A Smarter Way to Learn JavaScript: The new approach that uses technology to cut your effort in half Kindle Edition

I have tried out Codecademy.com, freecodecamp.com, and snooped around on MDN.com (Mozilla Developer Network), they are all excellent resources but I think this is the most efficient way to learn a language. This book gives you exercises with instructions that are more similar to how you would approach a problem and subconsciously talk yourself through solving it. I also really enjoy that after each short chapter there is alot of exercises that require very specific answers as this helps me notice mistakes that would cause a problem when my code is executed.Another good practice built into the exercises is that timed-response prompts in combination with the way the author asks a question, this helps you get practice solving problems in a more realistic feel. One last point to make about this resource compared to others is the way the exercises force you to build up your info and continuously recall it throughout subsequent chapters. To wrap up, the in-browser text editors of codecademy.com and freecodecamp.com are far superior in look and feel than the in-browser text editor for this book's exercises, but the questions and method of learning is much greater in this book in my opinion.

Update:I am up to chapter 45 in the book now. I've pasted an extremely simple code snippet where my answer does not deviate from the Author's yet it is marked incorrect. I am basically checking all of my own answers at this point and do not believe the online exercises because there are multiple -- sometimes up to 6 -- errors per chapter. It's only usable if you fend for yourself. In the examples below, the first was marked wrong because the Author inccorectly put the word "or" in his correct answer. I've pasted the author's full answer with "or" (which is not a legal javascript keyword so it wouldn't run) and only that was accepted as correct. In the second example, there is nothing wrong. My spaces, caps, and everything are perfect, but it wasn't accepted as correct. Annoying.Before I bought this book, I was copying coding exercises online unsure what the semicolon might be doing in a particular statement or why there were empty parentheses after some statements and not others, and crucially I didn't know what words were keywords to javascript and which weren't. It was easy to confuse keywords with variables and constants in tutorials because I wasn't given the background to know what was what. I was told I would learn simply by coding and the syntax would come to me as I coded more. It did, but only in a way where I could read the code and not write it. Enter A Smarter Way to Learn Javascript. I won't repeat the premise of the book as so many have already elaborated on the coding sandbox from which to learn, how it's sensitive to spaces, etc etc. I will however bring up one thing which I haven't seen for some reason in other reviews, it's this: THERE ARE JUST ENOUGH ERRORS IN THE CODING EXERCISES TO MAKE YOU WANT TO THROW YOUR MOUSE ACROSS THE ROOM. Still, the book delivers on its promise, albeit in a flawed way. Some of these errors by the way, I am 100% sure I'm not wrong because I pasted the authors own code into the answer input and they were still marked wrong. They start around chapter 20. I'm not looking forward to the even more in depth chapters where things get even more complex and their is more probability for errors. Tempted to rate 3 stars, but won't since the value of the book is still very high despite it's extremely frustrating mistakes. Fix it up Mark!

The multiple, overwhelmingly positive reviews tell the tale and while no book is perfect,I would like to address some of the more negative reviews.Some seem upset that it's a basic beginner's book. This is stated clearly onthis very page. Being upset that a beginner's book actually is a beginner's bookdoesn't make any sense.Some are upset that code must be entered exactly as specified. In this book,if he asks for (2 + 2) , then (2 +2) isn't going to fly (yes, that missingspace will make your answer "wrong"). Following directions andattention to detail are mandatory.This can be very frustrating in the beginning, but you'll get the hang of it.If you can't learn this way, then don't bother with this book and most certainlydon't ever join the Military or try to "master" anything. You will fail.This book clearly states that you will "Learn by doing". Yet, some reviewersadmitted that they didn't do any of the exercises and then faulted the bookfor their lack of learning.That would be the same as buying a book on strength training, then notdoing any of the exercises and blaming the book for you lack of strengthgains.This book, coupled with the online exercises is an excellent first step on the journey to learning JavaScript.

