11–14 of 14 posts
While as language geek I consume everything to learn about what is out there, new approaches to programming, paradigms, mindsets, ways to solve problems, in the end work is driven by platforms.
Going in the direction of using languages not embraced by platforms, means one needs to be willing to do yak shaving adding platform support for the given language.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm the author. Thanks for pointing this out. I completely agree with your premise. JavaScript and the browser represent the quintessential modern authoring platform. I actually wanted to write more about JavaScript, but the problem was that there were fewer cohesive, codified sources to cite than I expected. When writing about this kind of historical narrative, the first issue is always whether there are books you c…
To me, what makes this so obvious with the web platform is the bureacratic nature of developing for it. To do anything meaningful, you have to bring three departments together (html, css, and javascript). Each is a very different language designed for a different guild of practitioners. You even have the interdepartment turf wars, even if one single person is manning all 3 departments, of which department should acco…
I'm disappointed there wasn't more written here about Javascript, and more broadly, the web browser. The browser is the platform of the modern era, and Javascript is the strongest example of a programming language being an "authoring tool". Web apps carry the weight of ecommerce, entertainment, social media, etc. The fact that those apps are frequently at the center of political debate and pop culture underscores the…
The web is merely a small interface substrate. Spread wide sure, but the bulk of the work is shouldered by the backend. I think if there’s a true winner of the web era, it is languages like Java, C#, Ruby, PHP, and Python. There are many codebases tied to those more than they are tied to the UI written in JavaScript.