Learnable.com ?

I'm trying to learn JavaScript and finding it very difficult. I've been using the W3 School and just switched over to the Mozilla Developer Network. However, I do better with classes guided by an instructor . . . with question and answer options.

Kevin Yank teaches a 3 week class in JavaScript at a site called Learnable.com. Does anyone know anything about it? . . . opinions? . . . better options?

 

Hey there! Do you mind if I ask what kind of experience (if any) you have with any other forms of web development? Have you been exposed to HTML, CSS, PHP, ASP, or any other languages either markup or dynamic? I am always of the opinion that there are too many free resources out there to be spending money on others, so if I know a little about where you stand then I may be able to help point you in the right direction.

 

Will i learn from this?

 

Hi Thorlax402 . . . I use HTML and CSS. Haven't started on PHP yet . . . haven't even considered ASP. . . . MaryMach

 

Ok, in that case I would start very simple trying to make things on your own. A good first test would be to populate a page with data from either a file or a database. I would recommend trying it with a file first to get the hang of it and then move onto database work (it will help you understand what is actually happening). Do you have a test environment setup with php installed? If not it is not too difficult to setup. Here are two links for installing PHP on PC and Mac:

http://www.wikihow.com/Install-the-PHP-Engine-on-Your-Windows-PC
http://php.about.com/od/phpbasics/ss/installMac.htm

Now, the basics things you should get out of a task like this include:
1) Reading information from remote sources into php variables.
2) Splitting that information into usable parts
3) Generating and rendering the usable content with HTML.

This may be frustrating if you haven't done anything other than html/css before since this will be your first dynamic development, but stick with it! Here is a website that helped me work out some of the smaller details that will be useful for a task like this:

http://www.tizag.com/phpT/

 

Thanks for the links, Thorlax402. I took a look at them and recorded the two I'll need when I get to PHP. Do you have any favorite sites for learning JavaScript?

 

Mary, I assume that you haven't learned programming yet. (Learning a programming language isn't learning programming.) Start with Algorithms & Data Structures.pdf, then learning programming languages will be a lot easier. (You're learning French to be a doctor in France - you need to learn medicine to be a doctor.)

 

Thanks, Rukbat . . . I took a look through . . . looks like just what I've been looking for

 

Be careful with sitepoint.com and learnable.com (they have the same owners). What look like one-time-only purchases for ebook downloads often contain a "free subscription trial" you didn't notice. That free trial turns into a $30 USA dollars a month recurring charge. Forever. Cancelling is not easy. Beware. This happened to me. They don't answer the phone. I got one terse email response telling me it was my responsibility to read the fine print. Am I cancelled? I don't know. Now they won't respond.