length or less intuitive behavior. Students are not only learning particular examples but also new methods of thinking, such as asynchronous programming, in which sections of code run simultaneously in the background while other code is active. Techniques build upon one another; for example, students must first understand what ‘objects’ are and how to create them before they can address related topics like ‘prototypes’, ‘inheritance’, and ‘instances’. Even after they become fluent with the basic functional techniques of JavaScript, continuing students must consider issues like efficiency, memory management, and security, which require more elaborate coding techniques. Slow, bulky, and insecure code is easier to write but undesirable for both users and employers.

Another challenge, encountered as students progress from isolated code samples to complete, polished projects, is to learn the techniques, tools, and methods specific to particular uses of JavaScript. For example, the scripts used on websites use some different considerations and functions compared to the scripts run on a web server, which are both somewhat different from the scripts used for a mobile application. Fortunately, JavaScript’s platform-independent nature means that the underlying syntax and algorithms remain the same for the same functions, but different implementations require different kinds of user interactions and different security methods. Different projects also benefit more from different tools like specific libraries (collections of pre-written functions) and development environments. For example, the React library is specialized to build custom user interfaces and is primarily used for web applications, while the React Native library uses a host device’s native interface to create mobile applications. Students must learn these implementations and learn to use tools related to their intended projects. In some cases, a specific tool can be the subject of an entire advanced class.

Advanced JavaScript students intending to work in a related profession must also learn some skills outside of JavaScript. For example, professionals working on large development projects need to know collaborative programming tools like Git or Microsoft’s Visual Studio. They must also understand how to make code portable if they will create libraries for colleagues’ use or use libraries or components written by collaborators. These skills are especially important for JavaScript developers, whose products are often components created to simplify other JavaScript users’ work. All types of professional programmers, regardless of their specific career or project types, must also understand the complete development process: taking an idea from its initial planning and design stages, through practical implementation, to prototyping and testing, to final production. The ability to produce complete code that performs all its necessary functions exactly as requested by a client or employer is more challenging than creating code for one’s own use.

How Can I Make Learning JavaScript Easier?

There are several ways to overcome the initial struggles of learning JavaScript. The first is recommended as a prerequisite by many introductory JavaScript courses: explore other programming languages, especially HTML and CSS, the languages used to create websites. Learning more about programming will provide insights and analogies that will make JavaScript’s concepts more familiar. Knowing the languages of web design will give JavaScript better context and illustrate many of its uses. Students can also familiarize themselves with JavaScript itself before they begin an introductory course by viewing free online resources like video tutorials, articles, or interactive lessons. Video tutorials on JavaScript are available on YouTube or through school websites such as Noble Desktop, Udemy, and Coursera. Several websites are dedicated specifically to teaching JavaScript and offer free text and interactive lessons; these include Learn JavaScript, Learn-js.org, and JavaScript For Cats. Students can review these lessons casually at first to acclimate to JavaScript’s ideas and uses. Later, during their formal studies, these resources can be helpful additions to provide additional perspectives and exercises.

However, free resources have significant limitations, both for introductory and advanced JavaScript study. Such lessons are of mixed quality, both in terms of instruction and in the accuracy of their material. A given site may not cover all the topics students need to know. Most importantly, free resources rarely provide any feedback, putting the burdens of researching questions and solving problems entirely on the student. A formal, paid course will ease students’ studies by reducing frustrations and speeding their learning. 

On-demand classes, which deliver their lessons online through texts, interactive websites, and pre-recorded video, provide better-quality instruction and more structure than free lessons, plus limited feedback through message boards and calls to advisors. This study method is less expensive than live instruction and can be more convenient for students with limited or irregular schedules. For introductory students, on-demand study may be enough to advance them past JavaScript’s initial challenges. Advanced students, with a good grasp of JavaScript’s techniques and familiarity with alternate resources, may also find on-demand lessons useful when exploring new libraries and project types. However, between these ends, as students learn longer and more complex coding tasks, the limitations of on-demand learning become most strongly apparent. Questions, missing information, misunderstandings, and programming errors can create significant delays when students must wait for a response or search for answers themselves. Since learning to program involves constant practice, these problems can rapidly multiply.

