Brian Munene: Welcome-to-Javascript, 3-weeks

[BrianMunene96]

Learning Objectives

1. What is Programming

What is a program? What is a programming language? How do programs and people fit together?

• [x] 🥚 Data in, Data Out: You understand that computer programs are used to transform data, and can explain a JS program from this module in terms of the data that goes in and the data that comes out.
• 🥚 Three Audiences: You can explain how a single file of code is used to communicate with 3 different audiences:
  • [x] Developers: You can explain how code formatting, comments, logs and variable names make it easier (or harder!) for a developer to understand a program.
  • [x] Computers: You can explain how a computer follows your instructions to store, read and modify data in program memory.
  • [x] Users: You can explain how the computer creates a dynamic user experience by following different executions paths depending on user input.
• [x] 🥚 Tracing Variables: You can complete a trace table for a program that uses only variables, and can check your work using the "trace" button.
• 🥚 JavaScript Syntax: Given a program, you can identify these parts of JavaScript syntax:
  • [x] Primitives
  • [x] Operators
  • [x] Identifiers
  • [x] Keywords
  • [x] Checks
  • [x] Blocks
  • [x] Function Calls
• [x] 🥚 Pseudo Code: You can explain what pseudo code is, how it's used and why it's helpful.
• [x] 🥚 Program Goals: You understand that a full JavaScript program can be explained as a series of smaller goals, and can write names for the goals in a simple working program.
• 🐣 Program Analysis: You can study a simple working program and identify:
  • [x] The program's behavior (data in, data out)
  • [x] The program's goals
  • [x] The program's syntax and language features
  • [x] Which parts of the source code are for which audience (users, devs, computers)
• [x] 🐥 Same Behavior, Different Code: You can study simple programs with the same behavior (data in, data out) but different source code and explain how the differences matter for each audience.

2. Just Enough JavaScript

Go in depth on JavaScript you need to know for writing interactive text-based programs in the browser. Along the way you will learn how each language feature works in small programs.

• 🥚 Listening and Reading: You can read code out loud, and understand your classmates when they read code to you. You don't need to understand how a program works to master these learning objectives!
  • [x] Listening You can exactly re-write a program that a classmate has read
  • [x] Reading You can read a program out loud and guide your classmates to re-write exactly the same code without them seeing the program. Every indentation, semi-colon, comment and spelling in their program must be identical to yours.
• 🥚 Static vs. Dynamic Analysis: You can explain and use these two ways of studying a program, each can help you understand different aspects of your code. To help understand this concept, the options panel in Study Lenses is organized into static and dynamic study options:
  • [x] Static: Studying the text in a code file without running it. Some static study methods are creating a flowchart, analyzing variables, filling out a trace table, and drawing on code.
  • [x] Dynamic: Running code and studying the computer's behavior. Some dynamic study methods are running code and reading console logs, using the trace button, and stepping through in the debugger or JS Tutor.
• [x] 🥚 Tracing Execution: You can complete a "steps" trace table for all JS language features in Just Enough JavaScript, and can correct your table using console output from the "trace" button.
• [x] 🥚 Analyzing Variables: You can list all the variables in a program, and answer these 5 questions for each variable:
  • Where is the variable declared?
  • What is the variable's scope?
  • Is the variable initialized with a value?
  • How many times is its value used (read) in the program?
  • How many times is the variable assigned a new value?
  • What types are assigned to this variable during the program's execution?
• [x] 🥚 Completing Programs: You can successfully fill in blanks for a program when the missing words are provided, including distractors.
• [x] 🐣 Translating Pseudo Code: Given a program written in Pseudo Code, you can translate it to working JavaScript.
• [x] 🐣 Comparing Programs: You can compare two programs with similar code and explain if they have the same behavior or not. If they do not, you can explain how they behave differently and why.
• [ ] 🐥 Constructing Programs: You can reconstruct a program's lines and indentation, successfully ignoring distractor lines.
• [x] 🐥 Linting: You can find and fix simple linting errors in JavaScript programs.
• [ ] 🐔 Writing Programs: You can write small programs that log specific values, or pass specific test cases.

3. Understanding Programs

Learn how to understand a larger programs by finding connections between the details and the big picture. By the end of this chapter you will know how to read a new program and do a simple code review.

• [x] 🥚 Stepping Through: You can pause a script in a your browser's debugger, arrange the debugger, collapse extra panels, and step through a script written with Just Enough JS. At each point in execution you can make a prediction of the next line before executing, and can check your prediction using the scopes panel.
• [x] 🥚 Imperative Programming: You can explain what the Imperative Programming paradigm is, and can explain how you know the programs in Welcome to JS are Imperative.
• [x] 🥚 Logging: You can tracing specific aspects of a program's execution and log them to the console.
• [x] 🐣 Naming Variables: You can analyze how a variable is used in a program and give it two names:
  • Generic: You can give a generic name to a variable based on how it is used in the program.
  • Specific: You can give a specific name to a variable based on how it's used and the program's domain (the program's specific data and use-case).
• [ ] 🐣 Describing Programs: You can read a program and describe it with comments using to the methodology from /describing-programs:
  1. Zoom Out
  2. Zoom In
  3. Find Connections
  4. Describe Goals
• [ ] 🐥 Code Review: Given a working program you can review the code for clarity, correctness and style.

4. Developing Programs

Learn to modify and write larger programs in JavaScript. You'll cover many of the hidden skills necessary to develop quality software and to work collaboratively on a code base.

