JavaScript is the original and common name applied towards most flavors of a scripting language that originated on NetScape Navigator. Use this tag for questions regarding common implementations of ECMAScript, JavaScript, JScript, etc. JS does not typically refer to its ECMA-cousin, ActionScript.
79
votes
2answers
4k views
What is JavaScript, really?
All this started when I was looking for a way to test my webpage for JavaScript conformance like the W3C HTML Validator. I have not found one yet. So let me know if you know of any...
I looked for ...
70
votes
23answers
5k views
How do developers find the time to stay on top of latest technologies? [closed]
I was a freelance web developer until circa 2004 when I started going down the management route but have decided to try to get back into development again (specifically JavaScript and HTML5 web/mobile ...
70
votes
15answers
4k views
Why do memory-managed languages retain the `new` keyword? [closed]
The new keyword in languages like Java, Javascript, and C# creates a new instance of a class.
This syntax seems to have been inherited from C++, where new is used specifically to allocate a new ...
59
votes
27answers
4k views
How important is graceful degradation of JavaScript?
Should web developers continue to spend effort progressively enhancing our web applications with JavaScript, ensuring that features gracefully degrade, thereby ensuring accessibility? Or should we ...
57
votes
19answers
5k views
Should I Bother To Develop for JavaScript Disabled?
The question is in the title "Should I Bother To Develop for JavaScript Disabled?"
I feel that my time is better spent developing for the majority?
39
votes
9answers
3k views
How do I get started with HTML5? [closed]
What is the recommended workflow to learn HTML5? What tools should I install? What SDK? Where to start? How to test? How to debug? What do I read?
I understand that what is often labelled as "HTML5 ...
36
votes
13answers
9k views
How does Python's handling of line-breaks differ from JavaScript's automatic semicolons?
Javascript has a feature called Automatic Semicolon Insertion where basically if the parser encounters an invalid token, and the last token before that was a line break, then the parser will insert a ...
36
votes
6answers
2k views
How safe are hidden AJAX requests that fake performance?
What is a hidden AJAX request?
I've noticed an increase in the usage of hidden AJAX requests designed to make a user's action appear to happen immediately. I'll refer to this type of AJAX request as ...
36
votes
2answers
2k views
Are there any OO-principles that are practically applicable for Javascript?
Javascript is a prototype-based object oriented language but can become class-based in a variety of ways, either by:
Writing the functions to be used as classes by yourself
Use a nifty class system ...
35
votes
5answers
3k views
Why aren't there native Javascript interpreters for Windows/Mac/Linux?
It seems to me it would be very useful to use Javascript for general server side scripting tasks as it has more or less the same features as Perl and Python. But AFAIK there are no generally available ...
35
votes
11answers
2k views
Is there any reason not to go directly from client-side Javascript to a database? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Writing Web “server less” applications
So, let's say I'm going to build a Stack Exchange clone and I decide to use something like CouchDB as my backend store. If I use ...
33
votes
11answers
2k views
Is it considered bad practice to have PHP in your JavaScript
So many times on this site I see people trying to do things like this :
<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function(){
$('<?php echo $divID ?>').click(funtion(){
...
32
votes
5answers
6k views
What are the pros and cons of Coffeescript?
Of course one big pro is the amount of syntactic sugar leading to shorter code in a lot of cases. On http://jashkenas.github.com/coffee-script/ there are impressive examples. On the other hand I have ...
31
votes
14answers
3k views
Is it a common practice to minimize JavaScript usage when building a website?
I've been a web developer for almost 10 years and I've gotten into the habit of trying not to use JavaScript whenever possible. I'm not talking about building web apps here, but database driven ...
31
votes
16answers
3k views
Should I continue my self-taught coding practice or learn how to do coding professionally? [closed]
Lately I've been getting professional work, hanging out with other programmers, and making friends in the industry. The only thing is I'm 100% self-taught. It's caused my style to extremely deviate ...
31
votes
5answers
21k views
Understanding node.js: some real-life examples
As a curious web developer I've been hearing about node.js for several months and (just) now I'd like to learn it and, most of all, understand its "engine".
