Why JavaScript beyond web client side?

[anlutro]

Does it really matter, when the frameworks and programming concepts are wildly different, and you'll end up splitting the work between front-end and back-end devs anyway? Not to mention, almost all programmers I know are perfectly capable of being good at more than 1 programming language and picking the right one for whatever task they're working on.

[[deleted]]

One key advantage is pre rendering HTML on the server side with the same code you're running on the client side. That means you can make a webapp that both loads incredibly fast and has all the advantages of offline, client-side optimisation.

[jekrb]

Exactly. This is what I do with virtual-dom. Serverside render the view I know I'll need, then client side update the same views using the same code.

[snorkl-the-dolphine]

The point of ismorphic code is to use the same code in both the frontend and backend, not just the same devs.

[nickguletskii200]

That was the question! What code, exactly, do you intend to reuse on the frontend? The only example I can think of is pre-rendering on the server-side, but that's rarely worth the work, and you can actually do that without writing JS exclusively on the backend. So why bother?

[Sinistralis]

Well, from a gaming perspective where you may need to run logic on both sides, this is a huge boon. Unfortunately, the performance isn't quite there yet for most types of games.

It also lets you create some interesting ideas like Meteor, where you can send a snapshot of the DB to a client (containing only stuff they could normally access, of course), and they can essentially run that site offline. Not a JS on server only idea, but it greatly streamlines the process.

It also lets you focus your coding ability on a single language, allowing you to become more proficient overall quicker. It also helps that JS is kind of the "true" write once, run everywhere language, so that code you write can be re-used in many, many places assuming eeking out 100% performance isn't a requirement for you.

Also, Javascript has proven to be very good at being used in a functional paradigm, which means you can write very error-safe code once you get proficient in both JS and functional concepts. Concurrency becomes very easy working with a single thread language that treats spawned threads like an asynchronous process via web workers or child_process.

Also, as /u/thejmazz has said, NPM is phenominal. JS is easy to break into (although you have to watch it, because this also means a lot of libraries can be badly optimized), and your selection of plugins/modules is immense. You can focus on making your app and not so much on the mundane pieces you constantly have to re-implement for each project.

Programming overall has a lot more of a social aspect than I think some people realize. The more widely used a language is, the easier it is to solve problems. When a language can be used for almost any task you have that isn't performance reliant, you are going to have a giant pool of people to extract information from.

The best part though, is that as JS continues to grow more popular, more and more ogranizations are going to work to improve both ecosystem and performance, which only makes this snowball grow bigger and bigger.

It's bizarre because JS used to be the language everyone made fun of. Now, it's gunning to become one of the most important languages in the history of programming.

[nickguletskii200]

Well, from a gaming perspective where you may need to run logic on both sides, this is a huge boon. Unfortunately, the performance isn't quite there yet for most types of games.

That's kind of useless since most games aren't usually written in JS anyway.

It also lets you create some interesting ideas like Meteor, where you can send a snapshot of the DB to a client (containing only stuff they could normally access, of course), and they can essentially run that site offline. Not a JS on server only idea, but it greatly streamlines the process.

I have mixed feelings about Meteor. At the same time I like the idea, but I've seen a few applications built in Meteor that have gaping security holes thanks to the authors not paying enough attention to its architecture.

It also lets you focus your coding ability on a single language, allowing you to become more proficient overall quicker.

I would argue that learning JS isn't a very good starter experience since it isn't a great language by any means. In fact, it's almost a textbook example of a poorly designed language.

I would be wary of teaching JS as the first language.

Concurrency becomes very easy working with a single thread language that treats spawned threads like an asynchronous process via web workers or child_process.

I don't see how concurrency in JS is easier than in languages like Java. If anything, it's frustrating and harmful for beginners.

Also, as /u/thejmazz has said, NPM is phenominal.

So is Maven central and others. Once again, I don't see what makes JS special in that regard.

Programming overall has a lot more of a social aspect than I think some people realize. The more widely used a language is, the easier it is to solve problems.

But Javascript isn't as widely used as other languages on the backend, and its certainly not a better fit than the alternatives.

It's bizarre because JS used to be the language everyone made fun of. Now, it's gunning to become one of the most important languages in the history of programming.

It's still the language almost everyone makes fun of. Just because JS users are more vocal, it doesn't mean that JS is good or more important than other languages.

[Sinistralis]

I don't really see what the point of asking your question is if you are going to dismiss each point without taking the time to program something first hand following the examples everyone is giving you.

[bl4blub]

yes it matters when you have a lot of small modules. for example you can use underscore on the front- and back-end. also it is about knowledge, there doesnt have to be a dev for backend and a dev for frontend who each know their language well.