What is this?

This is an introductory level workshop of the language of the web, JavaScript. It’s based on workshop materials originally written by Muses JS (previously Nodegirls) and we are very thankful for their (opensourced) work.

What is JavaScript?

Javascript is a programming language which was designed originally for adding interactivity to web pages.

Nowadays JavaScript runs in more places than just web browsers such as on web servers, phones and robots. However, today, we are going to focus on JavaScript on browsers.

Why learn JavaScript?

Learning Javascript is a good idea for so many reasons.

Firstly, it’s a core part of the modern web. Almost all highly interactive web sites make heavy use of JavaScript to drive their UI in someway. If you are interested in building frontend user experiences, JavaScript is a requirement.

Second, with the advent of Node.js it is possible to also use JavaScript to create both server-side and desktop applications.

And third, tools like Cordova and React Native make it possible to also build mobile applications with JavaScript.

It’s increasingly the case that if you ask “Can I do that with Javascript?”, the answer is yes.

Javascript isn’t going anywhere, and the demand for developers with Javascript skills will only continue to grow.

Prerequisites

For beginners, it’s great because it’s easy to get started. You don’t need to learn any specialised, complicated tools. All you need is the browser you already have.

We have Part 0 to get you started with web basics and some information about the tools (browser and an editor) that you will be using during the workshop. Make sure that you have a good grasp on Part 0 before going further. Otherwise, you will have some weird question marks in your mind during Part 1 and Part 2.

If you feel that you are struggling, don’t spend much time trying to figure it out on your own, just grab a mentor and ask for help. They will be more than happy to help you.

There will also be lightning talks during the day to elaborate on several topics to make you more familiar with the concepts.

Workshop Structure

This workshop is divided into a number of steps. At the end of each step, you will find a link to continue onto the next step.

Tonight we’ll be working through part 0, with your instructor demonstrating how to do each step (after first giving you a chance at it un-aided). The other parts are your homework to gain the extra skills for the stretch goal in step 3.

Try coding now!

See that hand icon? In most of the steps, we have some tasks. When you see a hand icon and below it some text that is highlighted like this its time for you to try typing those commands to learn by doing.

Then we have some links to resources to continue your studies.

Thanks & Credits

This workshop content was originally developed by folks from Muses JS (previously known as Nodegirls) and much of what you see here is gratefully owed to their hard work.

It was forked from Muses JS “Intro Workshop” Github project and added to by Sarah Smith of Smithsoft for the “Women in Digital - Coding for non-Coders Workshop”.