JavaScript being one of the most popular programming languages used on the web today, pretty much every developer will recommend you learn it for reasons like; Job opportunities and things you could build with it.
In today's article our focus is on the latter, which is what you can build with JavaScript?
Alright, let's right into it.... but before then let's first understand what JavaScript is for those who are new to the world of programming and looking for the right programming language to start with.
Unlike HTML and CSS, JavaScript is a programming/scripting language that allows you to implement complex features on the web. It is also known as a Client Side Programming Language.
Every time a web page does more than just sits there and display static information - realtime updating of contents, animated 2D/3D graphics, interactive maps etc, you can tell that JavaScript is involved.
Prerequisites:
Like everything in life, there's a process. It is good to know HTML and CSS before moving to JavaScript. Build a lot of project with just HTML and CSS before diving into JavaScript. Once you're comfortable (to some extent) with building using HTML & CSS, you can then dive into JavaScript.
After you understand JavaScript you can now dive into it's frameworks/libraries like React, *React Native (used for building mobile application) etc.
What can you build with JavaScript?
WebRTC : Web Real Time Communication is a free and open-source project that enables real-time audio, video and text communications between web browsers and mobile devices via application programming interfaces (API's). That is what video calling apps like google meet, discord, hangout and so many others use for Real Time Communication.
Websockets: is used to chat or update activities in real time on the browser i.e it provides us with full-duplex communication channel (complex term right? I know 😉). This is what platforms like GitHub, Stack overflow, Reddit etc use for updating activities in real time.
PWA - Progressive Web Apps : It allows us to turn a website into a mobile application. For instance Twitter Lite which was launched in 2017 is a PWA. PWA are usually small in size and consume less data which makes it a go-to choice for developers when building the Lite versions of an application.
DOM Manipulation: Document Object Module Manipulation is when use JavaScript to add, remove or modify element of a website. Using frameworks like Angular, Vue, Ember etc JavaScript can be used to create powerful applications.
Data Visualization: using libraries like D3.js which is one of the most popular visualization libraries used by developers, JavaScript enables us to manipulate document based on data. It uses modern web standards like SVG, HTML, and CSS for building graphs, maps, and pie charts.
Graphics: Now, you're probably wondering how can JavaScript be use for graphics when we have Design softwares like Figma, Photoshop, Corel Draw etc. With libraries like two.js, pixl.js, anime.js etc you can create beautiful graphics on the web using JavaScript.
Native Mobile App: With the use of frameworks like React Native, Ionic or Native Script, you build mobile applications which you can upload to iOS or app store. Facebook and Instagram mobile app were built using React Native.
Native Desktops App: With JavaScript frameworks like Eletron or NodeGUI you can build Desktop Applications like WhatsApp, VSCode etc.
Machine Learning: JavaScript can also be used for machine learning using libraries like Neuro.js, Synaptic.js, Mind.js etc machine learning is now made possible on the web.
IoT: internet of things. With libraries like iot.js, cylob.js, JavaScript can be use to build hardware Solutions.
Now, you know what you can build with JavaScript. I'm sure you'll have a lot of project ideas you can build now looking through the list. Also, you can now see why JavaScript us one of the most popular programming language today.
Hope you enjoy this piece! That's all for now. I'm off to go explore the world of JavaScript.