Learning Advanced JavaScript

[edd]

This has already been posted once. You can read the comments from that time here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=823347

[cturner]

I look at http://ejohn.org/apps/learn/#2 and think once again - javascript is a disgusting language to read. Objective-J is nice and all, but what I really want is a self-like syntax for it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_programming_language). I've struggled to learn ometa and wish I found it easier.

[bumblebird]

Slightly off-topic, but:

>> #2: Goal: To be able to understand this function:

idk, I find all the js library bind() functions to be a bit yucky. Closures aren't hard:

onclick = function(c){return function() { c.doSomething(stuff,theOtherStuff);}}(this);

Also, they're far more general when you write them like that, and you're not asking the runtime to constantly call array methods etc

Useful resource though, but don't use a js lib :)

[jacobolus]

They’re much less readable when you write them like that, because when you get a few dozen lines down, this is much clearer than c, especially for people trying to read your code who are used to writing idiomatic JavaScript.

Also, I can live with defining such an argument on initial definition, as with Python’s self in method definitions, but having to add an extra argument to every function/method invocation for the execution scope, that must be passed in every time explicitly or everything breaks, is really obnoxious. You could certainly make up a convention for the proper name, but just using this is more straight-forward, and doesn’t really have any particularly significant downsides.

There’s a reason that pretty much every JavaScript framework includes a bind function/method, and that they’re adding it to the official language spec: it’s a convenient and effective pattern.

[mrkurt]

Certain browsers leak memory like mad when you use closures. The libs bind functions usually account for that and do the necessary cleanup.

Plus, the jQuery "bind" function is necessary so you can keep chaining methods.

[diN0bot]

ok, but once you start using closures everywhere someone has the bright idea to abstract most of that code into a utility function. before you know it, you're back to bind.

  function _bind(o, m) {
    var bound_arguments = Array.prototype.slice.apply(arguments, [2]);
    return function() {
      var now_arguments = Array.prototype.slice.apply(arguments);
      var args = bound_arguments.slice().concat(now_arguments);
      return m.apply(o, args);
    }
  }

[fadmmatt]

Don't forget the Y combinator and the memoizing Y combinator:

http://matt.might.net/articles/implementation-of-recursive-f...

[hendrik]

I really like his approach to teaching JS, but I wish he would finally finish his "Secrets of the JavaScript Ninja" book. If I recall correct, I pre-ordered this book almost 2 years ago, when it had a release date of a few months later.