Articles

Should you use semicolons in JavaScript?

I promised I’d start making videos last week, didn’t I? Well, here’s the first video! Today, I’d like to talk about semicolons.

There are people out there that say you’re not a real developer if you don’t use semi-colons in JavaScript. Is that really true? Should you listen to them and use semi-colons?

That’s what I dive into in this video. I also show a very important tool to help you write good, consistent code in the video.

Announcing Learn JavaScript!

Are you struggling with JavaScript?

When you face that blank JavaScript file, does your mind goes blank?

Do you wish to stop copy/pasting code or modifying what you find online, and write code from scratch instead?

Do you feel that your code is messy and you want to improve?

If you’re facing any of these challenges with JavaScript, I’ve got good news for you. I’m writing a course called Learn JavaScript, which will guide you, step by step, to build real components from scratch.

How to overcome your fear of JavaScript

JavaScript can be scary. It can be scarier for you if you’ve never been to programming school before, and it is even scarier if you tried to learn it through different books and courses, but you found that you’ve failed along the way.

“I don’t get it. I’m smart, but why can’t I learn JavaScript?”

“Can you really learn JavaScript without going to school?”

So these questions pop into your head. It gets even scarier. When you look at JavaScript you don’t even dare to begin learning it. You look at your computer and you put it down, thinking you’ll do it another day.

Don’t worry if that applies to you.

You’re not the only person who has the same problem. I did before too. When I tried to learn JavaScript, I failed. There was a period of time where I was really afraid of JavaScript.

But that doesn’t mean you’ll never succeed at learning JavaScript. You can know JavaScript and you can write JavaScript even though you don’t have a programming background.

So the first step to learning JavaScript is to overcome that dreadful feeling you feel when learning JavaScript. That’s what you’ll learn in today’s article.

How to get hired as a junior web developer

It seems impossible to get a job as a web developer. Each job ad you see says need to know React, Vue, Angular, Node, Gulp, Webpack, Sass and plethora of skills you may have heard about, but don’t understand at all!

Is it possible to get hired without knowing all of them? Can you learn on the job? Will you get rejected for not having enough experience? And how much experience do you really need? 2 years? 5 years? Or more?

Can you even get a job without spending three years coding things yourself? Can you win boot camp graduates without going to school yourself? Why is it so hard to get a job as a web developer?

In this article, you’ll find my thoughts about getting a job as a web developer. You’ll also hear how I found my first job as a developer.

JavaScript Scope and Closures

Scopes and closures are important in JavaScript. But, they were confusing for me when I first started. Here’s an explanation of scopes and closures to help you understand what they are.

Should you use this in JavaScript?

Many people feel that this is incredibly confusing. Because it’s so confusing, they argue that this makes JavaScript complicated, and you should avoid them like a plague.

But does this really make your JavaScript complicated? Should you avoid using this?

How to think like a programmer

“I don’t get JavaScript. I can’t make components from scratch. My mind goes blank when I stare at a blank JavaScript file. I guess I can’t do it because I don’t know how to think like a programmer”.

Sounds familiar? You’re not alone, my friend. Many people who tried to pick up JavaScript as their first programming language faced the same problem.

Heck, even developers who are already coding in another language face the same issue with JavaScript too. Instead of “I can’t think like a programmer”, they say “I can’t think in JavaScript”.

But no more. Let today be the day where you learn to think like a programmer.

Remembering what you learned

Have you had instances where you wanted learn something, but it completely eludes you?

I’ve had some of them. One instance was when I tried to learn JavaScript. Another was when I wanted to learn Node and Express.

In each of these cases, no matter how hard I tried, I can’t seem to make the knowledge click on a deeper level. I read books, articles, and tutorials, but the knowledge I gained simply vanishes into thin air the very next moment.

Should I give up? I would ask myself occasionally. Am I just stupid?

But I never gave up on learning JavaScript, nor Node and Express. After spending god knows how many hours trying, I could magically remember the knowledge.

For a long time, I wondered why this pattern kept going on. I finally understand now.

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