

Javascript is making all other languages irrelevant. You must master it now. - yrmhm
http://projectricochet.com/blog/javascript-making-all-other-languages-irrelevant-and-why-you-must-master-it-now

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mcmire
Yes, you should master JavaScript -- it's used all over the web and people
will continue using it that way. But I disagree it's making all other
languages irrelevant and that it's a "game changer". Devices are not going to
be coded in JS any time soon (the runtime isn't robust enough and the language
is not designed to be used that way). Yes, people may use asm.js more and more
to convert bigger programs to run on the web, which is super cool, but asm.js
isn't JavaScript.

So master JavaScript, but then learn Rust, Elixir, Go, Haskell, and Lisp, too.
These are as much "game changers" as anything else.

~~~
yrmhm
"Devices are not going to be coded in JS any time soon"

[http://technical.io/](http://technical.io/)

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OlivierLi
I really think the JS madness is getting to an absurd level here on HN.

I understand how it's geting more popular but there really is a whole world
outside of webdev.

Systems programming, AAA games, simulators and embedded software are not
switching over to JS any time soon.

~~~
ricoshady
It isn't absurd, Javascript is everywhere and it is shipping on almost every
new device. That isn't shared by many other languages except C and C++. It is
even showing up outside of webdev all together, mobile and server side. I
definitely agree it won't replace systems programming, and where native speed
and performance is paramount, it'll struggle there too. But it will
progressively infringe on those spaces, including games and other types of
programming. The business need for a language that can be used on so many
platforms will be hard to resist, impossible to resist. And the fringe cases
where other development is needed will become more niche and competitive,
while JS will flourish with opportunity for some time to come.

------
_random_
That guy lost his touch with reality living in that Drupal land.

"...Different languages come with more than just a different syntax, they also
come with their own way of thinking...". This is of course bad, because
naturally we don't need Erlangs, Scalas, F#s, SQLs, Haskells, X(*)MLs, telling
us there is a different way to approach a problem. Just give us the good ol'
Hammer.JS! It's perfect for any task!

Required reading for author: asm.js, LLVM, TypeScript.

PS: if the world goes mad and he turns out right we will have a _really_ good
reason to leave for start ups.

~~~
ricoshady
I didn't say they were inherently bad, but they can be. They often keep people
thinking in old ways.

~~~
peerst
Well JS is keeping you thinking in pretty ancient ways. The "ideas" in JS are
so old that you need quotes around the word. This sounds like from a Blub
programmer. I'd better add a reference because Blub programers don't know what
Blub means:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Graham_(computer_programme...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Graham_\(computer_programmer\)#Blub)

------
anonyfox
This reflects my inception, too. Not only in webdevelopment, but desktop-apps
and mobile stuff is developed in JS, too.

I even heard, that: Win8 Metro Apps are developed with HTML5 stuff and Apple
is building a JS Bridge to their Cocoa APIs. But i have no sources currently.

If this is true, there will be one language to rule them all. It's not the
prettiest one, but that's what meta-languages like coffeescript are for (if
you want).

(Projects like ASM.js (near native speed) or Emscripten (transcompile many
languages like C++ to JS) are pushing towards this direction even further!)

~~~
_random_
ASM.js is actually a JavaScript killer. It's a hope-giving possibility of not
having to touch JS whatsoever.

~~~
anonyfox
perfect world for me: write in coffeescript and compile to asm.js for raw
performance :)

~~~
dave809
I don't think you know what asm.js is

------
malandrew
"You must master is now." Most certainly true. If not for production, you will
at least use if d for communication of your work on the Internet.

"JavaScript is making all other languages irrelevant" Hogwash. Many many
languages out there have something to offer you intellectually and
professionally. Saying they are all now irrelevant is naïve and the path to
mediocrity.

~~~
anonyfox
For intellectual fun and profit, there is an increasing number of
"meta"-languages out there which compile to javascript. See Coffeescript and
Livescript for Example.

------
total__C
Politics is unworthy of discussion yet an article like this is acceptable? If
Javascript is making all other languages irrelevant why does the world have
Coffeescript, Clojurescript, and so on and so forth?

~~~
ToastyMallows
You know that those languages produce Javascript in the end correct? If
anything wouldn't that just support this argument?

~~~
_dark_matter_
The argument is "You must master javascript". If other languages compile to
javascript - then you needn't master javascript, you can master those other
languages.

So no, this does not just support this argument. There are other languages to
learn.

~~~
yrmhm
When Steve wrote this article, his point was Javascript or anything that
creates Javascript. Or actually, we don't even really care about Javascript,
just the portability and qualities we get from it and its derivatives or
offshoots. Another suitable title would be "Server side only thinking is
dead".

