Speaking of a web developer, you can’t forget to mention JavaScript. It is one of the most popular technologies, considered to be the most accessible to learn for initial developers. JS has long dominated websites and works on almost all devices with a web browser. It doesn’t matter what hardware platform or operating system is used, because JavaScript will be the optimal choice.
What did the development of JavaScript look like and what does its popularity stem from?
In 1996, the first version of JavaScript appeared and almost immediately gained popularity. It was the answer to the need to create software capable of handling multiple devices. Brendan Eich is considered to be the originator of JS and Netscape was responsible for the development. Initially, the name Mocha was used, then LiveScript, and when Netscape Navigator 2.0 came out, the name was changed to JavaScript. Nowadays there are many frameworks available, thanks to which programmers have many ready-made solutions at their disposal. All of this translates into greater functionality, simplicity in writing code from scratch and speed of projects implementation.
JavaScript is valued for the speed of learning the basics and many software tools available. It is a universal solution, which is popular due to the presence of a larger community. Programmers can choose from a variety of paid and free materials, including courses, tutorials and training. JS is also valued because of the multitude of libraries, different levels of complexity, lack of one dominant framework. Using JavaScript you can relieve the load on servers and limit data sent over the Internet. This technology is constantly being developed and improved.
What is the current application of JS?
JavaScript is currently very widely used – the most common are websites and applications. It is mainly used to create server, desktop, mobile and web applications. With the help of Electron, it becomes possible to make computer applications, and with the use of React and Angular, it creates dynamic web applications. Node.js. turns out to be invaluable in writing server applications. The vast majority of everyday applications are based on JS. Using JavaScript you can check the correctness of implemented data immediately. It is used for simple calculations, is responsible for attractive animations and interactions, and works with Document Object Model.
JavaScript and web technologies
In the case of web applications, JavaScript has been consistently on the list of the most popular technologies for years. A web application consists of a front-end and a backend layer, where the latter remains invisible to users. Only programmers have access to it, but it directly affects the functioning of the whole service. Currently client-side is based on HTML, CSS and JS technologies. The following runtime environments are most commonly used to execute JavaScript code: Node.js, Nest.js, Meteor.js. JavaScript competes with PHP when creating web applications, where popular frameworks are mainly Laravel and Symfony. Both JS and PHP are popular because of their stability and performance. While creating web applications, a great emphasis is placed on the issue of security, and for programmers, it is important that it is easy to write code and has the possibility to use many ready-made IT solutions. If someone is primarily interested in creating the mechanics of web applications, he or she should definitely choose JavaScript. Using additional frameworks it becomes possible to create full-fledged web and mobile applications. This allows you to transfer the logic of their operation directly to the browser, which largely relieves the application and speeds up its response to user actions.
To create large web applications, which many programmers have to work on, we choose above all proven and reliable JavaScript technology. The same applies to software as a service in the cloud computing model, i.e. software as a service. JS is much less frequently used in case of applications based on artificial intelligence. The same can be said for machine learning programs. The disadvantage of JavaScript is usually a higher cost of employing programmers specializing in this technology. This has a big impact on budget planning. The greater complexity of applications translates into higher investment costs. Browsers are constantly being developed, Electron or ReactNative capabilities are increasing. In the nearest future the React, Vue or Svelte libraries will certainly not lose their popularity. React, Vue and Angular dominate the framework market. Svelte will be used more and more often, and WebComponents still needs to be developed.
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