JJ Day 3: Linux Is A Fun Chore..

Installing WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux 2) Window, as it turns out, was the easy part.

Day 3 was all about getting used to the new Linux environment. I first set up the OS and installed the apps that would be required for my journey (Chrome, VS Code and Node.js).

TOP (The Odin Project) then encouraged me to connect my Virtual OS to GitHub. GitHub's where they keep their entire course from lessons to exercises, and for good reason. It's an open-source site which means that anyone can learn from and improve the content within.

Linux is not easy

TOP demands using the virtual OS for everything. During my JJ (JavaScript Journey) hours, I was supposed to use Linux for everything: search, coding and even logging into the course itself. Coming from a Windows background, Linux felt raw and hands-on.

But that's exactly the point, I think. With Linux, I felt more alert and had to think before each move. I felt more in control of my device compared to when I was using Windows, whose excellent handheld experience doesn't leave anything to think about for the user.

Think of switching from an automatic car to a manual one. Once you get over the extra steps, you start to have fun being in charge.

The extra steps are definitely not fun, though. It was painful getting used to the lack of smoothness and style, but I pulled through. I was able to fully get WLS2 ready for Node.js after a little over an hour of work. Node.js is the tool that allows you to write down and execute JavaScript codes outside of a web browser.

Let's begin learning JavaScript

After the less-than-interesting hour of copy-pasting app install codes into WSL2, I was more than excited to learn and run some JavaScript syntax. Even though Node.js allows you to try out codes outside a browser environment, TOP wanted me to use the Browser Console to code.

The Console is a developer tool found in every browser where you can see messages, errors and other information about a webpage. But the attribute we're supposed to be interested in is how you can interact with the page using JavaScript. TOP recommends it to learn since I don't need a file, a server or any build tools. Simply type in a command and receive the output immediately (or error, as in most of my cases).

I practised using two important JavaScript keywords (let and const). They assign value to variables. Then I displayed my results with console.log(variable_name).

Today was challenging. I'm not pleased that I stalled quite a bit doing basic tasks. Even learning how to copy-paste code in Linux took me more than I'd like to admit. But making progress feels good.

My confidence level is still around 95%. I've got a good feeling about tomorrow.