5 ms·

John Lam on Software: Steve Yegge ported Rails to JavaScript

33 points by elq 19y ago

gyro_robo 19y ago
Seems like a wasted effort, but an incredible effort nonetheless!
- gyro_robo 19y ago
  Steve Yen already did it, a couple years ago. http://code.google.com/p/trimpath/wiki/TrimJunction http://code.google.com/p/trimpath/wiki/TrimJunction
brett 19y ago
Wow do I want to look through that codebase.
- deleted 19y ago
  [deleted]
- staunch 19y ago
  Me too. I'd settle for some example code for now though.
  - byrneseyeview 19y ago
    Sure, we might go look at framework code sometimes. But it just looks like, well, code. There's usually nothing particularly famous-looking or even glamorous about it. Go look at the source code for Emacs or Rails or Python or Firefox, and it's just a big ball of code. In fact, often as not it's a big hairy ball, and the original author is focused on refactoring or even rewriting big sections of it. http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2006/07/get-famous-by-not-programming.html http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2006/07/get-famous-by-not-programming.html I wonder if he wrote that while worrying about this sort of thing.
- gyro_robo 19y ago
  Why not the Rails to JavaScript port by another Steve... http://code.google.com/p/trimpath/wiki/TrimJunction http://code.google.com/p/trimpath/wiki/TrimJunction
mynameishere 19y ago
Here's where my ignorance shines through once again...but does the javascript that runs on the JVM have proper threading? Coz, I'm really not sure how anything server-side could work properly with setInterval() or whatever the favored workaround is. Why did he not use Python?
- motoko 19y ago
  http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2007/02/next-big-language.html http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2007/02/next-big-language.html He didn't use Python because Javascript is the native scripting language for the "next platform," that is, the browser. Also, he doesn't think that Python is superficially close enough to C and Java to be widely adopted.
  - inklesspen 19y ago
    Plus, if you want Rails in Python, well, Pylons is pretty close. Only better.
- paul 19y ago
  Rhino JS is well integrated with the JVM, so it's easy to call back and forth between Java and JS. You basically have access to everything Java has. JS doesn't have an equivalent to "synchronized", but it could easily be added as a function call (since JS has real functions). However, I wouldn't do that way since sticking synchronized blocks all over the place is the wrong solution anyway. Just write your code so that separate threads aren't stepping on eachother's data (and do cross-thread stuff in a carefully controlled manner). I'm doing my development in Java+JS and it's a pretty nice combination.
zach 19y ago
What? Wow. What?! Okay, that sounds great, but what a bureaucratic-sounding backstory. Seriously, that sounds like what happens in Soviet Russia: languages program you!
- motoko 19y ago
  No, it's because if Javascript is both the language you write client code AND server code, it could be huge.
  - jamongkad 19y ago
    Agreed which could possibly pave the way for offline apps.
deleted 19y ago
[deleted]
menloparkbum 19y ago
he certainly looks like he just ported rails to javascript. yikes! http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1188/612490975_5b2f804df2.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1188/612490975_5b2f804df2.jpg
aaroniba 19y ago
There's a really sweet web application framework called Helma that lets you write entire web apps in javascript, and gives you the JDK through Rhino. The documentation is a little slim, but it's my framework of choice. I don't know why it isn't more popular. http://dev.helma.org/ http://dev.helma.org/
run4yourlives 19y ago
What's really awesome is that I can turn all 2000 hours of work off by adjusting my preferences. I have the power!! :-)

33 points by elq 19y ago

gyro_robo 19y ago

Seems like a wasted effort, but an incredible effort nonetheless!

gyro_robo 19y ago
Steve Yen already did it, a couple years ago. http://code.google.com/p/trimpath/wiki/TrimJunction http://code.google.com/p/trimpath/wiki/TrimJunction

brett 19y ago

Wow do I want to look through that codebase.

deleted 19y ago
[deleted]
staunch 19y ago
Me too. I'd settle for some example code for now though.
- byrneseyeview 19y ago
  Sure, we might go look at framework code sometimes. But it just looks like, well, code. There's usually nothing particularly famous-looking or even glamorous about it. Go look at the source code for Emacs or Rails or Python or Firefox, and it's just a big ball of code. In fact, often as not it's a big hairy ball, and the original author is focused on refactoring or even rewriting big sections of it. http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2006/07/get-famous-by-not-programming.html http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2006/07/get-famous-by-not-programming.html I wonder if he wrote that while worrying about this sort of thing.
gyro_robo 19y ago
Why not the Rails to JavaScript port by another Steve... http://code.google.com/p/trimpath/wiki/TrimJunction http://code.google.com/p/trimpath/wiki/TrimJunction

mynameishere 19y ago

Here's where my ignorance shines through once again...but does the javascript that runs on the JVM have proper threading? Coz, I'm really not sure how anything server-side could work properly with setInterval() or whatever the favored workaround is. Why did he not use Python?

motoko 19y ago
http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2007/02/next-big-language.html http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2007/02/next-big-language.html He didn't use Python because Javascript is the native scripting language for the "next platform," that is, the browser. Also, he doesn't think that Python is superficially close enough to C and Java to be widely adopted.
- inklesspen 19y ago
  Plus, if you want Rails in Python, well, Pylons is pretty close. Only better.
paul 19y ago
Rhino JS is well integrated with the JVM, so it's easy to call back and forth between Java and JS. You basically have access to everything Java has. JS doesn't have an equivalent to "synchronized", but it could easily be added as a function call (since JS has real functions). However, I wouldn't do that way since sticking synchronized blocks all over the place is the wrong solution anyway. Just write your code so that separate threads aren't stepping on eachother's data (and do cross-thread stuff in a carefully controlled manner). I'm doing my development in Java+JS and it's a pretty nice combination.

zach 19y ago

What? Wow. What?! Okay, that sounds great, but what a bureaucratic-sounding backstory. Seriously, that sounds like what happens in Soviet Russia: languages program you!

motoko 19y ago
No, it's because if Javascript is both the language you write client code AND server code, it could be huge.
- jamongkad 19y ago
  Agreed which could possibly pave the way for offline apps.

deleted 19y ago

[deleted]

menloparkbum 19y ago

he certainly looks like he just ported rails to javascript. yikes! http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1188/612490975_5b2f804df2.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1188/612490975_5b2f804df2.jpg

aaroniba 19y ago

There's a really sweet web application framework called Helma that lets you write entire web apps in javascript, and gives you the JDK through Rhino. The documentation is a little slim, but it's my framework of choice. I don't know why it isn't more popular. http://dev.helma.org/ http://dev.helma.org/

run4yourlives 19y ago

What's really awesome is that I can turn all 2000 hours of work off by adjusting my preferences. I have the power!! :-)