JAVASCRIPT MISTAKES THAT BEGINNERS OFTEN MAKE

JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages used for web development. It is a powerful language that is used for creating interactive web pages, web applications and also server-side scripts.

However, If you are a beginner, take look at mistakes beginners often make while working with JavaScript so that improve your javascript coding skills.

Let's get started with the first mistake.

Not Understanding the Fundamentals

The first mistake that beginners make is not understanding the fundamentals of JavaScript. They often jump into writing code without understanding the basics of the language.

JavaScript is a programming language that has its own syntax and rules. It is important to understand the fundamentals of the language before writing any code. This includes understanding

• variables
• data types
• functions
• loops
• conditional statements, etc

// Incorrect use of variables
var x = 5;
y = 6; // This creates a global variable, which is bad practice

// Incorrect use of loops
for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
  console.log(i);
}

To solve problems like these, before writing a web application, you can create simple console applications using these fundamental syntax of javascript so that you can see your mistakes easily.

Not Following Best Practices

It is important to write code that works, but even more important is writing maintainable code by following best practices. JavaScript has various best practices that should be followed while writing code. These practices help in writing clean and efficient code. However, beginners often do not follow these best practices.

Some of the best practices include:

• using meaningful variable names
• avoiding global variables
• using comments to explain the code
• indentation to make the code more readable.

// Incorrect use of variable names
var a = 5;
var b = 6;
var c = a + b;

// Correct use of variable names
var firstNumber = 5;
var secondNumber = 6;
var sum = firstNumber + secondNumber;

The code above works finely in two case, but after some time, you may find yourself asking questinon like "what does this variable store etc". therefore, it's important to follow best practices for writing maintainable code.

Not Handling Errors Properly

Errors are a common part of programming and it is important to handle them properly. However, beginners often do not handle errors properly. They either ignore the errors or do not know how to handle them.

Handling errors properly helps in improving the overall user experience and makes the code more robust. JavaScript provides various error handling mechanisms such as try-catch blocks and error objects. These mechanisms should be used to handle errors properly.

// Function with error handling
function divide(a, b) {
  if (b === 0) {
    throw new Error('Cannot divide by zero');
  }
  return a / b;
}

// Handling the error thrown by the divide function
try {
  console.log(divide(10, 0)); // This will throw an error
} catch (error) {
  console.log(error.message); // Expected output: "Cannot divide by zero"
}

Error handling is an important step in writing error-free applications, as it generates solutions for different problems that may occur.

Not Understanding Asynchronous Programming

Generally, everything goes fine until you encounter asynchronous programming in JavaScript. JavaScript is a single-threaded language, which means it can only execute one task at a time. Therefore, we need to prevent blocking in web applications.

This confusion is temporary because JavaScript APIs offer many methods such as setTimeout, fetch, and also asynchronous programming mechanisms like callbacks, promises, and async/await.

With the learning these tools, everything will be clear but you need some practises.

For Example:

// Incorrect use of asynchronous programming
console.log("Before");

setTimeout(function() {
  console.log("Inside");
}, 2000);

console.log("After");

// Expected output:
// Before
// After
// Inside

With the stetTimeout method, we don't prevent working other code in process, which is a logging simple text to the console.

Conclusion

In conclusion, JavaScript is a powerful language that is used extensively in web development. However, you can often make mistakes while working with JavaScript.

It is important to understand the fundamentals of the language follow best practices and handle errors properly. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can write efficient and error-free code in JavaScript.

Thank you for reading.