The five highest-ranked collections of resources for learning JavaScript available via GitHub.
If you’re interested in programming then chances are you know some JavaScript.
Today JavaScript has moved beyond its simple web-scripting origins and is something of a jack-of-all trades, used in libraries for building user interfaces such as React through to backend Node.js-based infrastructure.
It’s even spawned new and improved offspring, such as the JavaScript superset TypeScript, whose static checking features make it easier to stop bugs creeping into large codebases.
Demand is high for developers with JavaScript skills, although the types of jobs and salaries vary widely, from the low-pay of junior web developers to higher salaries available to those experienced in working with Node.js or React.
The ease with which someone can learn JavaScript is both its strength and weakness, making it easily accessible but also giving rise to some terrible code.
Fortunately there’s no shortage of free resources available, to learn not just how to get started with JavaScript, but also the fundamentals of how to write solid code using JS.
A great place to get started is the online code repository GitHub, and these are the five-highest ranked repositories for learning how to code in JavaScript.
1. Freecodecamp
GitHub’s overview of Freecodecamp, a free online platform that offers a various courses for learning about web development, covering the full web stack by incorporating courses on both frontend libraries like React and backend environments like Node.js.
Participants can earn six different developer certifications by building web apps, and once they earn six certifications covering front and back end web technologies — which requires around 1,800 hours of coding — they can claim their Full Stack Development Certificate.
Helping each other through the learning process are a large community of users who collaborate via online forums and study groups.
2. You Don’t Know JS
While also available to buy, the You Don’t Know JS book is freely available via GitHub and is a popular in-depth guide to core features of JavaScript, ranging from closures to the this keyword.
3. JavaScript algorithm examples
Learning by example can be a great way to understand new concepts and this collection demonstrates many JavaScript-based examples of popular algorithms and data structures.
4. 30 seconds of code
A good illustration of the basics, this is a curated collection of useful JavaScript code snippets, covering fundamentals like JavaScript functions and designed to be understood in “30 seconds or less”.
5. 33 JavaScript concepts
A comprehensive collection of articles on 33 concepts that every JavaScript developer should know, from fundamentals through to more modern features like Promises and async/await.
