Learning Javascript

Mom emailed me mentioning that she was working through a tutorial from a group that charged $125 for access to the example Javascript files. This struck me as kind of shady, to be honest. There is so much good, high-quality, free Javascript-related content on the web that I cannot believe anybody could justify charging that much. So here are a few good links:

I like Douglas Crockford's Javascript lectures:

• Javascript the Programming Language
• Theory of the DOM
• Advanced Javascript

Crockford is by no means a god among men, but he has a good insight into Javascript as a language, and you could do much worse than follow his advice at first. Once you've grown as a Javascript programmer, you may start to see that some of his advice doesn't match your needs or experiences, and that's okay! But when learning any new skill it's a good idea to pick someone to follow until you are ready to find your own path.

Speaking of finding someone to follow, here's a few style guides:

• Douglas Crockford's Javascript Style Guide
• Google's Javascript Style Guide
• The jQuery project's style guide

jQuery is a useful Javascript programming framework. There are many useful jQuery intros as well, but here are a couple that looked interesting:

• An Introduction to jQuery and Javascript
• jQuery for Absolute Beginners

You should also check out this list of free jQuery tutorials.