Workshop MW.08: Foundations in Programming (CCCC 2017)

agenda.md

Agenda

9:00a-12:30p

This is the general order of business for the morning. We'll start with basic values in JavaScript, and how they are stored in variables. We'll also look at more complex ways of storing values before turning to basic operators. With that in hand, we'll be able to work our way up to statements and functions, which are the core building-blocks to programming. All of this is just a plan. We can move in different directions based on particpant interest.

We'll use the following technology:

• CodePen.io
• Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox (Developer Edition)

The links below all come from the Mozilla Developer Network (MDN), whose JavaScript Reference is indispensable--but also takes practice to learn to read. Don't worry. We'll get a lot of practice in today.

• Welcome & Introductions; Backgrounds in Programming?
• Basic Values:
  • Number
  • String
  • Booleans
  • undefined and null
• Variables
• Complex Values (Collections):
  • Arrays
  • Object literals
• Expressions and operators
  • Addition operator (+)
  • Subtraction operator (-)
  • Multiplication operator (*)
  • Division operator (/)
  • Increment operator (++)

Break...(10:30ish)

• Functions and function scope
  • The function keyword
  • Block statements
  • The return statement
• Useful Built-in JavaScript Objects
  • Date
  • Math
• More Complex Functions
• Statements & Loops
  • while
  • for
  • The arguments object
• Objects
• Discussion and wrap-up

reading-list.md

Some essential readings on JavaScript and programming generally.

• Crockford, D. JavaScript: The Good Parts. O'Reilly Media, ISBN 9780596517748
• Haverbeke, M. Eloquent JavaScript 2nd ed.. No Starch Press, ISBN 9781593275846 Open-Access Preprint
• Hunt, A. and D. Thomas. The Pragmatic Programmer. Pragmatic Bookshelf, ISBN 9780201616224
• Petzold, C. Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software. Microsoft Press, ISBN 9780735611313