Live instruction provides several benefits that further ease the difficulties of JavaScript’s most challenging concepts, techniques, and tools. A live instructor can provide faster feedback, ensuring that students progress more quickly and with less frustration. Classroom meetings allow students to learn and work alongside others, sharing information and practicing collaborative programming skills. While a live course’s fixed schedule can be a drawback for students with limited or irregular availability, it is beneficial for many students by structuring and motivating their studies. Some students find the self-paced nature of free or on-demand classes too unfocused and have difficulty maintaining their progress toward study goals without deadlines. The benefits of live classes ease introductory studies but are especially noticeable as students progress toward professional work. Certain live courses, like bootcamps and professional training programs, also include career guidance and instruction on related skills like collaborative programming and project planning. 

Best Ways to Learn JavaScript Without Difficulty

Live instruction, either online or in-person, is the best option for students who want to reduce the difficulties of learning JavaScript. A live instructor is more available to answer questions and diagnose mistakes. They can also add or revise explanations to make sure students completely understand each concept before moving on. Live courses not only include exercises and examinations to test students’ understanding but also review these materials quickly. Even when students must work between classes, instructor access is available no later than the next class session. This faster, more complete feedback is especially valuable when dealing with complex, unintuitive programming techniques that create greater confusion. A live instructor can warn students away from common mistakes earlier and help them avoid incorrect learning.

To balance live courses’ need for a fixed schedule, many schools offer alternate course structures and schedules to accommodate students’ diverse needs. For example, a JavaScript course could be offered as a bootcamp, an intensive program that compresses essential lessons into several full-time days. Bootcamps are useful for students with limited time frames or who prefer to stay engaged for extended periods to maintain a stronger focus. Alternately, some live courses are offered on a part-time basis, which requires fewer class hours per day and fewer days per week. Part-time courses are helpful either for students with limited free time or those who prefer to spread their study over a longer period, giving them more time for practice and comprehension.

Since live classes can cover more material, in more depth, in a shorter period, they are also able to include more sample problems for variety and deeper understanding, more projects to give students experience with real-world coding problems and build their professional portfolio, and more lessons on related topics like collaborative programming and project planning. Some live classes specialize in particular project types or career paths, providing extra training in the tools and techniques specific to that work. For example, a professional training course on JavaScript for web development could include lessons on web server code, including database management and security features. These lessons could be omitted from a self-paced course or require additional time and payment. Finally, live courses can present the most current lessons, being regularly updated to reflect JavaScript’s revisions and newly released libraries.

Learn JavaScript with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers several JavaScript classes that differ in length, cost, complexity, and goals. For students seeking a complete, career-oriented study program, the JavaScript Development Certificate program produces professional, job-ready JavaScript programmers. This program focuses on JavaScript’s uses in web development. Students should already have some practice with web design or front end web development, or at a minimum, be comfortable coding in HTML and CSS. This program’s classes take about three months to complete for full-time students. In addition to units on basic and advanced JavaScript coding, the program includes lessons on additional tools used in web development, like the Node.js and Express.js JavaScript libraries; MongoDB, a database management system; the React library for component programming in JavaScript; and SQL, a data management language. A final unit explains the web development industry and discusses career options and likely interview questions. Participants receive further career assistance in the form of eight 1-on-1 mentoring sessions and a starting portfolio composed of their in-class projects. In addition to its live online classes, this program provides supplemental written materials and access to video recordings after each class. Students who complete this state-licensed program receive an official certificate and can retake the class once for free within a year.

A more accelerated training course, Noble Desktop’s JavaScript Programming Bootcamp also provides a career-ready foundation in JavaScript. However, it omits the additional web development libraries and tools included in the JavaScript Development Certificate program, and the course takes only a few weeks rather than several months. Bootcamp participants still learn JavaScript’s foundational features and techniques with a focus on web development. Note that this course also requests prior experience with website coding. In addition, the bootcamp addresses some commonly used JavaScript libraries, features found in newer JavaScript releases, career planning, and common JavaScript-related interview questions. The projects in this course can be used as a starting portfolio, and the instructor provides one bonus 1-on-1 mentoring session to address further questions. The bootcamp includes a proprietary workbook and awards a certificate upon completion, and students may retake the course once for free within a year.

Noble Desktop’s introductory short class, JavaScript for Front-End, teaches basic JavaScript coding for front end web development. Again, participants are encouraged to have some prior experience with web design or front end web development. The course takes only a few days for full-time students and covers JavaScript’s essential features and programming techniques, sufficient to use the language at a basic or ‘vanilla’ level. This background also prepares students to learn more advanced JavaScript techniques and tools in later courses. One such tool, the GreenSock Animation Platform (GSAP), is included in this short course. GSAP assists programmers in creating animated features for websites. This course includes a supplemental workbook, awards a certificate upon completion, and can be retaken once for free within a year.