JavaScript: Just the Tip of the Iceburg
We began our JavaScript this week, starting off our new year, 2021. Going back to class where we left off, JavaScript, I still feel myself a little overwhelmed by it. It is nice to know we get to start from the beginning. This week we focused on what we should already know and we went over Conditionals.
We reviewed what we know about comparison operators, there is the Double-Equal Signs [==] (Checks if two values are equal), and the Triple-Equal Signs[===] (Checks if two values are of the same type, then checks if the two have equal values.
We reviewed how to create and assign variables by simply. First we declare a variable by using (var, let, or more preferred, const), then we name the variable whatever we like using camelCase(myVariable, myVar, x, whatEver), then we use the assignment operator [=] and assign the variable values (a “string”, an [array], a Boolean (true or false) and so on…). By assigning the variable foo the value of =10 + '20' fsd, we can assume that it will return “1020” , because the two data types are not the same (type String and type Number) it wont add the sum of both, but rather merge the two together (concat).
In our previous course, we were introduced to Git Bash, which was confusing at first, but essentially this is how we ran our terminal on our systems. In this class, we were introduced to be able to use the terminal application on VS Code. The command line is important if you are doing nay kind of programming. It is sometimes referred to other names, like (CLI), Terminal, Bash, Shell, etc. There are many commands on the command line that you can enter in the terminal such as: [ls] Lists of folders incurrent location), [cd] will enter you into another folder from current location, [cd ..] will back you up a folder, [pwd] will show you your current path or current location. There are multiple of other ones which include adding New Folders [touch], New Folders [mkdir] and so on. It is a very useful tool an industry standard. You will use it a lot when you are trying to save on to remote repository. Using the Terminal Application is an industry standard.
Ternary Operators is another neat tool we can utilize in our code. You can think of it as another method to run an [if] statement, or rather, a shortcut. It is the only JavaScript operator that takes three operands. It takes a condition followed by a question mark (?), then an expression to execute if the condition is truthy followed by a colon (:), and finally, the expression to execute if the condition is falsey. I have not had much practice with this as I am still trying to get the [if] method down.
It is important, as a developer, that we constantly think about the user when it comes to our websites or web applications being both user-friendly and accessible to all. Making sure the website is easy to read and follow along with, as to guide the user through your website with grace, making sure they are being pulled to the next element or button, or some information with ease. User interaction, or U/X design is very important because not everyone thinks the same and you need to reach to a broader community. Then there are others with disabilities that will need further guidance such as screen readers, image descriptions, making everything navigate through just a keyboard, color sensitivities, and so on. There is also the User Interface, or U/I design, which is what you see when you are on a website. Not only do you want a website that looks great, you make sure it works properly in cadence with the U/X design.