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Want to take your JavaScript knowledge to the next level?

Published on Wednesday, October 25th, 2006

Have you dabbled with JavaScript for a long time but feel that you don’t really know how to get to the next level? Or are you one of the recent converts that till only recently only knew HTML and CSS, but has come to the realization just how cool and funky things you can achieve with JavaScript?

If you want to get really good at JavaScript and definitely move on to the next level, I have something for you to read.

Maybe many of you already read it, or didn’t find the topic as interesting when you saw it (if that’s the case, you seriously need to rethink). My friend Jonathan Snook, who I soon realized is a very smart and competent web developer, recently wrote the outstanding article Objectifying JavaScript for Digital Web Magazine.

It deals with objects, objected-oriented approaches and different ways to write and understand such code. Once you’ve grasped what he’s saying, you can design your JavaScript code/JavaScript objects in a far more professional and efficient manner.

So, go read! And if you don’t get it the first time, read it again, because this is important. This is exactly the sort of thing that separates mediocre web developers from the genuinely talented ones.

Posted in Developing, JavaScript, Technology | 7 comments

7 comments

Chris
October 25th, 2006 at 11:14

Thanks!
SilentWarrior
October 25th, 2006 at 14:53

That article is really sexy. Iâ€™ve read it when it was released, but youâ€™re right, I should probably read it once or several times again.
Jonathan Snook
October 25th, 2006 at 15:35

Thanks for the link!
Robert Nyman - author
October 25th, 2006 at 22:03

Chris,

No problem.

SilentWarrior,

Do it; it’s the real stuff.

Jonathan,

No problem, you’re my hero!
Hakan Bilgin
October 26th, 2006 at 14:04

I have seen this article previously and have glanced through it. He has earlier also earlier asked, at his blog, the preferences of developers; “object literal or new keyword”.

Since I read the question, it has bugged me because, to me, it seems wrong in web-context.

In my opinion and in web-context, JS-objects and functions shouldn’t be instantiated. Instead, DOM-objects should be instantiated and global-handlers should take care of event-based execution. Subsequently, DOM-elements can be added/removed/altered without falling into the pitfalls of memory leaks.

Objects and functions can be instantiated as described but I think beginners especially can make the mistake not to clean up. For this purpose, there are more sutiable OOP-languages than Javascript as it is today.
Robert Nyman - author
October 26th, 2006 at 15:10

Hakan,

Well, there are definitely better suited languages for it, but taking JavaScript to the object-oriented level can make your web site and structure much better and flexible.
Hakan Bilgin
October 26th, 2006 at 16:56

Ok…good tips.

Thanks.

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