21–30 of 100 posts
"Prototypal inheritance is pants-on-head stupid." Well, he's almost merely wrong, if he were to take out the "prototypal" part.
Prototypal inheritance works well, if you understand it. It's only "wrong" if you're of the Java/C++ OOP religion.
I learned a while ago that it doesn't matter how broken something is if everyone is using it. Humans are incredibly resourceful, if not also short-sighted. Look at PHP, look at Javascript, look at Wordpress, look at email, look at the original jQuery etc...
Illustrations/points like cube-drone has made here are popular because it's partly an over-exaggeration, and partly true. People on either side of the fence (JS mastery, or not), can find some kind of common ground of, "Right?? Isn't it painful??"
It's painful if you let it be. With the right mentors, and the right motivation, you can make JavaScript do wonderful things.
As a whole I think JavaScript has made the web a more fun and interesting place, no matter how much you want to bitch about the language or the ecosystem. We stand on the shoulders of giants, and I, for one, appreciate it. Thanks Brendan Eich! :)
One wonders how we get out of this mess. You'd have thought that Microsoft/Google/Apple/whomever would have at least tried to include a better alternative language in their browser by now. What stops them besides inertia?
This is absolutely a NIGHTMARE for new developers. People come into the language, and there are what seems like an infinite number of "the only right" ways to do something, all of vary degrees of complexity/usefulness, and all claiming that they are god's gift to computer science. That last part is the part that is most frustrating to me, and it isn't unique to javascript. Google, facebook, yahoo, etc. have all gotte…
Maybe we need to start proselytizing and make all the incoming Javascripters repeat: "There is no god but Crockford, and JSLint is his prophet."
I'm not sure how to interpret the last part... "Where I am from, the point of digging is not freedom from digging." Is it a statement that the point of digging is to reach further and learn more (positive)? Is it a statement more along the lines of "We dig because we must dig to survive." (negative)? Or possibly that digging is simply a way of life (negative)?
The corollary being the axiom:
"If your problem is that you're stuck in a hole, the
first part of fixing that is: do not make the hole
deeper by digging, since that makes the problem worse."
Consider the lyrics from the song Trust Your Mechanic by Dead Kennedys.
Trust your mechanic to mend your car.
Bring it in to his garage.
He tightens and loosens a few spare parts.
One thing's fixed, another falls apart.
Trust your mechanic to make you well.
You're seeing an awful lot of him now.
The quicker he makes your life fall apart,
The more money you put in his pockets.I'm not sure how to interpret the last part... "Where I am from, the point of digging is not freedom from digging." Is it a statement that the point of digging is to reach further and learn more (positive)? Is it a statement more along the lines of "We dig because we must dig to survive." (negative)? Or possibly that digging is simply a way of life (negative)?
One wonders how we get out of this mess. You'd have thought that Microsoft/Google/Apple/whomever would have at least tried to include a better alternative language in their browser by now. What stops them besides inertia?
Funny thing: JavaScript was actually supposed to be Scheme, not once but twice , and both times it was scrubbed because Netscape was in fierce competition with Microsoft.
I learned a while ago that it doesn't matter how broken something is if everyone is using it. Humans are incredibly resourceful, if not also short-sighted. Look at PHP, look at Javascript, look at Wordpress, look at email, look at the original jQuery etc...