If you have ever done some web application development, then you certainly have interacted with JavaScript as a programming language to some extent.
You probably straightened up in your seat, inclined forward and squeezed your mouse a little bit harder after reading this title.
"What a bold and preposterous statement..." - you may think.
But, like it or not, that doesn't change the fact that all the web as we know it is built on JavaScript. Yes, you can write the code in PHP, Python, C# and other tools then use a compiler to spit out JavaScript code, but at the end "all roads lead to Rome".
So if you are going to end up with JavaScript, why not learn and leverage the language in the first place?
There is a reason why JavaScript is the language of highest demand for almost a decade (if not more by now). And that reason is because a great portion of our work, entertainment, education and everyday activities in general are connected to the Internet.
In the modern world everything is on the Web; in one way or another our everyday lives have become connected to the Internet and we can’t really imagine what it would be like without it. We do our shopping online, we get the news online, we connect with other people there, etc. All these services have one thing in common, they use JavaScript at one point or another, especially if they are used in a browser. And for better or for worse, at the moment the browser world has been monopolized by JavaScript – all browsers use it to provide the functionality we all have grown so accustomed to.
Therefore, it makes perfect sense to use JavaScript for our web application development. Only by learning the capabilities of the language can we truly experience its power, and use it to solve complex problems.
Have you ever wondered why some web sites and web applications have such poor performance?
Well, the short answer is because they were made by people who don't know JavaScript well enough. This doesn't mean they are bad developers, but it does mean that they are not experts when it comes to the web.
They use the technologies and languages they are familiar with in order to produce quick results, so they run the code through tools which process their work and translate it into JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Some tools do a better job than others, but they are still tools. They can get it wrong without the proper guidance from a human who is supposed to know what's happening.
"So why are web developers so reluctant to use JavaScript?" - you may ask.
It's because they are developers who specialized in some backend technology early on in their career and many of the concepts of JS don't make much sense to them (more on these details in separate posts). So in order to do work on the backend and complete features on the frontend of the app, they stick to what they know and rely on third party tools to produce the results they want.
Obviously, that is not always the case.
Additionally, the backend world is a total chaos with all the possibilities. The range of programming languages and frameworks is so wide that they could fill the ancient scrolls of the Royal Library of Alexandria.
How do we decide what to use for our web app development when we’re so spoiled for choice?
The con of using so many programing languages is that everyone becomes a master of all and an expert of none. There is a benefit to being an expert in the language and platform you develop in. You get to learn the best practices, best design patterns, latest features and trends, etc. That way we [the developers] develop cleaner more easily maintained and scalable code.
At the current pace that technology is evolving it is practically impossible to keep up with all the trends, latest releases and changes happening every day. Same is true even for a single technology of choice. 10-15 years ago, there were just a few libraries and frameworks available for JavaScript - jQuery, Backbone.js, Ember.js, and a few more. Now, there are new libraries and frameworks coming out every day - React, Angular, Vue, Svelte, Next, Ionic, and so many more.
But knowing the basics and having a solid foundation in JavaScript makes it easy to learn and master any new release that comes out. After all they all run on the same principals and underlying language.
As far as the backend goes, the same applies to it as well...
Fortunately, all of those options have one thing in common, the end result is pretty much the same, the difference is how we get there. And since all roads lead to Rome, taking the same one the browsers have been using since forever can bring great benefits for your project.
And it really makes sense, when you think about it.
Instead of hiring different teams to perform similar tasks and maintain several code bases, we can keep things simple and just have one team work with the same stack on both the front and the back end.
Since, the project is going to use JavaScript any way, it is logical to build everything with it which ensures clean and easy integration between the parts.
And finally, by hiring specialists in JavaScript, clients ensure their Web applications are built properly, with the highest quality, adhering to the Web standards.
That's why here at Hristov Development we specialize in JavaScript for our full stack Web application development services.
Knowing the in-and-outs of the language gives us the ability to design the best architecture for our projects and ensure the best possible performance.
Having said that, we could be called JS nerds, and we are proud of it. 🙂
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