Javascript was a poorly thought out language designed in two weeks. It is a problem... so much so that features keep getting stacked on it because by now we are stuck with it.
It is such a mess that it is now mainstream to compile some metajs langauge to js.
Is it the worst language every created? Certainly not, but is it the worst language being actively developed and used? Yes. Is it poisoning the minds of young programmers with bad practices and a fear of concurrency? yes.
The first prototype was designed in 10 days. The language itself underwent several iterations and I think it's not fair to say that it was "designed in two weeks".
Other languages (and newer versions of JS) compile to ES5 so they can be run in JS engines supported by commonly used browsers. Not because JS itself "is such a mess". This allows one to roll out new language features to developers without having to wait for browsers to pick up a new standard (or language). Pretty much every language I am aware of adds new features and changes over time. Do you call them a mess also, because they make changes?
I think your comment is highly opinionated, not well supported by facts and sources, and IMO on the edge of being insulting to a lot of people.
Fair points, but the fact it has to be compiled negates almost all the benefits of a scripting language. Not to mention that using these tools is error prone (see leftpad).
TL;DR JS has become more of a target over time than a source which might be a hint that there is something deeply wrong with it. People wouldn't reinvent the wheel if it was round to begin with.
Yeah, it's so much of a problem and so badly designed that the whole web runs on it every day, enriching the lives of billions of people and providing them with access to valuable software.
You know, I guess that's why I come to think more and more that I have a real issue with the attitude of some of the more deeply technical folks: You completely neglect the success of this ecosystem and what it does for all of us, because of technical details that apparently do not matter a lot to end users.
Yes, for technical people having to deal with that ecosystem, it can introduce new quirks and issues. It's your job to deal with that and create value for customers.
Do something about it instead of ranting and whining.
Being forced to use electron-based apps hardly feels like an enriching experience (Microsoft removing the legacy QT based app for one without push-to-talk, Discord, Slack etc.)...
My final comment would be success of proliferation isn't always a result of quality. I am not saying it doesn't provide value - it is just a very poor programming language which, being popular, means people who learn professionally my get stuck in a minefield of dogma instead of focusing on sound principals.
JS has become a target rather than a source because of convention. It's the way modern frameworks and tools work, and it's part of the process that companies employ. The original intent behind tools like Typescript and the compile-to-js paradigm might have been dissatisfaction with the language, but the ubiquity of that paradigm is due entirely to the influence of Node, Facebook and Google.
Most languages are terrible in nitially. More important I think is the ability to evolve.
And JS is evolving, faster in some areas than others but it is evolving.
Compared to the first time I used JS, now its very convenient language with some quirks. But the main reason actually it is rising in popularity so much is that's probably the most cross platform language today. And I am ot talking about what you compile language to, I mean what do you use to ship software to people.
Javascript was a poorly thought out language designed in two weeks.
The problem is not JavaScript the language, the problem is abusing client side programming. I can't imagine what kind of perfect language could have prevented that. If you can, I won't believe you, sorry. The feature that matters, sandboxing, it's there yet.
It is such a mess that it is now mainstream to compile some metajs langauge to js.
Is it the worst language every created? Certainly not, but is it the worst language being actively developed and used? Yes. Is it poisoning the minds of young programmers with bad practices and a fear of concurrency? yes.