Tomorrow is the last day of #d3js a workshop I'm facilitating for @MICA_MPS. It's been a great challenge - while most of the students have dataviz skills, the majority have no coding experience. Sound like you? Peek into the thread for a D3 starter roadmap. (0/8)
1. Set your expectations. D3 has a steep learning curve. Why do you want to learn it? Will it help you attain your goals? Can you commit to least a few years? If you're still convinced, focus on D3 'literacy' - able to read & tweak pre-existing code - and lay your foundation.
2. Learn SVG, CSS, HTML and basic JS first. You won't get anywhere without it. Here's a free course with everything you need to know from @createwithdata learn.createwithdata.com/product/fundam…
3. Get an @observablehq account - there's a pile of exercises, D3 learning materials, all meant for forking & tweaking! Coding in Observable has its own quirks & shortcuts vs a coding editor, so be prepared to learn this first.
4. Thought you'd finally get to some D3 coding? Think again! Commit to spending time with Observable Plot first! This will come in handy for exploration & prototyping. observablehq.com/@observablehq/…
5. I think you're ready to dive into a course. I've tried my share, and these 3 video course stand out:
- @Wattenberger: newline.co/courses/fullst… for coding conventions
- @currankelleher: for depth & review
- @sxywu: frontendmasters.com/teachers/shirl… for customizing
6. Now that you can at least make basic charts from scratch and have a lay of the D3 landscape, start a #100DaysOfCode notebook collection in Observable and commit. 100daysofcode.com
7. Set yourself loose: fork other notebooks, learn from them, recreate them, tweak them, discover new functions in the API, ask questions in forums, and make notebooks to reflect your learnings.
8. Never stop!
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