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An outside opinion... The JavaScript world is so fractured, what would you use? Kotlin, Dart, Elm, CoffeeScript, ClojureScript, Nim...? Which ones will keep g

by cjhanks 10y ago

An outside opinion... The JavaScript world is so fractured, what would you use? Kotlin, Dart, Elm, CoffeeScript, ClojureScript, Nim...? Which ones will keep going?

the_duke 10y ago
In my opinion, there are three big problems with coding for the web in a language that compiles to JS: ) The object models from other languages range from somewhat compatible to totally different. Mapping another language to good JS code is a challenge. ) Debugging and profiling become a hassle. Even with proper sourcemaps, you are just much further away from the native JS runtime. *) Libraries. As soon as you want to use something like React, underscore, etc, you need a method to bring some stub definitions into your host language. This is solved in different ways, but always a burden. Often a very annoying one. Webassembly right now is useful for cases where high perf is really needed (games, cpu intensive tasks, ...), but there is no access to the dom. You ultimately need Javascript to interact with the Browser. I recommend Typescript. It's a better language than ES(2015), but tries to remain close and compatible. It's also got enough traction and support (enterprises/big projects love it) to not be in danger of just going away.
- bobajeff 10y ago
  >Webassembly right now is useful for cases where high perf is really needed (games, cpu intensive tasks, ...), but there is no access to the dom. Just want to point out that asm.js is useful for the same thing. The initial version will be roughly equivalent to asm.js anyway. Just with more consistent optimizations across browsers, faster startup and shorter downloads.
minitech 10y ago
It’s not as if existing tools disappear once they stop being maintained. Use whatever you like that lets you get the job done. (New CoffeeScript is dying out, for example, but it’s easy to learn if you need to maintain an existing project in it.)
nimmer 10y ago
Nim, because you can also use it as a real programming language for many other uses.
- wreft 10y ago
  Unlike Kotlin or Clojure?
  - nimmer 10y ago
    Yes. Nim can be used for system libraries, server and client side applications and runs on small microcontrollers.

by cjhanks 10y ago

An outside opinion... The JavaScript world is so fractured, what would you use? Kotlin, Dart, Elm, CoffeeScript, ClojureScript, Nim...? Which ones will keep going?

the_duke 10y ago

In my opinion, there are three big problems with coding for the web in a language that compiles to JS: ) The object models from other languages range from somewhat compatible to totally different. Mapping another language to good JS code is a challenge. ) Debugging and profiling become a hassle. Even with proper sourcemaps, you are just much further away from the native JS runtime. *) Libraries. As soon as you want to use something like React, underscore, etc, you need a method to bring some stub definitions into your host language. This is solved in different ways, but always a burden. Often a very annoying one. Webassembly right now is useful for cases where high perf is really needed (games, cpu intensive tasks, ...), but there is no access to the dom. You ultimately need Javascript to interact with the Browser. I recommend Typescript. It's a better language than ES(2015), but tries to remain close and compatible. It's also got enough traction and support (enterprises/big projects love it) to not be in danger of just going away.

bobajeff 10y ago
>Webassembly right now is useful for cases where high perf is really needed (games, cpu intensive tasks, ...), but there is no access to the dom. Just want to point out that asm.js is useful for the same thing. The initial version will be roughly equivalent to asm.js anyway. Just with more consistent optimizations across browsers, faster startup and shorter downloads.

minitech 10y ago

It’s not as if existing tools disappear once they stop being maintained. Use whatever you like that lets you get the job done. (New CoffeeScript is dying out, for example, but it’s easy to learn if you need to maintain an existing project in it.)

nimmer 10y ago

Nim, because you can also use it as a real programming language for many other uses.

wreft 10y ago
Unlike Kotlin or Clojure?
- nimmer 10y ago
  Yes. Nim can be used for system libraries, server and client side applications and runs on small microcontrollers.