Ask HN: I hate JavaScript

#1

Post by saltcookie » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 1:44 AM UTC

But i wana make a webapp, how should i go about building a web app without touching javascript, is there any frameworks like gwt for golang, or C++, rust

Re: Ask HN: I hate JavaScript

#2

Post by 27182818284 » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 1:49 AM UTC

There are lots of languages nicer than JS that compile down to JS.

That said, you don't need JS to make a webapp. You can do it strictly with server-side code and HTML.

Re: Ask HN: I hate JavaScript

#3

Post by daviding » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 1:56 AM UTC

What do you hate about it?

My biggest transition to being comfortable with it was to find a happy place in terms of editing. After years of C/C++ it was not easy to be picking fragments of code out of DOM bellyfluff lint. So how do you use javascript dev tools and what don't you like about them I guess?

Re: Ask HN: I hate JavaScript

#4

Post by AlexeyBrin » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 1:59 AM UTC

You can compile C++ to JS using Emscripten, but I doubt you will be able to do webdev this way ...

For building webapps try CoffeeScript (inspired from Ruby and Python, compiles to JavaScript), Dart (seems to be inspired from Java, compiles to JavaScript), ClojureScript (a Lisp language, compiled to JavaScript) ...

Re: Ask HN: I hate JavaScript

#5

Post by elwell » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 1:59 AM UTC

Just use CoffeeScript. Or, ClojureScript if you want to drink the functional kool-aid.

Re: Ask HN: I hate JavaScript

#6

Post by yunyeng » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 1:59 AM UTC

You can easily create a web app with PHP-HTML but your app will never be successful without Javascript! Most of the people was not aware of its awesomeness until few years ago, now there are millions of frameworks, scripts, server side, back-end,front-end all kind of things created in Javascript. I think its the language of tomorrow.

Re: Ask HN: I hate JavaScript

#7

Post by jaxbot » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 2:02 AM UTC

I get why people hate it, and your opinion is fine. But you're going to have a rough time building a web app if you hate JavaScript, even if you use a language that compiles down to it.

JavaScript is at the heart of web apps, where DOM, CSS, and logic are married. Sure, you can bypass it using server side scripting or languages that convert to JS, but in the end, you're trying to sew a dress using only hotglue. It'll work, but it's the wrong tool for the job, and it'll lead you down a road of pain and headaches.

I'd recommend collaborating with someone who knows JavaScript well, then you can focus on backend logic and collaborate on other pieces.

Re: Ask HN: I hate JavaScript

#8

Post by jaxbot » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 2:02 AM UTC

I get why people hate it, and your opinion is fine. But you're going to have a rough time building a web app if you hate JavaScript, even if you use a language that compiles down to it.

JavaScript is at the heart of web apps, where DOM, CSS, and logic are married. Sure, you can bypass it using server side scripting or languages that convert to JS, but in the end, you're trying to sew a dress using only hotglue. It'll work, but it's the wrong tool for the job, and it'll lead you down a road of pain and headaches.

I'd recommend collaborating with someone who knows JavaScript well, then you can focus on backend logic and collaborate on other pieces.

Re: Ask HN: I hate JavaScript

#9

Post by saltcookie » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 2:04 AM UTC

27182818284 wrote: post #2

There are lots of languages nicer than JS that compile down to JS. That said, you don't need JS to make a webapp. You can do it strictly with server-side code and HTML.

i read about a project that converts llvm byte code to javascript, do any of u know about it

Re: Ask HN: I hate JavaScript

#10

Post by e_d_g_a_r » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 2:05 AM UTC

We all hate it but can't get away from it.