So, as a real newbie about node.js I'm ...
30
votes
2answers
949 views
Why does Javascript treat days and months differently?
I've noticed that in JavaScript, when creating a Date, months are zero based, and days aren't.
For example:
var foo = new Date(2012, 1, 1)
produces February 1st 2012
Why is this?
29
votes
10answers
3k views
Why aren't there other client-side scripting languages for websites?
Why is there just support for JavaScript and some VBScript in browsers today? I know JavaScript is good and all, but wouldn't having the option of using another programming language help promote ...
29
votes
7answers
1k views
Design Patterns for Javascript [duplicate]
A lot of web frameworks have a MVC-style layout to code and approaching problems. What are some good similar paradigms for JavaScript? I'm already using a framework (jQuery) and unobtrusive js, but ...
28
votes
4answers
3k views
The importance of Design Patterns with Javascript, NodeJs et al
With Javascript appearing to be the ubiquitous programming language of the web over the next few years, new frameworks popping up every five minutes and event driven programming taking a lead both ...
27
votes
3answers
1k views
What's so bad about the DOM?
I keep hearing people (Crockford in particular) saying the DOM is a terrible API, but not really justifying this statement. Apart from cross-browser inconsistencies, what are some reasons why the DOM ...
26
votes
5answers
1k views
Referencing external javascript vs. hosting my own copy
Say I have a web app that uses jQuery. Is it better practice to host the necessary javascript files on my own servers along with my website files, or to reference them on jQuery's CDN (example: ...
26
votes
9answers
1k views
Ashamed to admit using jQuery? [closed]
Something I've noticed over the past few weeks is how many big commercial websites use jQuery combined with lots of plugins - but don't admit it. They will rename the main library to something ...
25
votes
15answers
1k views
What shall I include in a 10 week web technologies course?
In September I will be teaching a university module on web technologies. This session will be available to 1st year (freshman) students who don't necessarily have any programming knowledge or know ...
25
votes
2answers
9k views
When not to use Google Web Toolkit?
I'm considering use of GWT on a major in-house web app development project, namely it's major advantage in my eyes is the cross-compilation to Javascript which would (at least theoretically) help my ...
25
votes
3answers
5k views
What does Douglas Crockford mean when he says jQuery doesn't scale?
In the Q&A section of this talk, Douglas Crockford says that jQuery doesn't scale as well as some other popular libraries. What does he mean by that, and what is it about the other libraries that ...
25
votes
4answers
970 views
Javascript modularity, server based MVC & business reality
I understand this is a very broad question, but I have worked with various aspects of this problem individually and am struggling to bring all the concepts and technologies together.
I'd like to ...
24
votes
4answers
3k views
Does Dart have any useful features for web programmers?
http://www.dartlang.org/
I've checked out the site very briefly, and got curious. Is there any advantages of using Dart? Is it just a replacement for JavaScript?
It looks like simpler Java. Writing ...
24
votes
8answers
3k views
When should JavaScript generate HTML?
I try to generate as little HTML from JavaScript as possible. Instead, I prefer to manipulate existing markup whenever I can and only generate HTML when I need to dynamically insert an element that ...
23
votes
11answers
2k views
Is javascript worth learning if you do not plan on being a web developer?
I heard Javascript is a full language just like c++. Is this true? What else is it good for programming besides web stuff?
23
votes
8answers
4k views
The importance of javascript and the best way to learn it? [duplicate]
I'm a new graduate, but I have been doing web development for about six months. When I was finishing university the server side languages (PHP, Java) were more important then client side languages. ...
22
votes
9answers
7k views
Why do people disable JavaScript?
I asked a question yesterday Should I Bother to Develop For JavaScript Disabled?. I think the consencus is: Yes, I should develop for JavaScript Disabled. Now I just want to understand why users ...
21
votes
5answers
1k views
How do I convince my boss (and other devs) to use/consider Unobtrusive JavaScript
I'm pretty new in our develepors team.
I need some strong arguments and/or "pitfall" examples, so my boss will finally understand the advantages of Unobtrusive JavaScript, so that he, and the rest of ...
