Participant

Question

Learning HTML. HTML5. JavaScript. CCS. Etc..?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
February 26, 2018
3 replies
3303 views

I recently decided I wanted to learn JavaScript, or at least get the gist of what it is and how it works. The reason I decided this was because of issues I’ve had with creating fillable Acrobat forms as well as other programs that allow JavaScript to be used. Countless times I’ve Googled how to solve a problem in Acrobat, only to find out it can’t be directly done with the standard software tools, followed by someone in a forum saying “you have to use JavaScript” in which they provide a series of brackets, indentions, hyphens, etc., which looks like Greek to me. I often copy and paste their “code” into what I’m working on and lo and behold it calculates exactly what I was wanting it to.

But I hate not knowing what I am doing, so this is when I decided to learn the fundamentals of JavaScript. After doing brief research, as I understand it, in order to learn JavaScript, it is best to first learn HTML. When I google “HTML” or “HTML for beginners” I am bombarded by results with words like HTML, HTML1, HTML4, HTML5, etc..

This brings me to all of my many questions:

1. Is it better to learn HTML before JavaScript?

2. Are all the different “versions” of HTML unique (are they each a language unto themselves).

3 Do people have to re-learn HTML every time there is a new version?

4. When people say “learn HTML”, is that kind of a generic blanket term that includes all versions?

5. For someone just starting, with absolutely 0 experience in any coding, programing, etc.., how would you recommend that person go about learning the very basics of HTML? (When I search for books on Amazon I get results for HTML, HTML4, HTML5, etc, and I’m afraid of getting a book that is outdated, obsolete, or not relevant.)

The way I envision it as of now, out of complete ignorance, is that I can “learn HTML” and that will give me a foundation for HTML4 or HTML5 or whatever. And that HTML4, HTML5, and I guess maybe HTML6 if or when it exists are just better codes with more add-ons that can be learned and applied but essentially use the same “language”, formatting, symbols, abbreviations, punctuation, etc..?

Sorry for the long post. I’ll probably think of more questions and add to it too.

Thanks.

This topic has been closed for replies.

TheBCMan

Participating Frequently

Late to the party... but my 2 cents:

1. Is it better to learn HTML before JavaScript?

Yes, JavaScript is an engine that controls HTML.

2. Are all the different “versions” of HTML unique (are they each a language unto themselves).

No, they are all very similar. in 2018, learn HTML5 and you will be fine.

3 Do people have to re-learn HTML every time there is a new version?

No, they are essentially the same but speaking generally support different things. Browsers and device support the HTML version so you do not have to redo your site when a new HTML version comes out.

4. When people say “learn HTML”, is that kind of a generic blanket term that includes all versions?

Yes and no, in 2018 just learn HTML5 and CSS3 and then eventually Javascript and you will be able to do 95% of anything.

5. For someone just starting, with absolutely 0 experience in any coding, programing, etc.., how would you recommend that person go about learning the very basics of HTML? (When I search for books on Amazon I get results for HTML, HTML4, HTML5, etc, and I’m afraid of getting a book that is outdated, obsolete, or not relevant.)

Don't get an old book. Signup to an HTML5 course at edx.org. They are free and give you videos and samples. Once you have a basis for HTML, JavaScript will come easy.

sinious

Legend

Happy to help you on your journey, come back anytime and ask away!

K

kentfromtxAuthor

Participant

Thanks sinous.

I have been jumping between 2 or 3 websites following their beginning HTML and CSS tutorials, and, while I know there is much more I could learn, I have gotten to the point where feel I understand the core concept of how each code works.

I've decided I'm ready to start learning JavaScript, which was my original mission to begin with. However the sites I have been using seem to start off by teaching JavaScript specifically as it relates to and in combination with HTML.

I on the other hand would just like a more "mathematical only" lesson, for lack of a better word. I'd like to learn just the programing functions of the code as it would be used within Acrobat. Is it possible to learn JavaScript in this manner?

I know you mentioned in another post that you "recommend Adobe resources" for learning pure JavaScript. Can you point me to where or what those sources might be?

Thanks.

Jon Fritz

Community Expert

1. Yes. HTML is the structure, CSS is the styling and javascript is the bells and whistles
2. No, they're all based off the previous versions. The current standard is HTML5, that's where I would start
3. Nope. Once you understand HTML, new versions typically just add small things that have been missing, and remove old junk we don't use anymore.
4. Usually.
5. HTML5 is the current standard, start there.

I would recommend using the W3schools.com website to get a handle on the basics. They have fairly decent tutorials http://www.w3schools.com/html and their "try it yourself" links allow you to play with the code being discussed at every step, which allows you to see the how and why much easier.

I would suggest learning HTML and CSS (cascading stylesheets) first, they're pretty hard to separate these days. Once you have a good handle on both and how they work together, move on to Javascript. Javascript is more difficult than the other two, but once the other two are under your belt, js makes more sense.

K

kentfromtxAuthor

Participant

Thanks Jon.

I do remember seeing w3schools after a google search. I saw many high praises for it, but also many who strongly warned against it saying it teaches "wrong" or "sloppy" or "outdated" code.

But you know how internet reviews go. There's always those how love it and those who hate it.

I'll start there and see how I like it.

Thanks for all the detailed responses to my questions.

Jon Fritz

Community Expert

Usually the detractors point to an article from 6-7 years ago as the reasoning why you shouldn't use W3Schools as a resource. Others get grumpy because some people associate the W3Schools.com with W3C.org, the official organization behind the HTML and CSS standards (they're not affiliated).

I wouldn't bother with their certifications, but the tutorials can give you a solid understanding of the basics.

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded