JavaScript adds interactivity to web design and development. The language is one of the most important aspects of modern website creation, and without it, many user interfaces would be bland indeed.
Often, we find skilled developers who have taken JavaScript in new directions or refactored common implementations in such a way that they’re nothing short of artwork. What’s more, when these JavaScript masters share their skills in tutorials, we’re even more impressed.
In this article, I am going to point you to seven good JavaScript tutorials that I wish we’d written for Ecommerce Developer. These tutorials aim at varying skill levels, but all provide good information in an easy to understand format.
Some of these tutorials will require you to register, but they are worth it.
JavaScript from Null from Jeffery Way
Jeffery Way is the editor of Nettuts+ and the site manager for Theme Forest, two important resources for web do-it-yourselfers, designers, and new developers.
In this tutorial, Way teaches JavaScript from scratch. As Way points out, the rise of several excellent JavaScript libraries has made it so much easier to work with the language that some developers have lost or have not bothered to learn the language basics. This tutorial is the first in a series from Nettuts+—so if you’re learning JavaScript, stay tuned.
Mark Obcena’s Up The Moo Herd IV: There’s A Class For This
“Mutators are special functions that change the behavior or structure [of] your classes. They’re powerful tools that facilitate special class features and streamline the process of inheritance and adding mixins,” Obcena explains in this detailed tutorial about mutator keys and functions.
Build a Beautiful Carousel with JavaScript from Scratch
This extensive tutorial (more than 49 minutes in length) demonstrates how to build a Flash-like circular carousel that rotates a series of graphics in perspective, pauses those graphics when the user hovers, and indicates how to calculate the geometry for creating a similar effect for yourself.
The principles demonstrated and explained in this tutorial make it one of the best tutorials on any topic that I’ve seen.
Animated Sharing Bar With jQuery & CSS
This short tutorial from Tutorialzine produces a practical effect similar to the one in the "Beautiful Carousel" tutorial mentioned above, but also provides extensive code examples and the CSS required for a finished and useful share widget.
Sort & Vote – A jQuery Poll
This tutorial describes how to create a draggable list that can also be submitted as a poll. I like this tutorial because it is very complete, includes the source files, and offers a lot of detailed code. And I like the effect it creates. This is something you could use on your ecommerce site as a bit of linkable content, in a product comparison application, or in a wishlist application.
PPK’s JavaScript Events
Peter-Paul Koch, who is widely known in the web development community as "PPK,” is an expert in browser compatibility, which he writes about at Quirksmode.org. In this video, he describes JavaScript event theory across popular browsers, giving you specific data about how specific JavaScript events behave in particular browsers. His explanation is vital for developers that are creating advanced JavaScript applications like a custom keystroke navigation system for accessibility. He also discusses delegating events.
Create a Slick and Accessible Slideshow Using jQuery
This tutorial from Jacob Gube describes how to develop an accessible content slider using the jQuery Library. The tutorial adheres to the Progressive Enhancement concept, which, for those not familiar, is a web design and development strategy emphasizing accessibility, semantic markup, and the separation of architecture and presentation.
