JavaScript Basics

Learn the language behind every framework

JavaScript runs every interactive web page and much of the software behind it. This course teaches modern JavaScript itself, from your first console.log to a complete interactive web app, without relying on a framework. Along the way, callouts show where frameworks such as React and Vue make certain jobs easier, so you will recognize exactly what they do for you when you get there.

The course is split into eleven modules. Each module focuses on one topic, teaches it thoroughly with runnable examples, and ends with a quiz. You need to pass each quiz to unlock the next module, so every new idea builds on something you have already mastered.

What you will learn

• Where JavaScript runs, using the browser console and Node.js, and reading error messages
• Variables, types, operators, type coercion and strict equality
• Template literals, string methods and formatting with Intl
• Conditions, ?? and ?., and every kind of loop
• Arrays and their methods: map, filter, reduce, sorting, destructuring and spread
• Objects, this, copying, JSON, Map and Set
• Functions, arrow functions, scope and closures
• Classes, private fields, inheritance and ES modules
• Errors, the event loop, promises, async/await and fetch
• The DOM: changing the page, events, delegation, forms and localStorage
• Building a task tracker app in plain JavaScript

How the course works

• 48 short lessons, each with examples you can type and run
• A quiz at the end of every module, with explanations for every answer
• A timed final exam that draws questions from the whole course
• A certificate of completion when you finish
• A printable two page JavaScript cheat sheet (PDF) to keep