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POWhy am I finding Javascript/jQuery so difficult to get right?
 

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  1. POWhy am I finding Javascript/jQuery so difficult to get right?
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    <p>My background is in C and I've picked up PHP, mySQL, HTML, CSS without too much issue.</p> <p>But I'm finding Javascript/jQuery surprisingly difficult to get right. Very frustrating. Why?</p> <ol> <li><p>It seems to violate a number of traditional programming principles (e.g. variable scope) </p></li> <li><p>Undefined variables seem to appear out of nowhere and already have values associated with them. For example (from the jQuery docs): </p> <pre><code>$("a").click(function(event) { event.preventDefault(); $('&lt;div/&gt;') .append('default ' + event.type + ' prevented') .appendTo('#log'); }); </code></pre> <p>What exactly is "event"? Do I have to use this variable name? Should I just assume that this object is magically instantiated with the right stuff and I can use any of the methods list at the <a href="http://api.jquery.com/category/events/" rel="noreferrer">JQuery API</a>?</p></li> <li><p>There seems to be bunch of random rules (e.g. return false to stop a default action, but sometimes this doesn't work?) </p></li> <li><p>Non-deterministic behavior when debugging. (e.g. I refresh the browser, try something and get result X for JS variables I'm watching in Firebug. I refresh again and I get result Y?)</p></li> <li><p>Very messy looking code that is hard to follow. What happens when? I'm using Firebug and Chrome Developer Tools, but I'm not getting enough visibility.</p></li> </ol> <p>It seems like everyday there's some random JS "rule" that comes up that I've never seen before in any of my JS books or tutorials. </p> <p>What do I need to do to make Javascript/jQuery more deterministic, controlled, and logical to me?</p> <p>Are there any resources that explain Javascript's quirks/gotchas?</p> <p>Thanks!</p>
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    1. COYep, JS is a fickle mistress. But you forgot "6) Doesn't work the same across browser platforms."
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    2. COre "There seems to be bunch of random rules": yup, that's the fallout from the Browser Wars in the early 2000s. Everybody and their dog wrote their own, mutually incompatible JS extensions.
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    3. COYou forgot "optional" semicolons :)
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