Try to separate the JavaScript language from the additional bindings that the platform gives to you. If you learn client-side JavaScript for use inside the bro

Try to separate the JavaScript language from the additional bindings that the platform gives to you. If you learn client-side JavaScript for use inside the browsers, differentiate what's a language feature and what's part of the DOM. If you learn server-side JavaScript, start by looking over the CommonJS standards as they tend to be the common denominator across the server-side JS implementations. And... experiment. Write a .html on your desktop which references a sample.js and use your browser to check it out and modify the code. Don't rely on technical knowledge for more than a couple of hours without trying out the things in practice. Or, for server-side JavaScript, you can get a free hosting account and browser-based editor at http://erbix.com http://erbix.com (+), using just OpenId (i.e. your Google account) to sign up. (+) Disclaimer: I'm affiliated with Erbix.