Maria: Welcome to JS, 3 weeks

[MMikhailova]

Learning Objectives

Priorities: 🥚, 🐣, 🐥, 🐔 (click to learn more)

There is a lot to learn in this repository. If you can't master all the material at once, that's expected! Anything you don't master now will always be waiting for you to review when you need it. These 4 emoji's will help you prioritize your study time and to measure your progress:

• 🥚: Understanding this material is required, it covers the base skills you'll need for this module and the next. You do not need to finish all of them but should feel comfortable that you could do them with enough time.
• 🐣: You have started all of these exercises and feel you could complete them all if you just had more time. It may not be easy for you but with effort you can make it through.
• 🐥: You have studied the examples and started some exercises if you had time. You should have a big-picture understanding of these concepts/skills, but may not be confident completing the exercises.
• 🐔: These concepts or skills are not necessary but are related to this module. If you are finished with 🥚, 🐣 and 🐥 you can use the 🐔 exercises to push yourself without getting distracted from the module's main objectives.

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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.
• [x] 🐥 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.
• [x] 🐔 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).
• [x] 🐣 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
• [x] 🐥 Code Review: Given a working program you can review the code for clarity, correctness and style.

[MMikhailova]

Week 1

I Need Help With:

All is clear to me since I was asking everything that I could not figure out by my own and THANKS to our wonderful coaches!

What went well?

I have thoroughly studied the module "1-what-is-programming" by reading, doing all exercises and playing around with the code.
I even tried to write and run my own small programs. When they've finally worked I was happy to the moon and back!😄.

It turned out to be the most excited module for me so far...

What went less well?

Since I had no any previous experience with JavaScript, I spent loooots of time studying this week and I'm feeling a bit tired.
However , the more I learn the more exciting this journey becomes for me.

Lessons Learned

Just reading the code doesn't work for me, I'm getting sleepy. I need to try it out and trace what's happen there.

Sunday Prep Work

Started Just Enough JavaScript

[danielhalasz]

It turned out to be the most excited module for me so far...

😍

[MMikhailova]

Week 1

I Need Help With:

Nothing particular. Thank you for study lenses, after I have studied the theory they help a lot with practice.

What went well?

Using Debugger and Devtools for tracking and understanding the code went really well. I have finished /2-just-enough-javascript and started /3-understanding-programs.

What went less well?

A program with the same output can be written in different ways. Sometimes I feel like my code could be more consistent, even if it works as I want.

Lessons Learned

Don't ask too much:)

Sunday Prep Work

I have just started.

[colevandersWands]

A program with the same output can be written in different ways. Sometimes I feel like my code could be more consistent, even if it works as I want.

It takes lots of experience to write good consistent code, it's already great that you notice! The module Behavior, Strategy, Implementation will be all about understanding different solutions to the same problem and considering the trade-offs.

[danielhalasz]

Don't ask too much:)

😆

[MMikhailova]

Week 3

I Need Help With:

Are querySelector() Method and the getElementsByClassName() Method interchangeable in case I want to select the elements with the particular class?

What went well?

Finishing all the exercises in javascript-exercises went well. I really enjoyed doing them because it was challenging but you get rewarded when your program starts working:)

What went less well?

I think I need to study HTML DOM better before using it in practice.

Sunday Prep Work

Keep studying Developing Programs

[danielhalasz]

Are querySelector() Method and the getElementsByClassName() Method interchangeable in case I want to select the elements with the particular class?

no. as far as I know, quearySelector will only return the first element with that class, while getElementsByClassName will return all, in an array-like object.

I think I need to study HTML DOM better before using it in practice.

that is very much true, Evan was even a bit worried to have it already covered at this stage. it is both rewarding and can be confusing :)

[MMikhailova]

@danielhalasz Exactly. Thank you!