The docs are great for a given tidbit, but for structure and "why" I personally don't always get that from the docs and I end up reading something from Kent that tells me why.
Kent's stuff is good but I have a niggle with him (and an annoyingly non-zero bunch of other bloggers): no publication dates on his posts. As someone who always makes notes of what I read, and who wants those notes to include publication dates, it annoys me that I have to look at the git source for a given blog post to find out when it was published. (Though at least with Kent I have that option...)
Web tech moves very fast. A good answer to a problem today will likely get superseded within a year. In such a context, dates become essential tools to help comprehend someone’s post.
So it is! I stand corrected - thanks! I am, however, still open to the possibility that I was right in the past, and that he recently added the dates. ;-)
Sure, you're right. They are quite good. But just from my perspective, I've been a backend engineer for most of my professional career and wanted to pick up front end dev. With little javascript/html/css knowledge, I used a couple different resources. I'm still learning, but I've found that just the official documentation doesn't quite get you there if you want to get the full picture.
I've been working through the following resources with a decent amount of success I think:
1. Fullstack React: The Complete Guide [0] - a wonderful book with a bunch of practical applications to build
2. Learn CSS Layout [1] - A nice write up for understanding what CSS actually is doing
3. Mozilla HTML Reference [2] - Can't get any better than this documentation
4. Eloquent Javascript 3rd Edition - Book being discussed, really enjoying working through it.
Obviously, the React and Redux documentation have been great as well. I don't think that just those really give you the full picture that you need though if you actually want to build professional web applications.
You’re absolutely correct and I don’t disagree. However I’d like to offer an alternative: unless you build a real world project you won’t ever feel comfortable with your learning. I used to be just like you, try to cover as much ground as possible through (explicit) knowledge (books, blogs, videos, you name it) but whenever I applied that to the real thing, turns out there was always something missing, that I didn’t plan for. (I’m assuming you value your time and try to maximize as much of it as possible) Now what I do: I still look for resources BUT those that cover the minimum required (THE FUNDAMENTALS) and build upon that knowledge through practice and better target research/reading.
I suppose the implication was that you read the docs as you build something — the proverbial learn on a "need-to-nerd-basis"
I'm the same, I can read 1,000 technical pages no problem and make you a great talk, but I'll remember nothing past a month (or 12...) if I don't actually use it.
The React docs are excellent. But many (if not most) other projects have woefully under-developed docs that offer confusion more than clarity. I wouldn't blame anyone for assuming that the docs are not the place to start for learning something new.
Nowadays if you face a tool with sparse official documentation or with total absence of it, it's probably better to find another tool or be prepared to learn from the source code.
For me React docs look really great, but I don't get a lot from them, even though I'd say I understand JS. OTOH Python docs usually look like crap, but I get a sense of understanding.
That has a lot to do with the underlying language actually. This is purely anecdotal but react was the first framework I tried to learn. It was hard for many reasons. One Angular internship and one big vue project later, it was no longer hard. Everything just fell in place. It just clicked. The secret? My JS skills got way better.
