JavaScript

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JavaScript (JS) is a popular programming language due to its nearly ubiquitous availability in web browsers, and growing web server availability in the form of node.js.

Libraries

Generally useful libraries being developed by IndieWeb participants that run in Javascript:

• CASSIS
• ...

Criticism

Sites break without Javascript

Javascript seems to have engendered web development methodologies that depend on it. Many sites seem to break without it, become inaccessible.

• http://sighjavascript.tumblr.com/ provides examples of sites that do poorly without javascript

Although it is unlikely that visitors of your site still use a browser that does not support javascript as a technology, there are situations in which this is relevant to you as a webmaster.

• A search engine crawler indexes your site: they may not index text content unless it is accessible without javascript.
  • Google's crawler runs at least some javascript these days.
  • HOWEVER, as of 2014-10-27 Google still says Make sure your web design adheres to the principles of progressive enhancement
• A visitor of your website uses a javascript blocker like noscript, which people sometimes do to avoid directly consuming proprietary software.
• A visitor to your site is using an older browser with an incompatible implementation of javascript. Rather than shimming your code to work with these browsers, you can just make your site work without JS. See: Cutting the Mustard
• Maybe we could tone down the JavaScript on eev.ee has an exhaustive list of situations in which javascript may be unavailable or a site visitor’s experience may be hampered by javascript

See also: antipatterns

More Fragile Than HTML

Many sites now depend on Javascript to generate the page in a browser, rather than generating the page on the server and sending HTML. This is a more fragile approach:

• http://htmlcssjavascript.com/web/youre-so-smart-you-turned-javascript-into-xhtml/

Breaks Browser User Features

As illustrated by: https://twitter.com/gabrielgironda/status/721115498474270721

DEAR #FRONTEND DEVELOPERS: PLEASE STOP MAKING SITES WITH LINKS I CAN'T COMMAND-CLICK TO OPEN IN A NEW TAB. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU

Can Encourage Bad Engineering

As summarized by: https://twitter.com/fox/status/716879915333750784

I have seen the worst engineering in my career lately and I have one message:

STOP TRYING TO WRITE EVERYTHING FRONT-END IN JAVASCRIPT

See Also

• JSON
• jQuery
• CASSIS
• languages
• Node
• js;dr
• JSBin hosting challenges: https://remysharp.com/2015/09/14/jsbin-toxic-part-1
• 2018-03-31 Criticism (of JS-centrism among other things) Dear Developer, The Web Isn't About You
• 2019-01-21 Chris Coyier: The Great Divide / Two front-end developers are sitting at a bar. They have nothing to talk about.
• https://github.com/patrickhulce/third-party-web
• Criticism: 2017-02-05 All JavaScript frameworks are terrible on Angular, Angular 2, Aurelia, [[React], Ember, Vue, Meteor JS
• Criticism: 2017-02-21 The JavaScript phenomenon is a mass psychosis
• Criticism: 2016-10-03 How it feels to learn JavaScript in 2016 - a dialog illustrating the absurdity of complex JS toolchains with React, JSX, Babel, AMD, CommonJS, Browserify, Angular, VueJS, Grunt, Gulp, Broccoli, Mimosa, Webpack, SystemJS, Typescript, Flow, etc.