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JS101 2016 Sessions #14

Open katjad opened 8 years ago

katjad commented 8 years ago

12 January - Kickoff for 2016 Things discussed in this session

Summary of some things discussed: Different platforms for learning Frontend: It was mentioned that Codecademy is good if you never have done any programming before, but when finished you still wouldn't know how to set up your own project Two people have had good experience with Treehouse Also good: Udacity, FreeCodecamp

Project: We have set up a team on Github: https://github.com/orgs/CodeHubOrg/teams/js2016 Paul will till next time set up a simple Node app scaffold and do a presentation on it Also check #4 and #5 for ideas re app

'Homework':

  1. Think about what learning you want to commit to. Are you happy to work through a book together with others (or also on your own), and which book. Or rather work through a course on a learning platform?
  2. Any area you want to get some practical experience with? Anything you would be prepared to work through on your own and then give a presentation on?
  3. Post on here with answers to 1. and 2. or any other comments :)
katjad commented 8 years ago

I have had a closer look at both the YDKJS series by Kyle Simpson https://github.com/getify/You-Dont-Know-JS and 'Secrets of the JavaScript Ninja' by Bibeault/Resig/Maras (have pdf of 1st edition, 2nd coming out now https://www.manning.com/books/secrets-of-the-javascript-ninja-second-edition), and have decided to use them both. They both explain concepts of the language in depth. YDKJS has really good explanation of closures I find. I feel I have finally fully grasped what they are.

Ninja seems great for gaining understanding (and control?) of processes in the Browser - but also functional and OOP programming, timers and (gulp) regular expressions which according to authors are v important for JS programming!

I'll try to get through one or two chapters of YDKJS every two weeks, and read parts of JS Ninja when it fits in with the topics.

These books have many code examples but no exercises as such. For coding I will work through FreeCodeCamp exercises I have decided. Or of course, work on the app we are building!

katjad commented 8 years ago

Just putting this link here, as I thought it was interesting in terms of a starter app. She made that today! https://github.com/jennschiffer/react-es6-webpack-lizard

katjad commented 8 years ago

26 January - Foundations for an example app

Might write more in the following days, just to make a start: Paul introduced the app he has built so far (which is on GitHub here: https://github.com/CodeHubOrg/organisations-database)

The app uses Express http://expressjs.com/ and React together with the Flux model (both developed ad Facebook: see https://facebook.github.io/react/ and http://facebook.github.io/flux/docs/overview.html#content)

Paul mentioned this article which is a good introduction to Flux: http://blog.andrewray.me/flux-for-stupid-people/

The app is a working example that by now shows a table of local businesses. When you select one, the name appears in a box underneath. You can run it on your local machine when you follow the instructions in the README of the repository.

katjad commented 8 years ago

09 February - Adding a build process (<- suggestion)

I have had some fun (mostly!) with this over the weekend, and if there's interest, I could talk about build tools on Tuesday. After briefly experimenting with gulp and browserify (which did also work), I have switched to webpack which I think is the way to go. - This can still be combined with grunt or gulp, but so far I am just using npm scripts.

For now I have created a branch for this, there are quite a few structural changes, too. You can see it here: https://github.com/CodeHubOrg/organisations-database/tree/webpack (check the Readme) . If you clone the repo or pull the changes, you should also get it locally.

So, I could give a talk on webpack and other build tools and we could discuss the proposed changes and hopefully merge them in afterwards. Please also think about whether you want to contribute to the app and what specific areas you are interested in! It would also be great to have a coordinator.

I wanted to mention this tutorial which I relied on quite heavily and which explains a lot of things. I can really recommended if you want to get started with the combination of webpack and react. http://survivejs.com/webpack_react/

Also, thanks @PaulGrimshaw for starting the app!

me--2014 commented 8 years ago

Hi!

I'm looking forward to learning about React. I'd also be interested in discussing Javascript libraries more generally - e.g. what are the main ones and what are their pros and cons?

Amy

p.s. Thanks very much for the Git tutorial which was just right for me!

katjad commented 8 years ago

Hi Amy, that's great to hear, and discussing Javascript libraries is something I'd be interested in, too.

me--2014 commented 8 years ago

Hi Katja - I just had an idea for a Javascript 101 topic. I'd find it interesting to discuss the frontend - backend interface (different approaches, common pitfalls, etc). But I'm afraid at this stage I wouldn't feel able to do a talk on it myself. I totally understand if we don't go with it - it's just a thought that came to mind :)

Amy

Gicela commented 8 years ago

How about having lighting talks of 5 min? I'm happy to talk about what I have been learning about 'invoking functions'.

wingedeel commented 8 years ago

5 minute lightning talks might be a good way to go. I certainly don't think I could more than that for a while!

On Wed, Mar 16, 2016 at 11:41 AM, Gicela notifications@github.com wrote:

How about having lighting talks of 5 min? I'm happy to talk about what I have been learning about 'invoking functions'.

— You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread. Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/CodeHubOrg/discussions/issues/14#issuecomment-197277982

katjad commented 8 years ago

Sounds great! Amy could you talk about your topic for five minutes? Even just about your interest in it, and which solutions you are aware of or would consider, something like that? Perhaps us four could each give a mini talk about what a main interest of ours is, the resources we know about that and the questions we have? - This week I have so far not got down to very much at all. Am on my own (Matin in America) and all kinds of commitments.. But I am set on doing something till Tuesday!

wingedeel commented 8 years ago

I have been looking at D3.js this week and I could maybe do a little talk on it in a few weeks. I know there is a BristolJS talk on D3.js coming up so I don't know if this would conflict.

On Thu, Mar 17, 2016 at 10:13 AM, Katja Durrani notifications@github.com wrote:

Sounds great! Amy could you talk about your topic for five minutes? Even just about your interest in it, and which solutions you are aware of or would consider, something like that? Perhaps us four could each give a mini talk about what a main interest of ours is, the resources we know about that and the questions we have? - This week I have so far not got down to very much at all. Am on my own (Matin in America) and all kinds of commitments.. But I am set on doing something till Tuesday!

— You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/CodeHubOrg/discussions/issues/14#issuecomment-197802694

katjad commented 8 years ago

I don't think there's a conflict, it will probably be from a different angle anyway. It would be great if you can give a talk in a few week. Perhaps we can make a list of topics on Tuesday.

me--2014 commented 8 years ago

I'm happy to do a lightning talk on frontend/backend. I expect it'll help me learn a lot!