3 ms·

>Probably the name stuck thanks to this amazing satire of a js library. http://vanilla-js.com/ http://vanilla-js.com/ Using "vanilla" to describe a standard, u

by simias 7y ago

>Probably the name stuck thanks to this amazing satire of a js library. http://vanilla-js.com/ http://vanilla-js.com/ Using "vanilla" to describe a standard, unmodified and un-customized version of something is a very common idiom. This satirical website followed the convention, it didn't coin the expression. I don't think it's even jargon, it's just based on the meaning of the adjective "vanilla": Lacking adornments or special features; basic or ordinary: "a delicious twist to a vanilla plot" (Ian O'Connor).

JaRail 7y ago
Of course. But within the JavaScript community, it has taken on specific meaning: no 3rd party libraries at runtime. For "vanilla js," I can still have compilers, type checking, advanced ECMAScript 2019 features, local storage, webgl, etc. Without that understanding, you could qualify something as "vanilla js" in lots of different ways. If someone said "vanilla c++," they might mean c++ without the recent language features, or they could mean the latest language spec but no standard library. Maybe it's still okay to link OpenGL but not okay to use a desktop GUI framework? Maybe OS frameworks are okay but nothing more? There's no communal understanding there that I'm aware of.