This is a tutorial designed to help you learn the language gradually, but you’ll eventually need additional resources.
1. Specification
The ECMA-262 specification is the most detailed and formal source of information about JavaScript. It defines the language. However, it can be difficult to understand initially and is not meant for everyday use. A new version of the specification is released yearly, and the latest draft can be found at https://tc39.es/ecma262/.
For information on bleeding-edge features and proposals, including those in the “almost standard” stage, visit https://github.com/tc39/proposals.
If you’re developing for the browser, there are other specifications we will cover it later.
2. Manuals
The MDN (Mozilla) JavaScript Reference is the main manual that provides examples and detailed information on individual language functions and methods. You can access it at https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference.
In many cases, using an internet search with “MDN [term]” is the best approach. For example, searching for “MDN parseInt” will provide information on the parseInt function.
3. Compatibility tables
To check the support for JavaScript features among different browsers and engines, you can refer to the following compatibility tables:
- https://caniuse.com: Provides per-feature support tables. For example, you can see which engines support modern cryptography functions at https://caniuse.com/#feat=cryptography.
- https://kangax.github.io/compat-table: Offers a table showing language features and the engines that support or don’t support them.
These resources are valuable in real-life development when you require detailed information about specific language features. Remember to keep them (or this post) handy for future reference.