Mind JavaScript

17 Jan 2024

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Ever wondered why websites feel alive, responding to your clicks and scrolls? The secret lies in a silent orchestra conductor - JavaScript. This powerful language, not simply a wall between users and databases, has become the driving force behind web applications, leaving little room for proprietary software.

Roots

Understanding how humans learn and interact with information shaped JavaScript’s syntax and structure. Its roots in cognitive science and psychology of Human-Computer Interaction, with an emphasis on lambda calculus, make it inherently easy to read, write, and understand. Social factors like the internet’s explosive growth and the demand for interactive experiences fueled its rapid development and adoption. Flexibility and ease of use make it the perfect tool for developers to create dynamic and engaging websites.

Comparison

But why is JavaScript easier than, say, C++? While C++ demands more from beginners to become practical engineers and offers lower-level access to memory, the internet’s pace couldn’t accommodate such hurdles. JavaScript fills this gap with its intuitive syntax, requiring less documentation wrangling (as my own experience confirms).

Standards

However, adhering to standards like ECMAScript is crucial. Addressing evolving web development needs, browser support, community efforts, and influences from other languages, ECMAScript ensures code adaptability. So, if your JavaScript resembles C++, a detour to ES6 might be in order!

This essay was written by Dmitry Gordeev, based on lectures of Philip Johnson (University of Hawai`i at Manoa) professor. With helping hand of Google Bard AI for structuring and final improvements.