Reddit mentions of Head First JavaScript

Take my advice with a grain of salt because I have a bone to pick with Code Academy. Their approach to programming is akin to teaching art via paint by numbers. Instead of helping students understand concepts, they focus on the minutiae of syntax. Typing code is the most trivial and insignificant part of programming.


They present information in twitter sized chunks to maximize commercial gain. One, it maximizes ad impressions per chapter. Two, the information is spoon fed so you learn to copy code instead of brainstorming solutions. The effort invested in clicking through a tutorial gives you the false impression that a great deal of material was taught.


This is not learning. Learning requires you to tackle concepts you don't understand and push at the boundaries of your ability. Copying encourages you to memorize jargon to sound knowledgeable. Teaching problem solving using programming is a better approach. To program you have to understand why we need variables, arrays, functions, classes.


I would recommend Learn Python the Hard Way by Zed Shaw. This is an excellent tutorial. Look into Head First JavaScript if you want to learn JavaScript.

I would strongly recommend "Head First JavaScript":

http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-JavaScript-Michael-Morrison/dp/0596527748

I bought that book for a friend of mine who had no programming experience (but really really wanted to learn), and he loved it.

Beginner: HTML/CSS

Intermediate and up: Read up as others have said, A list apart, Smashing.

Javascript: I read Head First jQuery and Head First JavaScript

Check out Head First HTML5 Programming: Building Web Apps with JavaScript as well.

You could also look into take an online class at Udacity (Free ones) .

I HIGHLY HIGHLY Recommend Pluralsight as I have been using it for learning ASP.NET MVC and Kendo UI but they have so many classes available with full exercise files and hold your hand from beginning to end. There is a 10 day free trial and it is $49/month.

I strongly recommend the Head First book series. I see they have one for Javascript. I think it would work well for a younger audience, but it's also great for more mature people as well.