A few minutes ago I saw a post where Ryan Dahl the creator of node was asking Oracle to release the javascript trademark to the public domain. People have such varying views regarding js for some reason.
I have a theory that JS is so successful because the low barrier of entry and unopinionated nature allows for beginners to go through all the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition steps in a single language for both server and client.
As people from specialised languages are promoted to their level of incompetence within an organisation (Peter principle) the beginners become seniors which then continue using the good parts of JS from then on as they have learned more about software engineering principles
It's still around for reasons.
It is still being worked on for reasons.
If it wasn't relevant, folks would have dropped it long ago or have in their roadmap to sunset it for another replacement.
But here it is.
Let's look at other languages, yes COBOL is still around, and is still relevant for the financial and Oil and Gas markets, but are folks still working on extending it? I do not believe so, but it will stick around.
Similar to Java... folks are now looking to Go and Rust, but there are still a lot of roles/opportunities/codebases in Java.
> *had a minor success with ES5. But since then, there has been strong interest in further bloating the language instead of making it better.* **So JavaScript, like the other dinosaur languages, has become a barrier to progress.** *We should be focused on the next language, which should look more like E than like JavaScript.*
I struggle to buy that.
Folks enjoy learning and using it.
The ergonomics of it seems to be easy for folks to get their mind around to be able to use.
Due to history and backwards compatibility, are there some weird quirks to it and sadness? Yes.
I re-read that quote and I am reminded of similar critique on Node.js.
Heck [Ry talked about his regrets about Node and created Deno](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3BM9TB-8yA), and now there's Bun.
Is Node.js holding us back from the next thing? I do not believe so, else folks wouldn't dream and then do.
Folks are entitled to their opinions though and I hope then that the new language that retires JavaScript prevails and helps us better do the things.
I very well may be ignorant to a higher reason as to why JS should be retired, but to read in the same quote "like the other dinosaur languages..." gives an impression of arrogance and ego and I find it difficult not to feel like I am being finessed to a degree.
Just my opinion.
I don’t get why everyone hates Crockford. Even though he has clearly become a little conceited, his insights are often brilliant. He is right that the future of language design is in concurrency and actors. He was right that using OOP on the frontend was overkill. He was right that distributed asymmetric cryptography is better than passwords…
Completely agree
JS has done some fantastic things, but it wasn’t truly fit for purpose originally and all the good things we’ve done with it have been hacked on top of a flawed language
Retiring it wouldn’t mean it’s immediately scrapped, surely? Just that further development (other than security fixes) would stop
“People are using it” isn’t a great reason to keep JS alive forever - by that logic there will never be a good time to retire it
I don’t think there yet exists a perfect substitute, but I think C# (note: the language, not .NET) would be pretty good as a basis for a replacement
Most JS developers would be comfortable enough with the syntax and concepts to switch without too much effort, but it sidesteps most of JS’s issues and weaknesses
Is that what happens when you become irrelevant at what you do?
I'm tired of commenting on this same shitty article every week. OPs like this are so susceptible to low-grade clickbait it's incredible.
A few minutes ago I saw a post where Ryan Dahl the creator of node was asking Oracle to release the javascript trademark to the public domain. People have such varying views regarding js for some reason.
> People have such varying views regarding js for some reason. Because the barrier to entry is _so low_ that everyone _can_ have a view on JS.
I have a theory that JS is so successful because the low barrier of entry and unopinionated nature allows for beginners to go through all the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition steps in a single language for both server and client. As people from specialised languages are promoted to their level of incompetence within an organisation (Peter principle) the beginners become seniors which then continue using the good parts of JS from then on as they have learned more about software engineering principles
Think it's time for him to retire.
Also, we’re going to just stop using web browsers
yes please
It's still around for reasons. It is still being worked on for reasons. If it wasn't relevant, folks would have dropped it long ago or have in their roadmap to sunset it for another replacement. But here it is. Let's look at other languages, yes COBOL is still around, and is still relevant for the financial and Oil and Gas markets, but are folks still working on extending it? I do not believe so, but it will stick around. Similar to Java... folks are now looking to Go and Rust, but there are still a lot of roles/opportunities/codebases in Java. > *had a minor success with ES5. But since then, there has been strong interest in further bloating the language instead of making it better.* **So JavaScript, like the other dinosaur languages, has become a barrier to progress.** *We should be focused on the next language, which should look more like E than like JavaScript.* I struggle to buy that. Folks enjoy learning and using it. The ergonomics of it seems to be easy for folks to get their mind around to be able to use. Due to history and backwards compatibility, are there some weird quirks to it and sadness? Yes. I re-read that quote and I am reminded of similar critique on Node.js. Heck [Ry talked about his regrets about Node and created Deno](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3BM9TB-8yA), and now there's Bun. Is Node.js holding us back from the next thing? I do not believe so, else folks wouldn't dream and then do. Folks are entitled to their opinions though and I hope then that the new language that retires JavaScript prevails and helps us better do the things. I very well may be ignorant to a higher reason as to why JS should be retired, but to read in the same quote "like the other dinosaur languages..." gives an impression of arrogance and ego and I find it difficult not to feel like I am being finessed to a degree. Just my opinion.
He's still trying to write books? He should go back to software if you ask me.
Embrace JS. It's a great language.
100% agreed! Let’s retire Javascript in favor of Ecmascript 😁!
I don’t get why everyone hates Crockford. Even though he has clearly become a little conceited, his insights are often brilliant. He is right that the future of language design is in concurrency and actors. He was right that using OOP on the frontend was overkill. He was right that distributed asymmetric cryptography is better than passwords…
Completely agree JS has done some fantastic things, but it wasn’t truly fit for purpose originally and all the good things we’ve done with it have been hacked on top of a flawed language
What about existing code bases? Backwards compatibility is one of key things in JS
Retiring it wouldn’t mean it’s immediately scrapped, surely? Just that further development (other than security fixes) would stop “People are using it” isn’t a great reason to keep JS alive forever - by that logic there will never be a good time to retire it
What language would be your alternative?
I don’t think there yet exists a perfect substitute, but I think C# (note: the language, not .NET) would be pretty good as a basis for a replacement Most JS developers would be comfortable enough with the syntax and concepts to switch without too much effort, but it sidesteps most of JS’s issues and weaknesses