21
votes
10answers
1k views
Good resources and tools for modern, heavy JavaScript development?
I am interested in doing some projects that involve heavy use of JavaScript. Namely HTML5 based canvas games, potentially using node.js as well. I am interested in learning modern best practices, ...
21
votes
4answers
5k views
What are the pros and cons of Node.js?
I'm designing a web application that is locally focused on JSON objects to do all the data stuff (and after that I would pass it to a server to cloud synchronize). However, somebody in an answer from ...
20
votes
6answers
2k views
What is the motivation behind TypeScript?
We had JavaScript, then we had Flash, then we had Silverlight and then HTML5 ownd them all.
So what is the motivation behind TypeScript? What problems are going to be tackled and what improvements ...
19
votes
11answers
6k views
How necessary is it to learn JavaScript before jQuery? [closed]
In my opinion, when I looked at JavaScript, it looked like not my cup of tea. When I came across jQuery, I loved it. I sat and watched Nettuts+ 15 days of jQuery screencasts, 1 year later and now I'm ...
19
votes
10answers
2k views
Is it worth moving from Microsoft tech to Linux, NodeJS & other open source frameworks to save money for a start-up?
I am currently getting involved in a startup, I am the only developer involved at the moment, and the other guys are leaving all the tech decisions up to me at the moment.
For my day job I work at a ...
19
votes
5answers
876 views
Is Google Closure a true compiler?
This question is inspired by the debate in the comments on this Stack Overflow question. The Google Closure Compiler documentation states the following (emphasis added):
The Closure Compiler is a ...
19
votes
6answers
4k views
Self-Executing Anonymous Function vs Prototype
In Javascript there are a few clearly prominent techniques for create and manage classes/namespaces in javascript.
I am curious what situations warrant using one technique vs. the other. I want to ...
19
votes
1answer
797 views
The Box Model: Internet Explorer vs. W3C
Today, the Internet Explorer Box Model problem is mostly a non-issue. Most web developers place a <!DOCTYPE> tag to enforce standards compliance, and nobody really cares about supporting ...
18
votes
11answers
1k views
How to talk a client out of a Flash website?
I have recently been doing a bunch of web side projects through word of mouth recommendations only. Although I am much more a of a programmer than a designer by any means, my design skills are not ...
18
votes
6answers
1k views
Dev approaches to complex JavaScript UI's
I am trying to understand the landscape of different approaches, and best practices, around the development of complex client-side JavaScript.
I'm not sure what to label this class of application, ...
18
votes
4answers
8k views
Reasons NOT to use JSF [closed]
I am new to StackExchange, but I figured you would be able to help me.
We're crating a new Java Enterprise application, replacing an legacy JSP solution. Due to many many changes, the UI and parts of ...
17
votes
6answers
1k views
Has anyone used Sproutcore?
Has anyone used Sproutcore for a web application? If so, can you give me a description of your experience? I am currently considering it, but I have a few concerns. First, the documentation is ...
17
votes
12answers
2k views
How did JavaScript become popular?
In ancient history, Brendan Eich had a language design, and in today's world, JavaScript is a popular language implemented and used in many different places.
What caused the language to become ...
17
votes
6answers
4k views
Why do we still use JavaScript? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why aren't there other client-side scripting languages for websites?
It seems to me that, despite being one of the world's most used languages, even some of the ...
17
votes
8answers
6k views
Chromebook - is it interesting for Programmers?
Google announced the chromebook yesterday (11 May 2011). While this is surely a nice thing, I have no clue whether it was interesting to buy one for a (non-javascript)-programmer.
What do you think? ...
17
votes
9answers
1k views
How does a programmer used to static languages cope with lack of Javascript tooling
I have programmed pretty much exclusively in compiled languages, particularly Java, for most of my career. One of my favourite things about Java is how productive you can be, and how little code you ...
17
votes
7answers
5k views
Best Javascript tutorial so i can get started on JQuery? [closed]
Sorry if this is in the wrong stack exchange, wasn't sure if I should post it here, or overflow.
Just wanted to know of a few good online tutorials or a book I can do to get me started with ...
