JavaScript Learning Curve
22 October 2014
I've dabbled in web development before. I've also dabbled in object oriented programming before. I'm a dabbler. After a brief reintroduction to HTML5 and CSS3 I was off and running, and within a couple of days I was impressing myself with what I could achieve. I fully expected JavaScript to go just as well, but it's proving to be a little hairier.
For HTML and CSS I deliberately avoided the use of frameworks and libraries – believing that writing vanilla code would teach me more – even if it meant reinventing the wheel. I've chosen to do the same with JavaScript. I was quite proud when I worked out, in simple CSS, how to create an off-canvas push-down menu. (Like the one seen above on mobile devices or within a narrow window.) It took a little more effort to achieve the same effect with JavaScript and thus make it more versatile. (By changing the class of an element, I could give it more than the two possible states available to me using a checkbox.)
Now, what I'd like to do is create a smooth scrolling effect after clicking on a local anchor link, producing a less jarring transition between the top of the page and the various sections. Google tells me that this is a very simple task if I make use of jQuery but vanilla JavaScript solutions are a little harder to find. The few examples I've found are a little over my head just yet. Guess I have some more learning to do.