Re:Office 365 is being completely rewritten in JavaScript
by cm2187 on Wednesday June 13, 2018 @05:50AM
(#17301669)
Let's not confuse popularity (as in lots of users) and popularity (as in lots of love). Death and taxes are popular too! People write javascript because they have no other choice to run in the browser. I don't see that as a testimony that it is a great language.
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Re:Office 365 is being completely rewritten in JavaScript
by actsasbuffoon on Wednesday June 13, 2018 @06:54AM
(#17301937)
If your only concern is the ergonomics of the language then there are lots of compile-to-JS languages. Some of them also compile to WebAssembly, which allows them to bypass the GC. It’s still not native speed, but it’s close enough for many applications.
There are pros and cons, but within the next few years it could become common to write in your language of choice, compile to WebAssembly, and ship an app that’s within roughly 50% of native speed.
I imagine JS will still be hugely popular even in that scenario, but that’s a different topic.