webdevRefinery Forum: Just starting Javascript? - webdevRefinery Forum

What's all this now?
Javascript (known "officially" as ECMAScript... but that name sucks) is a scripting language used to write little snippets of code that web browsers run when they load your webpage. It does animations, changes elements on the webpage, can listen for mouse clicks and key presses and perform actions when they happen, and a huge number of other things.

What's this AJAX stuff I keep hearing about?
AJAX stands for Asynchronous Javascript and XML. When Javascript requests brand new data from your website's server and displays it on the webpage without your browser actually needing to load a new page, that's AJAX. Originally it was meant for retrieving XML data (hence the 'X' in AJAX), but now people use this term when you're requesting any kind of data from the server with Javascript. The most popular data format for this is called JSON, now.

JSON? I have a friend named JaSON.. does that count?
JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation. It's a way of formatting data that's super easy for Javascript to read through, and has way less fluff than XML. It got really popular because it's a smaller amount of data that webservers have to deal with, and it's faster for your website's users because Javascript itself reads it much faster than it can read XML. But if you're just starting out, don't worry about this yet -- you'll run into it later

I've heard of something called a jQuery.. what's that?
jQuery is a "Javascript Framework". It's just a Javascript file to include in your websites to give you access to some really powerful Javascript functions. It makes AJAX super easy to do, and lets you pick out certain elements of your page just like you would with CSS. I highly recommend it once you learn the basics!

So, Java ... That's just short for Javascript, right?
Nope! Java and Javascript are two COMPLETELY different languages with two entirely different uses. The syntax is similar, but that's about it. Java is used to make everything from stand-alone desktop applications to server-side dynamic websites like PHP, and is about as advanced as it gets when it comes to web languages. So don't get these two mixed up

How do I start!?
You can test Javascript on your own computer just by including it in an HTML page, and opening that page through your favorite web browser's "File" menu. So grab a guide and get started! If you run into problems, come back here, search around, and ask questions

Guides!
When it comes to web guides, there's no beating Tizag.com. But W3Schools.com has some good primers as well -- so take a look at both, and go with what you like!

Tizag's Javascript Tutorial
W3Schools' Javascript Tutorial
A boatload of jQuery tutorials by awesome people