Warning: I see a lot of new coders trying to run before they can walk with frameworks

I've been helping a friend learn to code for about three months now, and he keeps asking about React before he can even write a simple loop in plain JavaScript. I see this same thing all over beginner forums and videos. People watch a tutorial on building a flashy app with a popular framework and think that's the starting point. It matters because you end up with shaky basics, and every small problem becomes a huge roadblock. You don't understand why your code breaks, you just know how to copy and paste someone else's setup. I learned this the hard way myself a few years back when I tried to skip ahead to Django without really knowing Python. How do you convince someone to slow down and learn the core language first?

3 comments

3 Comments

seanjohnson1mo agoProlific Poster

What changed your mind? I was the same way, pushing to learn Vue before I could even explain how JavaScript objects work. It finally clicked when I spent two days trying to fix a simple state bug that would have been obvious if I knew plain JS.

james_ramirez1mo ago

Yeah @seanjohnson, that sounds way too familiar. Been stuck on those kind of bugs myself.

rubyl351mo ago

Wait, he asked about React after three months and can't write a loop? That's wild! I saw someone try to build a whole app with a framework when they couldn't even make a basic to-do list in plain JavaScript. It's like trying to build a house before you know how to hammer a nail.