Overview
Teaching: 0 min Exercises: 0 minQuestions
How do I get an account?
What are some JavaScript basics?
Objectives
Gain access to Google Earth Engine
Have a JavaScript resource
Please complete this tutorial before arriving at geohackweek. Use the steps below to get registered for a Google Earth Engine account and to join our shared repository.
Not sure if you have access? Use this link to check. If you didn’t get access you will get an authorization error that says your account isn’t registered. If you do have access, the link will open up the Javascript IDE. This link is your permanent portal to GEE access.
JavaScript, not to be confused with Java, is a programming language widely used in web development alongside HTML and CSS. You can teach yourself JavaScript using any number of online tutorials, such as those offered by w3schools .
At geohackweek, we access Google Earth Engine by entering JavaScript commands into an online integrated development environment (IDE) called the Code Editor. It is not necessary to formally learn JavaScript to work with Google Earth Engine. Below we provide examples and resources for getting started.
Here are a few basics useful for GEE, reproduced from the Earth Engine 101 Beginner’s Curriculum.
Variables are used to store objects and are defined using the keyword var.
Statements should end in a semi-colon, or the editor complains.
Passing function parameters and using lists
Using dictionaries
Functions can be defined as a way to reuse code and make it easier to read.
JavaScript uses camelCase. JavaScript (according to W3 academy) is easy to learn. Like other programming languages, you can use style guides to learn how to write standard, reproducible (marketable!) code.
For in-depth industry guidance, Google publishes their own definitive JavaScript style guide.
Dana Tomlin has also created a short JavaScript Quick Start Guide/a> which only takes a few minutes to work through but hits some of the basics. You can find it clicking that link or by going to the GEE homepage, clicking on the EDU tab in the upper left, and scrolling down to the Geospatial Software Design Exercises section.
Key Points
Anyone can sign up for Google Earth Engine, just apply to be a trusted tester.
The Code Editor is a user friendly access point for Earth Engine that uses the JavaScript IDE.
JavaScript is a programming language that is also widely used in web development.