Last month saw numerous exciting changes for WordPress developers, setting the tone for 2016 and seeing thousands of developers scrambling to get up to speed with JavaScript, which has become a huge part of WordPress’ future, thanks to the introduction of Calypso and the REST API becoming part of WordPress core.
In his annual ‘State of the Word’ round up, Matt Mullenweg spoke about the recent changes and urged members of the WordPress community to ‘learn JavaScript, deeply’. If anyone’s advice should be heeded, it’s Mullenweg’s, so today we’re sharing the top JavaScript resources for WordPress developers who are keen to embrace the changing face of WordPress development.
Mozilla’s JavaScript Basics
If you’ve never worked with JavaScript before then Mozilla’s in depth guide is where you need to start. With tens of different modules, this hefty reference guide contains tutorials, introductory guides, tools and advanced guides for those who wants to stretch themselves.
Sample Quote: JavaScript is a cross-platform, object-oriented scripting language. It is a small and lightweight language. Inside a host environment (for example, a web browser), JavaScript can be connected to the objects of its environment to provide programmatic control over them.
JavaScript Coding Standards
Straight from the horse’s mouth, this guide is taken directly from WordPress.org and outlines the basic JavaScript coding standards. It’s the perfect place to learn more about how JavaScript and WordPress can enhance each other and outlines everything from spacing to indentations.
Sample Quote: Use spaces liberally throughout your code. “When in doubt, space it out.”
Eloquent Javascript
Whether you read the free online version, or pick yourself a paperback copy, Eloquent Javascript is a great resource for those looking to up their game and discover how powerful the combination of JS and WordPress can be.
Marijn Haverbeke’s book is in depth but accessible and contains three parts: Language, Browser, Node.
Sample Quote: JavaScript uses a fixed number of bits, namely 64 of them, to store a single number value. There are only so many patterns you can make with 64 bits, which means that the amount of different numbers that can be represented is limited.
JavaScript Pocket Reference
Published by JavaScript author, David Flanagan, this miniature bible is a slimline JavaScript guide that you can delve into on your commute into work, on your lunch break, or before you go to bed. Packed full of engaging examples and easily digestible language, it’s the perfect pick for those who prefer to do their learning offline.
Sample Quote: JavaScript is the ubiquitous programming language of the Web, and for more than 15 years, JavaScript: The Definitive Guide has been the bible of JavaScript programmers around the world. Ideal for JavaScript developers at any level, this book is an all-new excerpt of The Definitive Guide, collecting the essential parts of that hefty volume into this slim yet dense pocket reference.
Learn.Modern Developer
Billed as the place where ‘ordinary people learn to do extraordinary things’, this online course hub is an educational wonderland for those looking to bring JavaScript skills into their working life. With an array of courses on offer that range from the basics all the way to career courses that will lead you onto the path of becoming a Fullstack Developer.
These courses are an investment, as they can take anywhere from two to nine months to complete, but are well worth considering if JavaScript is to have any part in your professional life.
Sample Quote: Modern Developer introduces our pioneering Evidential degree: the first ever degree that actually proves one’s entire skill set. When you graduate from our program, you will have an impressive body of work so comprehensive and prominent that anyone, including employers, can instantly verify and quantify your expertise.
JavaScript Beautifier
While you’re initially getting to grips with JavaScript, keeping your code properly formatted might not be top of your list of priorities, so this nifty open source site is likely to come in very handy indeed.
Sample Quote: Beautify, unpack or deobfuscate JavaScript and HTML.
LearnCode.academy
With over 140,000 subscribers and almost 8,000,000 views, the LearnCode.academy YouTube channel has become one of the first ports of call for any developer looking for tutorials and news about the world of web development. As you’d expect, the channel has a healthy amount of JavaScript tutorials and they’ve all been collected in a handy playlist that’s linked above - you’re welcome.
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