• [x] 🥚 Program Life Cycle: You can explain the two phases of a program's life cycle.
  1. Creation Phase
  2. Execution Phase
• [x] 🥚 Fixing Errors: You can use the structured comment to describe an error in your program, and can make several educated guesses at how to fix the error.
• [x] 🐣 Fixing Bugs: You can use the structured comment to describe and fix a bug in small programs.
• [ ] 🐣 Modifying Programs: You can make small changes in a program to change its behavior without breaking it.
• [ ] 🐥 Refactoring: Given a working program, you can make changes to the code without changing the program's behavior.
• [ ] 🐥 Writing Programs: Given a description of a program's behavior (user story + test cases), you can plan goals for the program and write code to pass the tests.
• 🐔 Reverse Engineering: Given a working program with unreadable code, you can:
  • [ ] Give the program a name.
  • [ ] Describe the program's behavior with a user story, acceptance criteria and test cases.
  • [ ] Plan goals for the program.
  • [ ] Develop your own working program with the exact same behvior.
• 🐔 Imagining Programs: Given an empty page, you can imagine and develop your own programs using Just Enough JavaScript. This includes:
  • [ ] A title.
  • [ ] A description with a user story, acceptance criteria and test cases.
  • [ ] Commented goals.
  • [ ] Fully working Code.

---

Setting Up

expand/collapse

> You will need > [NPM](https://docs.npmjs.com/downloading-and-installing-node-js-and-npm) and > [nvm](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm#installing-and-updating) on your computer > to study this material > > Using a browser with good DevTools will make your life easier: > [Chromium](http://www.chromium.org/getting-involved/download-chromium), > [FireFox](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/), > [Edge](https://www.microsoft.com/edge), > [Chrome](https://www.google.com/chrome/) 1. Install or update the `study-lenses` package globally - `$ npm install -g study-lenses` (if you do not have it installed) - `$ npm update -g study-lenses` (if you already have it installed) - Didn't work? you may need to try: - (mac) `$ sudo npm install -g study-lenses` - having trouble updating? - try this: `$ npm uninstall -g study-lenses && npm install -g study-lenses` 2. Fork and clone this repository: 1. fork the HackYourFuture repository to your personal account - `git@github.com:HackYourFutureBelgium/welcome-to-js.git` 2. clone your fork to your computer - `git clone --depth 1 git@github.com:HackYourFutureBelgium/.git` 3. when there are updates to the module: 1. update your fork with a PR 2. pull the changes from your fork to your computer 3. Navigate to the module repository in terminal - `$ cd welcome-to-js` 4. Run the `study` command from your CLI - `$ study` 5. The material will open in your default browser, you're good to go! - you can read the `study-lenses` user guide from your browser by navigating to `localhost:xxxx?--help` > If you have a Windows computer and get this error: > > - `... /study.ps1 cannot be loaded because running scripts ...` > > follow the instructions in > [this StackOverflow answer](https://stackoverflow.com/a/63424744), that should > take care of it ; ) --- ## Code Quality Scripts This repository comes with some scripts to check the quality of this code. You can run these scripts to check the code provided by HYF, and to check the code you write when experiment with the examples and complete the exercises. ### `npm run format` This script will format all of the code in this repository making sure that all the indentations are correct, the code is easy to read, and letting you know if there are any syntax errors. ### `npm run spell-check` This script will check all of the files in your repository for spelling mistakes. Spelling is not just a detail, is important! Good spelling helps others read and understand your programs with less effort. `spell-check` is not so clever though, it doesn't have _all_ possible words in it's dictionary and it won't know if you _wanted_ to spell a word incorrectly. If you think one of it's "Unknown word"s is not a problem, you can either ignore the suggestion or add the word to the `"words": [ ... ],` list in [.cspell.json](./.cspell.json). ### `npm run lint:md` This script will [lint](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lint_%28software%29) all the Markdown files in this repository, checking for syntax mistakes and other bad practices. Fixing linting errors will help you learn to write better code by pointing out your mistakes _before_ they cause problems in your program. Some linting errors will take some practice to understand and fix, but it will be a good use of time. ### `npm run lint:js -- ./path/to/code` Just like `lint:md`, but for `.js` files. This script will lint all of the JS files in this repository, letting you know if there are any syntax errors or bad practices.

[BrianMunene96]

Some more details

How as things so far?

As things stand, I am making some good progress going through the material.

Progress

I am now working through the Just Enough Javascript

Where can you still use some help?

Grasping some of the Javascript concepts has been challenging but the resources provided are a great help. I highly recommend Javascript.info

Remarks?

I am now really enjoying seeing some Javascript code and predicting what it's going to do 😄💪 .

[yildiztugba]

Hi @BrianMunene96, It would be nice if you can push your solved exercises in the repo and add the link here. (tracing variables, what is the programming, just enough js)

[BrianMunene96]

Week 1

I Need Help With:

For now, Everything is going on well as planned

What went well?

Reading through the Javascript materials and guessing what the program is going to do. Also scripting some simple JS programs

What went less well?

There are a ton of exercises and content (in a very good way). I sometimes find myself lost in between as I try to understand every single line of code.

Lessons Learned

• basic Javascript syntax
• Fundamental JS components/features such as variables, loops

Sunday Prep Work

• Working through to finish just enough Javascript and as much of Understanding programs

[BrianMunene96]

Week 3

I Need Help With:

For now, Everything is going on well as planned

What went well?

Understanding how to fix bugs and errors

What went less well?

I had a bit of a challenge with the last exercise #pyramid 😄

Lessons Learned

• Fixing errors and bugs
• Stepping through the program to see how things are happening and linking with one another

Sunday Prep Work

• Finish up assignments and check up on background materials