Is it a good idea to learn JavaScript before learning jQuery? [closed]

Question

An emphatic YES. It won't take as long to learn as you fear and the rewards will be more than worth it.

Sometimes I find myself struggling because I feel I don't know Javascript as well as I should?

I think you answered your own question.

I'll go against the grain and say that, while ideally you would become proficient in JavaScript before learning jQuery, you can probably make great progress on both fronts by jumping in and coding using the library.

One of jQuery's strengths is that it makes it easier to do certain things in the browser. You can get a lot of real work done by cutting and pasting and adapting other people's code, so why not start doing that? As you go, when you encounter an idiom you don't quite understand, dig around and find out what it means or how it works.

Over time, you will become a master of both JavaScript and jQuery.

If you have any kind of programming background, a good book to read to get you up to speed quickly on JavaScript is Douglas Crockford's, JavaScript: The Good Parts.

Long as you learn the BASICS in Javascript; HTML document traversing, event handling, etc... you should have no problem learning jquery.

Then from learning the basics you will understand how Jquery is to help you do the things that javascript can do, but with less work.

The answer to your question is a definitive yes. jQuery, Prototype and the rest serve to overcome cross-browser headaches and ease AJAX, UI behaviours, DOM operations etc. You'll end up with some pretty bad code if you are just copy/pasting snippets or have no real understanding of Javascript.

As a litmus test, you should be able to follow everything that is said in this wonderful re-introduction to Javascript. It's a bare minimum for writing good code and may require some more Googling on your part. Only then should you read Willison's equally good introduction to jQuery.

That should provide you a good start to build upon. And then if you feel up to it, you can start digesting Crockford (start with Douglas Crockford — JavaScript: The Good Parts).

Yes it a good idea because jQuery provides you with shortcuts for some methods and effects. By learning JavaScript you get the complete idea about how jQuery is working. It will help you to solve bugs and issues in future, when you will be working on a project.