I loathe the javascript syntax but am sold on this lingua franca thing, although probably for reasons different to the person who coined the phrase.
Could you explain the excitement and appeal to me?
Yup. Javascript combines several elements that give it a reach for high power.
* Javascript is a prototype-based language. I find this to be a better way to write software than other approaches.
* There's a good ometa implementation for javascript. Ometa is a powerful ways of writing domain specific languages.
* Modern JVMs support javascript, meaning that anything you do in javascript can be adapter to leverage existing Java codebases.
* Combination of javascript on both the client and server will likely expose new possibilities. For example, I've been thinking about the possibility of a 'builder' app in javascript whereby you use a firebug console to dynamically build a form and attach business logic to it and then freeze it back to the server. Yes, you could do it at the moment, but it's less effort if you only have one codebase to think about. The thread of bloat in the client becomes less of a problem with new approaches to development like Google Gears, also.
Node.js is an important foundation to javascript establishing itself as a viable server-side language. At a glance, it looks to be a good balance of what's needed, also.
* Javascript is a prototype-based language. I find this to be a better way to write software than other approaches.
* There's a good ometa implementation for javascript. Ometa is a powerful ways of writing domain specific languages.
* Modern JVMs support javascript, meaning that anything you do in javascript can be adapter to leverage existing Java codebases.
* Combination of javascript on both the client and server will likely expose new possibilities. For example, I've been thinking about the possibility of a 'builder' app in javascript whereby you use a firebug console to dynamically build a form and attach business logic to it and then freeze it back to the server. Yes, you could do it at the moment, but it's less effort if you only have one codebase to think about. The thread of bloat in the client becomes less of a problem with new approaches to development like Google Gears, also.
Node.js is an important foundation to javascript establishing itself as a viable server-side language. At a glance, it looks to be a good balance of what's needed, also.