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Typescript
I highly recommend checking out TypeScript. TypeScript is a strict superset of JavaScript, which simply means that valid JavaScript is valid TypeScript, but valid TypeScript is not necessarily valid JavaScript. As the name suggests, TypeScript adds transpile-time type safety to JavaScript, which makes it so much easier to work with.
At first it might seem annoying to have to annotate types everywhere, but it is extremely worth it, especially once you get to know the type system.
The official TypeScript documentation at typescriptlang.org is fantastic, and they have a nice playground on their website for trying out TypeScript. I use the playground all the time, and used it heavily to create sample code for this presentation.
Node.js
I’d also recommend checking out Node.js. Node.js is the platform for writing serverside JavaScript, which allows you use one language for your front-end and backend code. Node.js makes it very fast to spin up a web server, especially if you use Express. Like with the front-end, I prefer using TypeScript for Node projects, although I’ll still use regular JavaScript if I just need to stand up a quick web server using express.
Client-side JavaScript Web APIs
Another key part of learning JavaScript is the Client-side JavaScript APIs. The Mozilla Developer Network has some great resources, including tutorials and very good documentation with support matrices for each feature.
UI Frameworks
Once you’ve mastered how to manipulate simple web pages manually, learn one of the popular UI frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue. If you use Angular, you *have to learn TypeScript, because that’s what Angular uses.
If you use React instead, you don’t have to use TypeScript, but I highly recommend using it, and there are create-react-app templates for Typescript to help with setting up a new TypeScript React app.
* React is not technically a framework. It is a much more lightweight library than the other frameworks mentioned, but when combined with the large ecosystem of libraries that extend it, it fills the roll of a framework.
Go For It
My final recommendation is to just start building stuff. The best way to really understand any programming concept is to use it in a real project. Try out what you’ve learned today and look up anything you don’t know.
As a general rule of thumb, if there’s something you want to do but you don’t know how to do it, just try doing it anyway. You’ll be surprised how often that works out. Think, “What don’t I know that would enable me to do this?” and then take the first step towards learning that.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. Reach out to me if you have any questions, or if you would like me to cover any other topics.