Tutorials Introduction| Working With Data and APIs in Javascript

Good day, DIY family! I am excited to announce to the community a series of tutorials I will be posting about my favorite programming language, Javascript. JavaScript is an incredibly powerful programming language, allowing developers to create dynamic, interactive web applications. But one of its most powerful features is the ability to work with data and APIs.

In this post, I will first of all introduce the JavaScript language to my readers and explain how to run your JavaScript code before we kick off the main tutorials in the subsequent posts. Even if you do not intend to program in JavaScript or another language, it tutorial will provide you with a general understanding of how data and APIs work in web development.

Data is the driving force behind the modern web. In order to create dynamic and powerful web applications, developers need to be able to interact with data and APIs in a secure and efficient way. JavaScript is one of the most popular and powerful languages for the web and for working with data and APIs. In this series, we will explore how to use Javascript to access data from external sources, create dynamic applications, and interact with APIs. Get ready, and let's get started.

What is JavaScript?

Javascript is one of the most popular programming languages in use today and is essential for developing modern, powerful software, especially web applications. In fact, JavaScript is a powerful and versatile programming language that web developers need to know. With Javascript, websites are able to create dynamic, interactive web experiences for users. This includes things like animations, transitions, and dynamic content. Websites can also use Javascript to create powerful web applications.

Node.js is a powerful JavaScript runtime environment that allows you to create fast, scalable web applications. Node.js also provides access to a variety of useful web development tools and packages, making it easier to manage and manipulate data. Websites also take advantage of Javascript APIs to access external data sources, such as Google Maps or Twitter. This allows us to create engaging experiences that use real-time data and interactivity.

Ways you can run JavaScript code

There are several ways one can run JavaScript code. Unlike other programming languages such as Java, C++, and HTML, JavaScript code does not require any conversion before execution because it is designed for web browsers, and almost all popular browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, include JavaScript parsers.

Some of the ways you can run your JavaScript code include using the browser, using the JavaScript console, using a text editor, using an online editor, or using an integrated development environment. In this series, I will be using a popular code editor called Visual Studio Code. I will also be running it on the browser in most cases. There are many other text editors, like Notepad++, Atom, Sublime Text, and more.

How to run JavaScript code in the Visual Studio Code Text Editor

Now let's get ready to take the plunge into coding and run your first Javascript program? You’ve come to the right place! This guide will walk you through the steps to get up and running with a basic Javascript program in no time. We’ll be using Visual Studio Code (VS Code) to do so.

Let’s get started by downloading and installing VS Code. Head to the website and click ‘Download’.

_{Click on the download file of the OS you using} .

Once VS Code is installed, launch it and you’ll be presented with the Welcome screen. Now we’re ready to write some code! Creating a new JavaScript file is easy. Click ‘File’ and then ‘New File’. Type in ‘hello.js’ as the name and click ‘Save’.

_{Creating Your First Javascript File} .
This creates a new file with the .js extension. Now let’s write some code. In the hello.js file, type in the following code: console.log(“Hello World!”); This line of code prints the words “Hello World!” to the console.

_{Writing your first javascript command} .

Now let’s execute the code. Click ‘Run’ and then ‘Run Without Debugging’. This will open the integrated terminal and run the code. You should now see the words “Hello World!” printed in the terminal.

_{Click on the download file of the OS you using} .

Wow! you have just successfully run your first JavaScript program. You can try out more complex programs by writing additional lines of code. You can also use HTML script to create a web page that runs your JavaScript program.

To do this, create an HTML file in the same folder as your JavaScript file. Create a basic HTML structure with the following code:

<html> <head> <title>My JavaScript Program</title> </head> <body> <script src="hello.js"></script> </body> </html>

Save the file with the .html extension by following the same procedure above. Now open the HTML file in a web browser and you should see the words “Hello World!” printed on the page. Now that you’ve run your first JavaScript program and created a web page, We will start exploring more features of the language.

Cheers! You have now successfully run your first JavaScript program using VS Code. With VS Code, you can continue to create more advanced programs and use JavaScript to create web applications. So now that we have set up our VS code, Let's get ready for more stuff.