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JavaScript is the new Perl

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Re: JavaScript is the new Perl

#2

Post by jfb »

I don't think that people's problems with perl < 5.0 was it's lack of "object oriented" features. Perl's object system is quite interesting, but orthogonal to the perceived ickiness of perl the language.

Re: JavaScript is the new Perl

#5

Post by noonespecial »

I think part of the problem with JavaScript, php, perl, etc is that is there, by default, everywhere. A great many beginners do some very ugly things with it because it's already on the system they have and there's tons of not so good examples on the Internet to cut and paste. I'd bet there are plenty of people creating web sites who aren't entirely clear on where HTML stops and JavaScript starts.

Ruby, for example not only has to be installed on most older systems, you'd have to know that you wanted ruby in the first place. This alone acts as a giant filter. Anyone who knows they want to use ruby is already going to produce better code.

Edit: Please s/ruby//g with anything slightly more obscure than perl/php like python, go, object-pascal, etc. I'm not trying to be a ruby elitist here. It was just an example.

Re: JavaScript is the new Perl

#6

Post by trimbo »

Is he trying to say that everything we write today in Javascript will probably be rewritten like everything we wrote in Perl in the 90s got rewritten? That's probably true, but it doesn't mean "Javascript is the new Perl"

Perl had zero corporate investment from a application development perspective. Java had an enormous amount -- and still does. Now take a look at Javascript. Javascript is the first language since Java to have gotten this much investment across a lot of enterprises. Google, Microsoft, of course, but also the rise of startups like Meteor. For Javascript to go away the way Perl did for app development will require too much retooling.

Re: JavaScript is the new Perl

#7

Post by Falling3 »

noonespecial wrote: post #5

I think part of the problem with JavaScript, php, perl, etc is that is there, by default, everywhere. A great many beginners do some very ugly things with it because it's already on the system they have and there's tons of not so good examples on the Internet to cut and paste. I'd bet there are plenty of people creating web sites who aren't entirely clear on where HTML stops and JavaScript starts. Ruby, for example n…

That doesn't sound elitist at all...

Re: JavaScript is the new Perl

#8

Post by beebs93 »

noonespecial wrote: post #5

I think part of the problem with JavaScript, php, perl, etc is that is there, by default, everywhere. A great many beginners do some very ugly things with it because it's already on the system they have and there's tons of not so good examples on the Internet to cut and paste. I'd bet there are plenty of people creating web sites who aren't entirely clear on where HTML stops and JavaScript starts. Ruby, for example n…

They are not "already" going to produce better code. I have nothing against Ruby, but its devs are not endowed with better programming practices.

I do agree with you that it acts as a filter of sorts, but only for now. Anything that is not mainstream tends to act this way.

Re: JavaScript is the new Perl

#10

Post by kalms »

Seems like a weird comparison. JavaScript is obligatory and available in all common browsers. It's fairly easy to get started, and even easier to actually accomplish something with it. Not sure if Perl is as accommodating (haven't tried it though).

When all is said and done JavaScript is a very popular language. When you leave a company, having build something fairly complex - If you did your job properly, documented your code and followed common sense, the project will probably live on.

The author also speaks off everyone hating Perl. Is JavaScript really as hated? I don't get that impression at all.

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