Getting Started With Javascript
The internet is made up of websites and applications that are dynamic and interactive, thanks to javascript. Along with hypertext markup language (HTML) and cascading style sheets (CSS), javascript is among the world’s most widely used programming languages. HTML gives a web page its structure, CSS adds the aesthetics, and javascript takes things to the next level by enabling animation, adaptive content, form validation, and other features that make the internet so indispensable in modern life.
JavaScript is a high-level, single-threaded, garbage-collected, interpreted, prototype-based, multiparadigm programming language with a non-blocking event loop. While these terms can be intimidating for a beginner, understanding some of the key concepts in javascript will help you become a more productive developer and make it easier to learn additional technologies that play well with javascript.
javascript is unique in that it runs directly in a browser, whereas other major computer programming languages are typically compiled and run on a server. This allows javascript to run user inputs, respond quickly to them, and dynamically update a website without requiring the program to communicate with the server.
Like other interpreted languages, javascript can have its challenges in terms of performance. It’s important to take the time to understand best practices for maximizing performance. For example, frequent interaction with the DOM (Document Object Model) can slow down a webpage’s rendering. Minimizing this by batching DOM updates and reducing function calls can help enhance a site’s performance.
Another challenge for javascript is its single-threaded execution model. It only executes one instruction at a time, even if the CPU has multiple cores and available threads. This is because the language has to wait for its underlying runtime engine to complete the task it’s currently executing.
Despite these limitations, javascript is an incredibly powerful and versatile language. Its flexibility, ease of use, and support from the three biggest software companies in the world make it an incredibly useful tool.
If you’re looking to get started with javascript, check out our comprehensive course that will walk you through the basics, as well as more advanced topics, such as asynchronous functions and closures. Our first 40 lessons are free, and the full course is available for a small one-time payment. Sign up for your free account to begin learning javascript today!