12.02.2010
You Must Learn Javascript
Kenny Meyers makes a compelling argument for Web designers/developers to learn javascript:
It’s my belief that every single programmer should learn JavaScript. There are many new technologies coming out that fuel this principle. There is one single reason behind it. It’s ubiquitous. You can work for anyone and do amazing things if you’re using JavaScript. You can do it instantly on any machine.
Not every company is a Ruby shop. Not every company is a .NET shop. It’s my belief that 99% of the time both of these companies will need someone who knows JavaScript, and knows it well. Microsoft, Facebook, Apple and Google all use JavaScript to make great things.
I have to admit, I’ve learned more Javascript than anything else since taking a job at the Martin Agency. Everything from form validation to mobile web-apps to real-time shopping carts has required some large amounts of javascript work. It’s the most useful weapon in my armory and can be applied and combined to all kinds of solutions.
I also agree with Kenny’s view on frameworks, I love jQuery as it allows me to develop quickly and not worry about cross-browser issues. But when it comes to writing something that needs to be lightweight and efficient it’s useful to drill down and practice some straight javascript to build things from scratch. If you are interested in learning javascript this article has some great resources to get you started. I found it best to just jump right in and search for help whenever I got stuck, more often than not somebody else has already been there and figured it out. But yes I agree, Javascript is the way to go - as web browsers become more powerful and sophisticated the demand for this once simple scripting language will continue to increase.