My bookshelf is full of "learn javascript" books I've purchased over the years. My success with each has been limited at best. One of the primary reasons is that none of these books engage me throughout the learning process. Each seem to follow the same basic recipe for laying out the building blocks for learning javascript. The approach requires the reader to regularlly dedicate both time and focus on chapters that typically all start out simple, but build quickly on the previous material. My issue with this style of learning is that it does not fit my learning style or lifestyle which prevents me from scheduling anything non-esential to my business on a regular daily basis.The magic of this book is that is delivers the subject matter in quick to read, bite size portions. This is further reinforced by working through the exercises on the website after completeing each chapter. Say I've been away from the material for a week, no problem, I rewind through a prevous chapter as a quick refresh to reboot my memory and then move forward through new material.If you want to learn Javascript but have limited chunks of time to pursue that goal, I suggest you try the genious approach Mark Myers has developed for guys like me. At last after years of failed starts, I finally feel I am going to succeed in learning Javascript.

I have tried several online tutorials and books and nothing comes as close to explaining JavaScript so well as this books does. The exercises that you will do will infuriate you at times as they are so pendantic in wanting the code wrote to "good practice" but to be honest it's good to start out this way, rather than pick up bad habits from the beginning. This book is A+, its definitely a bargain and I would recommend this book over any online course or YouTube tutorial on JavaScript..Edit. After completing this book I still stand by my original review that this is a very good method for learning Javascript but there are some fundamental flaws in the book and exercises. The first being the way the questions are worded. They need to broke down into various steps sometimes rather than one big paragraph. As a beginner coder, sometimes the concepts within coding(such as for loops and if else statements) are not second nature to me, so the questions needed to be worded better or broken down into steps that makes it more explicit what is required.Also another flaw is that sometimes I wrote the code in the question right but wasn't marked as correct due to me not indenting my code as required. So back I would go an write it with indents and still it wouldn't mark me as correct. I would then copy and paste the authors answer into the coding box and click the submit just to find yet again that it wouldn't mark me as correct. In the end I gave up and moved on even though my answers were sometimes correct.

"We are thirsting for wisdom but drowning in information" TONY ROBBINS.I have been trying to learn to code for roughly 2 years with mixed results: I have bought the books, went to workshops and done the online courses but I felt that I wasn't really getting far. The problem wasn't the knowledge but it was keeping the knowledge in my brain. CODING IS HARD - don't let any of the "Learn JavaScript in 2 days" nonsense fool you!Still searching for help, but I found this book and it was brilliant and deceptively simple...1) Read the exercises for 5 - 10 minutes2) Do the online exercises via his website "asmarterwaytocode.com" 10 - 15 minutes3) Take a break then repeatI have been using it a week now and I feel that I have retained more information when I have coded than just reading or doing on line quizzes! I feel really confident that I CAN become a coder and it's due to this book!One tip of advise: when you learn and practise the concepts via his website, try to apply them to your OWN projects. It will help make it stick out even more! A really great job and cheers to the author!

I'm trying to learn code through freecodecamp and I got to the javascript section and didn't retain anything so I bought this book on a recommedation from another freecodecamper and I have to say it's really good, like freecodecamp it's web based interactive exercises and the author really does know his subject.It can be a little frustrating that when you get a question "right" and it's still marked wrong because of say indents in the code it seems a bit mean spirited but the author is trying to instill in the student the proper way to write code so it's readable by you later.So far I'm learning things with the book that I could or didn't with freecodecamp, so if you're looking for a book to teach you javascript (JS) then give this a go you won't regret it.

Brilliant book for absolute beginners, and for beginners to java script. Broken down into small manageable slices so memory retention is at its maximum with exercises that stimulate rather than intimidate.The cost is small and buying the css and html book together with this one makes things even easier.If your serious about learning javascript then this should be your first step...hide your other resources, get this one under your belt and just go for it.steve hepple.

I gotta say I'm happy that chose this book to get grasp on fundamentals of JavaScript. The author really considered beginner's mind when he was writing this book. The book doesn't feel cheap in the hand and I'd say the book is worth way more it what it's being sold. Plus I really appreciated things you wouldn't expect in a programming book like line: "If this seems nuts to you ...." and it was spot on. Made me laugh. The book isn't overly technical yet concepts are very well explained which makes the book a perfect choice for newcomers into programming.