“It’s like the wild wild west.” I first tried Javascript the summer after ICS 111 using Code Academy. I tried to have an open mind. I remember Prof Leigh saying that “it’s like the wild wild west,” while a friend of mine told me that I should read Douglas Crockford Javascript: The Good Parts and then assured to me that it was a really short book (only 172 pages).
My own first impression was that Javascript seemed a little sloppy. Your variables can be one data type one moment and then a completely different type of data type. Suffice, to say, my first attempt to learn JavaScript was all that great. I did not finish the Code Academy course, and I try again until last semester when I took Introduction to Scripting. Thankfully, after learning a little Perl and Python, I got use to the dynamic nature of JavaScript. What continues to frustrate me about JavaScript is that encompasses so much more than just JavaScript. I remember looking at web site for a coding boot camp and being overwhelmed by all the things that they promised to teach in 16 weeks. Web development is built on top a number of interwoven technologies that have been evolving very quickly. The very change from using “var” to “let” and “conts” is a good example of how even what is considered best practices have changed in a relatively short span of time. I think this contributed to the confusion surrounding what JavaScript is, and I think it is many ways a victim of its own success that came way to quickly before all the bugs could be worked out. (At the end of day though, Gary Bernhardt’s hilarious lighting “Wat” talk says it all.)[https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/wat]
WODs The WODs stress me out. There is no sugar coating that. I do not like time tests. My ability to read instructions gets worse. My typing even gets worse. My hands even get clammy. That said, I think there is value to them. I like the idea of coding challenges. The ones we do in private at home are a lot less stressful than the ones in class, but I think there is something to learn from this experience. Time will tell.