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So a person who writes web apps prefers JS over Python. Cool. Pick the right tool for the job. If your job is writing client-side-heavy web apps that share code

So a person who writes web apps prefers JS over Python. Cool. Pick the right tool for the job. If your job is writing client-side-heavy web apps that share code between the client and server, then JS might be a better choice than Python. Look, writing programs that respond to HTTP requests with HTML is not rocket science. You can do it in JS, Python or Ruby and be very productive. If you hate yourself, you can do it in Java, Go or whatever else and trade server performance for development speed. If you really hate yourself (or are Amazon circa 2004), you can write your whole website as a C++ static binary. My theory is that the endless proliferation of JS libraries, frameworks and language revisions are because lots of smart and talented developers are employed to build websites - but building websites is just not that technically interesting, so they express their creativity by creating new tools, frameworks, package managers and ES revisions. It's a symptom of boredom. But my one bit of career advice would be don't "Leave X for Y." Don't tie your livelihood and career to a single X or Y. Learn how to use a variety of tools and pick the best one for each job. Any big project will require using a few different tools and really valuable developers are the ones who can navigate that entire landscape intelligently.

jgalvez 9y ago
All very well said. I never said I was leaving Python for good, in fact, it needs to be pointed out it's still king for machine learning and I'll even integrate a Python-based solution as microservice to a Node.js project. Perhaps a clearer title would have been, "JavaScript is now my main language". As for boredom, though, it's true, but every now and then something special emerges out of boredom, as was the case for Vue.js and most recently, Nuxt.js for me. I hate the amount of JS frameworks and libraries available like everybody else and if anything, this article is also a short reference for myself in disguise on _how to get started_. I'll say though, knowing your way around a Node.js project can be painful, but with a little experience can become really reassuring. Code runs fast, it's easy to write (easy idioms to memorize like Python) and is generally very predictable.
rlander 9y ago
Right? When I read these kind of posts I always imagine a carpenter saying the equivalent "After over 10 years using a hammer as my main tool, I have moved on to the screwdriver." Which is nonsense.
- creatonez 9y ago
  But in this case, the function of the tool is very similar. It's more like switching from one multi-tool to another. Both have a screwdriver, a knife and maybe a bottle opener. They're more than just superficially different for all tasks, but for web development they're only superficially different.
- z3t4 9y ago
  With programming languages you can both screw and hammer. I'ts not like you need to know C++ to do GUI's and D to make CLI's, or the other way around. What's the best tool for the job when all tools does basically the same thing ? I would say the tool you are best at.

jgalvez 9y ago

All very well said. I never said I was leaving Python for good, in fact, it needs to be pointed out it's still king for machine learning and I'll even integrate a Python-based solution as microservice to a Node.js project. Perhaps a clearer title would have been, "JavaScript is now my main language". As for boredom, though, it's true, but every now and then something special emerges out of boredom, as was the case for Vue.js and most recently, Nuxt.js for me. I hate the amount of JS frameworks and libraries available like everybody else and if anything, this article is also a short reference for myself in disguise on _how to get started_. I'll say though, knowing your way around a Node.js project can be painful, but with a little experience can become really reassuring. Code runs fast, it's easy to write (easy idioms to memorize like Python) and is generally very predictable.

rlander 9y ago

Right? When I read these kind of posts I always imagine a carpenter saying the equivalent "After over 10 years using a hammer as my main tool, I have moved on to the screwdriver." Which is nonsense.

creatonez 9y ago
But in this case, the function of the tool is very similar. It's more like switching from one multi-tool to another. Both have a screwdriver, a knife and maybe a bottle opener. They're more than just superficially different for all tasks, but for web development they're only superficially different.
z3t4 9y ago
With programming languages you can both screw and hammer. I'ts not like you need to know C++ to do GUI's and D to make CLI's, or the other way around. What's the best tool for the job when all tools does basically the same thing ? I would say the tool you are best at.