Phase 0 - Week 7 Ruby Docs vs Javascript Docs
Sunday, July 12, 2015
After working closely with Ruby and referring to Ruby Docs more times than I care to admit over the last couple of months, it is safe to say that I am pretty comfortable finding the information that I need. Now here we are in Week 7 and we jump right into Javacript. SURPRISE!!! Many of the great tricks that we learned over the last few weeks either don't work quite the same or don't even exist in Javascript. While it is extremly early in our experience with Javascript, and it wouldn't be fair to pass judgment, I still feel a little homesick for my old friend Ruby (Italics intended to convey fondness ).
Unfortunetly, my experience with finding the information I need from the Javascript Docs has been very similar. Again, I do acknowledge that nobody likes change and since I am not a baby with a dirty diaper, I am not loving it either. Actually, to be fair, the content and structure of the documentation on MDN (Mozilla Developers Network) is very similar to the Ruby Docs. Unfortunately, many of the methods that were built into Ruby don't exist in Javascript and the iTranslate app on my phone isn't a help at all. Thankfully, there seems to be a very active and helpful Ruby community, and if you Google the question "how do you do X Ruby method in Javascript," you will generally find an answer.
Ok, so Javascript bashing aside, I have found that my experience starting to learn a new language was much easier this time, as I feel that I am working with a much more stable foundation. I look forward to the coming weeks so that I can further develop my skills and understanding in both Javascript and Ruby, not to mention the many other programs and/or languages we will be learning. There is no doubt that the Dev Bootcamp Experience is immersive, fast-paced and stressful at times. I think that it is expected to experience a little discomfort when starting out with new languages, and I am sure that I will learn to love Javascript.
But as for today, I am definitely not ready to trade Ruby in just yet.