Tech Learning Collective

Technology education for radical organizers and revolutionary communities.

  • December 5, 2020 4:30 PM (-0500) December 5, 2020 6:00 PM
  • Remote
  • Status: CONFIRMED

Tickets are no longer available for this event.

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Event description

JavaScript is known for being “the Web programming language,” and while its capabilities in a Web browser have grown considerably, today JavaScript can also be used to automate mundane office jobs (e.g., Google Apps Script, Microsoft Office’s JavaScript API), develop PC games (using GDevelop), and much more. Learn what you need to know to get started with JavaScript in any environment in this workshop covering some common programming concepts as well as the quirks of the JavaScript language itself (functional scope, prototype-based object inheritance, etc.) so you can increase your digital dexterity whether in a Web browser, office job, or your own project.

Workshop Description

Over the course of ten days in 1995, the Web changed forever when Brendan Eich was hired by Netscape, Inc. and developed a programming language that could be embedded in Web pages. Briefly named LiveScript, the language became known as JavaScript three months later, and was officially standardized as ECMAScript in 1997 after taking the Internet by storm only two years later. Today, JavaScript is arguably the single most popular and prolific high-level language available to many people for many projects.

Although most people know of JavaScript as the programming language of the Web, where its capabilities have increased dramatically over the years, many other environments outside of the Web browser or traditional Web application now embed or rely on JavaScript engines to work. Entire back-end applications can be created with “server-side JavaScript” (Node.js, RingoJS); Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices like sensors and larger microcontrollers offer JavaScript scriptable interfaces (Espruino, low.js); mundane office jobs and “paperwork” can be accomplished in JavaScript (OpenOffice/LibreOffice Script Provider, Google Apps Script, Microsoft Office JavaScript API); JavaScript can be used to write smart contracts for blockchain-based distributed ledger technologies (Hyperledger Fabric); desktop and PC game programming can be done entirely in JavaScript (GDevelop, Babylon.js); some other programming languages are implemented in JavaScript (Scratch); and JavaScript can even be used for macOS system automation tasks using the Open Scripting Architecture (OSA) JavaScript for Automation extension. Almost no other programming language is as easy to learn while offering the breadth of options that JavaScript does, which is one clear reason for the language’s popularity among developers and desirability among employers.

In this workshop, you’ll learn what you need to know to get started with JavaScript in any environment. By focusing on the language’s built-in constructs, you’ll be able to avoid many common pitfalls and understand what makes JavaScript tick. We’ll cover some programming basics common to all languages, but we’ll also show how JavaScript’s unusual rules (functional scope, prototype-based object inheritance, etc.) make it possible to write especially elegant—or especially dangerous—code, as well as showing you why developing even minimal proficiency with JavaScript will drastically increase your “digital dexterity” as you browse the Web.

As this is a remote/online-only event, there is no physical class space, but attendance is still limited to 15 students, so purchase your ticket now to reserve your spot.

To participate in our webinars, you will need access to a modern Web browser such as an up-to-date copy of Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. You will also need a reliable Internet connection. We recommend disabling Wi-Fi and plugging your computer in to a hard-wired Ethernet network cable for the duration of the webinar, if possible.

If you would like to share your video screen or appear on camera, you will need to have and activate your own camera, such as the one built-in to many modern laptops. Similarly, to speak with the rest of the webinar participants, you will need a microphone. If you do choose to activate your microphone, we ask that you please plug in headphones/ear buds or use a headset in order to help reduce audio feedback loops that can degrade the webinar experience for other participants.

Please refer to our workshops and webinars FAQ for additional tips and advice before you join the video conference.

As with all Tech Learning Collective events, racism, queerphobia, transphobia, sexism, “brogrammer,” “manarchist,” or any kind of similarly awful behavior will result in immediate removal from class without a refund. Please refer to our lightweight social rules for details on our strictly enforced no-tolerance policy against bigotry of any kind.

About Tech Learning Collective

Tech Learning Collective is an apprenticeship-based technology school that trains politically self-motivated individuals in the arts of hypermedia, Information Technology, and radical political practice. We offer unparalleled free, by-donation, and low-cost computer classes on topics ranging from fundamental computer literacy to the same offensive computer hacking techniques used by national intelligence agencies and military powers (cyber armies). For more information and to enroll, visit TechLearningCollective.com.

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