In the beginning, there was Prototype.js, then MooTools calved off of that, and somewhere in there, jQuery reared its (Microsoft-bought-and-paid-for) head.
But way before that, at the Big Bang of browser scripting, there was Netscape and JavaScript (the language). It’s named JavaScript because at the time that it was famously written in two weeks, Java was a Big Deal, and the marketing geniuses at Netscape decided to name it that way, even though it has absolutely nothing in common with Java at all.
JavaScript is a Lisp-inspired prototypal-inheritance (as opposed to pure Object-oriented) language. It is very good on its own merits, and has inspired a lot of books, large and small.
I recommend that you first learn the language itself, often referred to as “Vanilla JavaScript”, because all of these libraries build on top of the language, and are not a replacement for it. I have seen a LOT of people who know jQuery, but haven’t a clue how the JavaScript language, or for that matter, how programming works at all. That’s sad, because they’re like kids with a Lego “kit”. They can build the house/spaceship/whatever, but can’t figure out how to make something that’s truly their own.
If I were you, I would take a look at Douglas Crockford’s “JavaScript, the good parts”. This book is famously thin (since it only covers the good parts of the language). It may presume more knowledge of programming in general than you already possess, so as a precursor to that, I also recommend Chris Pine’s “Learn to Program”. This is a “kid’s book” introduction to programming, giving you the building blocks to understand how to break down a problem so that a notoriously slow student like a computer can understand it. It teaches you to think programmatically, using one of the friendliest languages there is – Ruby.
Between those two books, and some googling, you may find that JavaScript is an approachable learning cliff, and if you follow in my footsteps, you may find this stuff so fascinating that you need to learn more.
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