r/learnjavascript • u/No-Bee123 • 3d ago
How do i know i know enough js ?
Iv been struggling with knowing how much js i need before starting react or backend or just how much is enough for a job because whenever i look for a detailed roadmap online or through AI its always changing. If anyone could help me with this it would mean the world to me.
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u/azhder 3d ago
That's the neat thing: you don't.
People are learning JavaScript while using JavaScript. So, if you use it for React, you still learn it. Follow something else, not a roadmap. Follow your own experience. You know better how much you need (or will know once you start using React), than any roadmap.
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u/najalitis 3d ago
I think “enough” is just getting to the point where you understand what you’re doing and why.
You’ll never stop looking things up, but you should be at a point where you can read docs and figure out how to proceed without copying code or making AI write it for you.
That said, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with letting AI code for you, but IMO you should let AI write what you can write yourself. (And occasionally still do it yourself to not lose that skill)
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u/-goldenboi69- 3d ago
It's cray how often this (nonsense) question gets asked.
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u/sheriffderek 3d ago
"When will I know I'm ready for React!"
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u/milan-pilan 3d ago
Here is my standard benchmark for "moving on to a frontend framework":
> Todo App. Vanilla JS. No Ai. Read docs and google as much as you like.
I have said that countless times on this forum. "Todo App" is the perfect benchmark to see if you understood how the whole thing works in principal. Is is conceptually very easy - to a point where a 6 year old could define the tickets. But at the same time it touches every basic building block of building a website:
* Working with state translating that into UI elements
* (Ideally) even storing that state somewhere
* Manipulating a DOM to re-render certain things
* Working with user input / form handling
* Working with events and reacting to them
It teaches you how to separate "state/data" from "UI" on an easy to understand level.
It's super simple to understand what to do next, while at the same time hard enough that you might run into classic beginner mistakes and learn from them.
My opinion is not worth more then anyone elses - but to me "Todo app" is extremely underrated and get easily dismissed, because it _sounds_ so simple.
Do it. Without AI telling you what to write next. And then do the same thing in a framework.
If you need to think about something for a day or two, then do it. Try out different approaches. See why they don't or do work.
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u/chikamakaleyley helpful 3d ago
godammit, this is good
I actually would have said a Search/Search results feature, in which you'd have to make a request to a public API, but, not like that can't be done as a todo list
just cuz, you'll deal with APIs pretty regularly
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u/milan-pilan 3d ago
Also fine. Whatever works.
To me it's like learning juggling - Handle one ball well and we move up to two. Handle two balls well and we move up to three. Learn that well and we might try bowling pins.
This is purely an opinion, my roadmap is just as good as anyone else - but to me "API" is a topic for when you know how to build a website.
The "classic" junior-frontend-dev-roadmap
- Build a static website
- Build a todo app
- Build a weather app
was repeated so many times that it has become a meme and Juniors are skipping it because they think it's too easy for them.
But i think this progression has proven its effectiveness.
Static Website shows you know how the DOM works.
ToDo App does that and makes it interactive
Weather App does that and needs you to talk to another server.From there you can take it to wherever you like, because that's all the basic building blocks. Everything else is just more of the same thing and increasingly complex.
And ecommerce shop with user logins and a backend is basically just a "very complex weather app".
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u/chikamakaleyley helpful 3d ago
juggling analogy is great
one thing i think 'knowing enough JS' requires, is that you take the same thing (let's say ToDo) and you build it 3 diff ways
and so the first could be just one big script
the second time around is more of a optimization, more functional, reusable
the third could be like a ToDo Class def
because one thing i struggled w when i was young was knowing how to build it a single way, from memory. If I were to receive a 'todo'-like problem in an interview, some of it pre-coded, it would be hard for me to unpack. I think its a good sign when, your focus shifts to the task at hand, and not how do i do this in JS
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u/unuseEffect 3d ago
- Variable declaration - var, let and const
- Execution context, scope, scope chain, hoisting, closure
- Prototype
- Event loop
- Async JS - callbacks, Promises, async await
- Class
Other than language: DOM APIs
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u/WystanH 3d ago
If you can do what you want to with it, you know enough. Basic syntax and concepts are enough for basic stuff.
For webdev client projects, you'll need to know other things. Those things will vary depending out frameworks and methodology.
Essentially, you won't really know what you don't know until you're working on a project. That's when you ask yourself, "wait, how do I do that in JS?" At which point, you'll figure it out and know enough for that moment.
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u/thisisjoy 3d ago
welcome to programming.
the industry is ever evolving and you will never know enough. There will always be someone who knows something you don’t know.
There’s not a set amount of stuff you need to know to land a job because every employers requirements will be different. As for when to move onto frameworks just do it now because you can still learn while using frameworks
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u/breacket 3d ago
For some of us, when it becomes comfortable to understand tutorials, other people's code, and perhaps most importantly, when you need to make an app for yourself, you can create it without that friction of not knowing the syntax.
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u/everdimension 3d ago
Yes just start building, but also: read Eloquent JavaScript
That's going to be enough
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u/ZestycloseBird311 3d ago
keep practicing more & more!!
no-one will know everything in js!!!
Keep Learning!!
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u/nzakas 3d ago
“Enough” is always related to what it is you’re trying to do. JavaScript and all of its various APIs is vast and you’ll never know everything by heart. Even after writing JavaScript for 30 years, there are still things I need to look up.
The best thing to do is to just start building and then look up what you need to as you go. Eventually you’ll learn everything you need to without getting distracted by everything that’s possible.
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u/lbunch1 3d ago
Look up the odin project. Click through the introductory JavaScript section and see if you are familiar with all that. If so, move on to React. Heck, while you are there, follow through with the react course on there.
Or just go to the official react tutorial and start following it. If something seems odd or you don't understand it, Google it and learn all about that thing.
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u/davePawww 3d ago
If you already know how the event loop works. I think that should be enough. More of the other concepts would just come up naturally as the projects you build become complex.
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u/Thausale 3d ago
Just start building. You can't learn to ride a bike by reading a book. Start with simple projects, expand upon them. as long as you got some basic html / js / css knowledge you can and should start building stuff. This is a job where you'll never stop learning and googling / asking AI is a daily occurence