Hey is there any JS developers here? I am a PHP programmer and i wan to learn JS in practise. But whenever i try to do it i can not find any examples, homework about it. Can you give me some exercises to work? Like, make a page that does this. If you are able to find me some exercises to do it would be very helpful.

Check pm.

But there should be some free books or tutorials out there if you google on it.
This one is copyright free http://eloquentjavascript.net/Eloquent%20JavaScript.pdf

Does it have to be java for some reason?

For simple {dip your toes in the water} webpage design you would be better served learning Adobe Flash… IMO Adobe Muse is the best example of this type of [drag/drop] web page making.
1. Purchase yourself a dot.com (they start about $5 year which is ok for learners) and hoist it with one of the free web hosting sites.
2. This is a good one http://www.000webhost.com/
3. They have a flash program web builder with 20 or so free templates to get you up and running within 10 mins of clicking the mouse… a monkey could probably do it in 20.

I know Javascript in theory. I have already read a JS book. I just need to put it into practice.

Well usually a good book comes with exercises.
Still there is google http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5631716/resource-for-practical-javascript-exercise

I hope flash will die someday. I hate it with all my heart. And besides, there is no more mobile support for it:). So HTML5 and javascript is the future.

I agree from the deep of my heart. Abomination of a software. Zero optimization. Horrorful support. No care for linux.

Ajax is ok as a standard… it's hardly new but yes it could end up being the future.


I was talking about using flash-based web templates… you just full in the blanks. Muse is an advanced programme for making webpages because it is designed to be used by artist i.e. people with no coding skills… think like "the Sims", when you pick a sink the menu shows you 5 or so and you pick what you want and move it around until it looks right.

Fyi modern programs like AIR are an extension/ type of flash: just a name Adobe tosses any interface software into… in any event it sounds like grinninglich has his heart set on using javascript so good luck to him.

AIR applications can be built without any Flash whatsoever. HTML and Javascript is quite enough (depending on what you want to do, as it seems new features are often first added to the Flash API rather than the Javascript one - printing first appeared in Flash, as did several pieces of network functionality, such as listening for incoming connections).

(AIR did sound interesting for a while as I already had a fairly decent knowledge of Javascript, then Adobe stopped developing the runtime for Linux, so now I'm learning Python instead).

As for learning Javascript (and some other languages), try http://www.codecademy.com/.

Don't call JavaScript Java! These are two totally different coding languages. They are the new MySpace/Beepworld/etc.? HTML5 and JavaScript (ECMAscript) are living standards which features added over time, so some of that is always new.

Sources for learning JavaScript:
JavaScript Guide on Mozilla Developer Network
JavaScript Tutorial on tizag.com
Link collection for learning JavaScript

I'd recommend
a) if you want to do something interactive: Create a HTML page with a form and do something when the submit button has been pressed.
b) if you want to start with calculations etc, the Scratchpad is a good tool. It's usually in the developer tools, e.g. Firefox > Web developer > Scratchpad. If you combine that with the possibility to print to the Browser Console with console.log(...), you are ready to start.

Let me join the Death To Flash choir; maybe it's a nice technology to work with, but it is a real pain for end users. Also, people who don't know to code should not be makign websites. I know this sounds elitist, but the website should match someone's coding skills, it is very simple to make something nice looking with just HTML and CSS, no JavaScript, PHP or Flash needed. Obviously there are exceptions, if you want a blog you will use an existing blogging solution, but in my experience it is better to have a simple and clean design than to try to make something fancy.

1++

I f***ing despise Flash, the resource hogging, browser crashing, constantly updating piece of bloatware. I've been enjoying developing in HTML5, and truly hope it buries this proprietary chunk of garbage soon.

Lol I can remember my diploma teacher insisting we do everything with command line/ ssh because he didn't like these new-fangled graphics interfaces… any one can use them.

Not everyone can or wants to learn {insert javascript, jquery, ajax, air, html, css, etc , etc, etc} code before making a webpage and they no longer have to… sorry if it upsets some people but IMO this is a good thing.

To get back on topic, perhaps if we knew what you want to be able to do with java* i.e. what type of webpage/ database you want to be able to make?

* (just kidding) javascript.

Good thing that IDE's were invented then. Thus you don't have to write Javascript code in notepad or whatever :)