15 experts on the art of javascript programming
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New to JavaScript? Here are 15 tips on JavaScript programming from the experts .TRANSCRIPT
15 Experts on the
Art of JavaScript Programming
JavaScript charting solutions for enterprise-grade applications
Compiled by
Shilpi Choudhury
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New to JavaScript?
We asked a few experts to share some tips on the art of
JavaScript programming
Here’s what they had to say…
“ “
Irene Ros, Data Viz Practice Lead, Bocoup
Learn from other languages, learn from general
software engineering principals, problem solve
issues without a specific language in mind, learn
to write pseudo code - computing is a general
skill and we have so much to learn from each
other across languages and solutions. I know this
isn’t very JavaScript specific, but I find this was
the most important skill I learned early on and it’s
made me a better JavaScript developer.
Learn from each other across languages & solutions
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“ “ Produce code that solves problems
Alexandru R. Ghinea, Senior JavaScript Developer, Vauban
JS development can be cumbersome at times, but never give
up because of that. Take advantage of its flexibility and start
looking at the work of other devs out there to see how they
solve common problems. You can of course go to JS meetings
in your town or watch some on YouTube. Seeing the sense of
commitment and interest from the community will feed your
appetite and inspire you to go further. The real purpose here is
to produce code that solves problems and enables people to
make more engaging apps.
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“ “ Embrace your interests outside of programming
Jeffrey Auriemma, Front-End Developer, Discovery Communications
People who can write decent code according to
instructions are relatively plentiful. What sets a
developer apart is his or her ability to innovate and
draw context from the world around. Embrace your
interests outside of programming and apply those
experiences to the projects you work on. You never
know how your unique past might connect you to
people and opportunities in the future.
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“ “ Practice makes perfect
Arnaud Buchholz, Senior Developer, Helix Enterprise
Collaboration Systems Inc.
Passion and curiosity are important for learning
JavaScript. The more you do something the better
you get at it.
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“ “ Read Crockford’s Good Parts to avoid common
traps
Martin Rinehart, Author: Pro HTML, Pro CSS, JavaScript Inheritance and Object Programming
There really isn't any doubt that some bits of JS
original design were brilliant (the object model!) and
some were kludges (the '==' operator). A quick
summary of Crockford's Good Parts is all you need to
avoid most of the traps. (Use '===', not '=='.)
The ability to do both object and functional
programming is unique with JavaScript. It's a
powerful, expressive language that still amazes me
every time I try a new combination.
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“ “ Test-drive your learning
Eric Mignot, Épicurien du logiciel, TDD addict
For people new to JavaScript, I give the same advice
as for any new language: test-drive your learning
and then continue with test-driving any code you
write.
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“ “ Nurture your abstract thinking skills
Ron Grimes, Sr. Staff Software Engineer, Blue
Coat Systems
I would say the key requirement for
JavaScript, as well as any OO language,
is a high ability for abstract thinking. It is THE
make or break quality needed.
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“ “ Learn to be a good citizen first
Benjamin Tremblay, Director Technology, Virtusa
Some programming languages ( c# for example) mold
you into a programmer who can collaborate on an
industrial scale with other programmers of that
language: just using the language is about conventions.
JavaScript is not like that. If you teach yourself JavaScript
you may learn how to do lots of useful things, but other
JavaScript programmers may have a hard time
understanding you. So it's very important to learn how to
be a good citizen as a JavaScript developer, and
learning the language will not teach you that.
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“ “ Be thorough with your basic concepts
Joseph Khan, Mobile Lead (Hybrid), Yodlee
JavaScript has OOP support if not the classical way but
the prototypal way. So many beginners to JavaScript
find it difficult to grasp initially. That's what happened to
me as well when I started digging more into advanced
JavaScript. But once you grasp the concepts well, it
becomes easy to write scalable apps.
The most important concepts in JavaScript as per me are
Objects, Scope, Functions and OOP programming.
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“ “
Understand design patterns to develop scalable
apps
Ramón García, Co-founder, Culturaweb
In my opinion, important things to learn in
JavaScript include hoisting, scopes, closures...
but the most important is to know design
patterns! It will allow you to develop high
quality and scalable apps.
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“ “ Learn to debug early on
Claude Gauthier, Consultant, Morgan Stanley
As you learn the language, learn the tools available to
help you code, be it the debuggers, the net traffic
sniffers, the lint tools, unit testing tools, build tools, etc.
also, understand the nuances between server-side
coding and browser coding.
If possible don't fall into the trap of learning JavaScript
via a framework or toolkit. Instead, try to understand
why these tools/frameworks are designed the way they
are and how they are coded.
In the end, your debugger is always your friend.
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“ “
Learn Scheme
Colin Carr, UX, Fidelity Investments
As a new programmer, you need to read about
JS so that you can comprehend the object
model (and stop trying to make JS Java) but
coding is just as or more important. The life
lesson would be to learn Scheme.
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Every solution is really often a balance of compromises –
not just in terms of actual code, but in terms of figuring out
a way to work with our colleagues and meeting our
deadlines and navigating company politics – a lot goes
into the job beyond just the code being written. It’s
important to know when to compromise and when to
stand your ground. “ “
Know when to compromise and when to stand your
ground
Brian Rinaldi, Developer Content Manager, Telerik
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“ “
Empathy for users is really important
Cathy Lill, Developer, rtc.io, NICTA
Development for the web is always changing. You
need to be impatient enough to want to always be
learning and updating your skills, but at the same
time patient enough to sweat the small details to
create a seamless user experience. Empathy for your
users is really important.
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The true essence of JavaScript is more in its
concepts than its capabilities. One must spend time
unlearning the classical concepts of imperative
languages and embrace the beauty of functional
programming. Wrap your head around prototypal
inheritance, closures and expression evaluation and
you would come to realize that this is one of the few
languages where creativity is not limited to the
mnemonics defined by the books. Love it for what it
can do and understand the reasons for what it
cannot.
“ “ Embrace the beauty of functional programming
Shamasis Bhattacharya, JavaScript Architect, FusionCharts
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Got some JavaScript development tips? Add them in the comment section below
For more such stories, check out the FusionCharts
blog
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