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Exactly. Finding flaws in a language doesn't mean the language is bad, just that it has... flaws. The proof that JS is actually pretty good is that it has been
by blowski 5y ago
Exactly. Finding flaws in a language doesn't mean the language is bad, just that it has... flaws. The proof that JS is actually pretty good is that it has been used to build so many things. Like the old adage about economics, these criticisms are taking something that works in practice and trying to see if it works in theory.
- anoncake 5y agoNo. Popularity does not indicate quality. Judging the quality of something by its popularity is a form of cyclical reasoning. Especially when there is an obvious alternative explanation, namely that JS is the only language you can in the browser without transpiling and for a long time the only one period. While the fact JS can be used to build all these things puts a floor on its quality, that floor is uselessly low.
- blowski 5y agoI'm not using popularity as the metric. "1 million identical websites were built with JavaScript" wouldn't say much beyond the first website. But that there is a very broad range of successful applications partly relying on JavaScript for their success undercuts the idea that JavaScript is inherently rubbish. Whether it has some subjective "quality" is a conversation best left for art galleries.
- anoncake 5y agoIf you say JS is "pretty good" how is that not a statement about its quality?
- blowski 5y agoFair point. I guess I could rephrase it as "JavaScript provides a lot of value".
- joelfolksy 5y ago"The proof that JS is actually pretty good is that it has been used to build so many things." [French Narrator] 5 minutes later... "I'm not using popularity as the metric."
- foepys 5y agoJust because something is popular isn't reason for it to be good. Examples: fossil fuels, (over)fishing, rage-based engagement, hard drugs.
- blowski 5y agoOn the contrary - the number of people taking hard drugs to get high is fantastic evidence that they are good for getting high. Otherwise, why would people be buying and taking them?
- anoncake 5y agoPeople use hard drugs to cope with their problems, and they're rubbish for that.
- HotDogLinux 5y agoJust to add to your list: Ed Sheeran
- Blikkentrekker 5y agoExcepting fossil fuels, none of those things are popular.
- ufmace 5y agoUh Fossil Fuels powered the Industrial Revolution and literally created the modern economy. It's true that being popular doesn't necessarily make something good. But it's also true that having some flaws discovered later doesn't make something that revolutionized the world and massively uplifted the standard of living of basically everyone in it bad.