What is... JavaScript?

So you’re hot on HTML, and you’ve covered CSS – well here comes JavaScript! We cover the basics so the next time it crops up on a blog or even a job description, you know exactly what it means.

JavaScript (often seen written as JS) is another programming language, however this type of script allows you to incorporate more complex additions to your web page. Anything that isn’t purely static probably uses JavaScript! That includes animated graphics, videos, music players, live content feeds, zoom-able maps etc! One of the best examples is how your search autocompletes when you’re typing it into Google – that’s JavaScript!

Why is it so useful?

JavaScript can do some really cool things, such as store variables and run code in response to certain actions (e.g. clicking a button). However, where JavaScript really comes into its own is when its supported by APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). API’s are built on top of JavaScript language and are in essence a ‘pre-made’ JavaScript cheat-sheet to implement extremely complex programs. We’ll do a ‘What Is…’ on API’s soon!

What is it doing?

JavaScript takes your HTML and CSS code and changes how its displayed to users. This allows you to give your website visitors the best possible experience, making webpages slick and responsive – in both front and back end. Think of pop up notifications asking if users need assistance, to the ability to load data whilst still processing other information. Although mostly used for front end development, the back end uses (using languages such as Python) are worth noting too!

JavaScript Frameworks and Libraries

JS frameworks and libraries allow developers to access pre-written code to speed up the development process. They include common functions and also let developers create their own which they can they reuse.

Libraries are for finding specific tools and functions you can insert into your project, whereas frameworks are entire toolsets used to create your webpage or app. Think of frameworks as the recipe, and libraries as the ingredients!

There are so many frameworks and libraries for JavaScript – but here are some of the most popular:

Angular
React
jQuery
Vue.js
Ext.js
Ember.js
Meteor
Mithril
Node.js
Polymer
Aurelia
Backbone.js

In the technology recruitment team at The Candidate, we have recruited for Front-End Developers at a variety of clients operating in industries such as e-Commerce, marketing agencies, gaming companies and many more! There has been a huge shift in companies bringing in their own tech teams to build out their technical functionality rather than using an agency as it saves time and money long term. The only issue with this being is that companies don’t usually know where to start which is where the Tech team at The Candidate can help out by advising the best approach! Every day we take phone calls from clients querying how they can go about recruiting for technical roles in terms of salary, skills and resource and we are always able to help them out – even if they don’t end up using our recruitment services! We are here to help therefore if you need any advice, please feel free to reach out to the Tech team who will be happy to help.

Also – here are some great resources if you fancy improving your coding skills:

Codecademy - https://www.codecademy.com/learn/introduction-to-javascript
W3 Schools - https://www.w3schools.com/js/

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