JavaScript All-in-One For Dummies

Chapter 2

Filling Your JavaScript Toolbox

IN THIS CHAPTER

Installing and configuring Node.js

Setting up Visual Studio Code

Getting unstuck

Documenting your code

Writing a README with Markdown

Practicing responsible coding with Git

“As a cook, your station, and its condition, its state of readiness, is an extension of your nervous system.”

—ANTHONY BOURDAIN

Though it’s technically possible to write JavaScript programs using nothing but an ordinary text editor, I don’t recommend it. Computer programming (also known as software development) is complex, and JavaScript programming is no exception. Though it used to be popular for web developers to show how elite (or “1337”) they were by writing code using the most basic text editor available, someone who codes without making use of certain tools today is more likely to be seen as an amateur who is doing it wrong.

Every cook and auto mechanic ...