Michael Hartl, "Learn Enough javascript to Be Dangerous: Write Programs, Publish Packages, and Develop Interactive Websites with javascript"

All You Need to Know, and Nothing You Don't, to Write javascript for the Web and Beyond

javascript plays a key role in modern software development, not only because it is the only language that runs inside virtually all web browsers, but also because it has become widely used for back-end and general-purpose development as well. Although javascript is a big language, you don't need to learn "everything" about it to get started, just how to use it efficiently to solve real problems. In Learn Enough javascript to Be Dangerous, renowned instructor Michael Hartl teaches the specific concepts, skills, and approaches you need to be professionally productive.

Even if you've never programmed before, Hartl helps you quickly build technical sophistication and master the lore you need to succeed. Treating javascript as a general-purpose language right from the start, Hartl offers examples for creating dynamic effects in browsers and for writing scripts and modules using Node.js. Focused exercises help you internalize what matters, without wasting time on details pros don't care about. Soon, it'll be like you were born knowing this stuff–and you'll be suddenly, seriously dangerous.

Learn enough about . . .

Rapidly deploying a simple javascript app to the live Web
Working with strings and other native javascript objects
Applying functions and elegant, powerful functional-programming techniques
Creating new objects with both properties and methods
Writing tests and improving code with test-driven development (TDD)
Developing and using self-contained, modular NPM software packages
Adding interactivity with event listeners, dynamic HTML forms, and DOM manipulation
Writing useful, nontrivial javascript shell scripts
Building an industrial-grade interactive website with javascript, from start to finish
Michael Hartl's Learn Enough series includes books and video courses that focus on the most important parts of each subject, so you don't have to learn everything to get started–you just have to learn enough to be dangerous and solve technical problems yourself.