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Ask HN: Web development language of future

2 points by radmen 13y ago

Hi guys, It's my first post on HN so please don't kill me :) I'm using PHP for years. I know, it's bad, it's horrible etc. Yet I like it, and it's developing quite nice. But it's good to think about future. I was wondering about which programming languages will conquer future of web development. My requirements: * needs to have decent libraries which can boost development * I want to use it for next years (it can't be a hipster choice) * I want to be happy with it :) My choices are: * Javascript - I don't like that much SSJS, but it's popularity is growing * Ruby - honestly I hate the syntax, but it's quite popular right now * Scala * Python What do you think about it?

matt_heimer 13y ago
For me it is Java + JavaScript. The only difference between now and the future is I expect server-side UI generation (Servlets/JSF/etc) to decline and all UI to be handed client-side by HTML/CSS/JavaScript with a RESTful/JAX-RS backend. Java is your data/transaction/communication engine. I know it wasn't one of your choices but while Ruby/Scala/Python all have their merits I don't see any of them replacing Java (even on the JVM). The only reason I think PHP every became as popular as it is is because it worked better for shared hosting and Java hosting was expensive. Now with the Linodes and Digital Oceans of the world getting a VPS is cheap and easy allowing you to slap on something like TomEE really quickly.
- radmen 13y ago
  Thank you. I didn't mention Java because I'm a little Java hater :) I like the idea that backend works only as an API (in fact we'll try to implement this in our future projects). Problem is that, currently, client-side rendered pages have lots of performance problems. I guess that this shouldn't be a problem in future.
claudiug 13y ago
ruby -> you hate the syntax?? are you real? :)
- radmen 13y ago
  I am :) For me it looks a little like brainfuck. Don't be mad at me, it's just the way it looks for me :) I'm using a little CoffeeScript, and the syntax is not so bad, yet I don't like it much. Maybe it's matter of preferences.

2 points by radmen 13y ago

matt_heimer 13y ago

For me it is Java + JavaScript. The only difference between now and the future is I expect server-side UI generation (Servlets/JSF/etc) to decline and all UI to be handed client-side by HTML/CSS/JavaScript with a RESTful/JAX-RS backend. Java is your data/transaction/communication engine. I know it wasn't one of your choices but while Ruby/Scala/Python all have their merits I don't see any of them replacing Java (even on the JVM). The only reason I think PHP every became as popular as it is is because it worked better for shared hosting and Java hosting was expensive. Now with the Linodes and Digital Oceans of the world getting a VPS is cheap and easy allowing you to slap on something like TomEE really quickly.

radmen 13y ago
Thank you. I didn't mention Java because I'm a little Java hater :) I like the idea that backend works only as an API (in fact we'll try to implement this in our future projects). Problem is that, currently, client-side rendered pages have lots of performance problems. I guess that this shouldn't be a problem in future.

claudiug 13y ago

ruby -> you hate the syntax?? are you real? :)

radmen 13y ago
I am :) For me it looks a little like brainfuck. Don't be mad at me, it's just the way it looks for me :) I'm using a little CoffeeScript, and the syntax is not so bad, yet I don't like it much. Maybe it's matter of preferences.