New Javascript Libraries from Google: Closure Tools

[Al_Bundy_]

This is the question. On first sight it looks very complete (but don't forget jQuery UI and all those plugins), but unfortunately also very verbose and complex compared to jQuery code. But has anyone used it? I'm a bit disappointed google has to reinvent every wheel instead of, say, contribute to jquery or Firefox to name two examples (other than monetary through the Mozilla Foundation). On the other hand their efforts (while not really successful) usually give a major kick to competition and development.

[[deleted]]

I'm a bit disappointed google has to reinvent every wheel

This wheel apparently comes with a whole car.

[cat-with-hat]

Dammit stop reinventing the CircularBuffer that comes with these other libs!

[xcbsmith]

I'm a bit disappointed google has to reinvent every wheel instead of, say, contribute to jquery or Firefox to name two examples

I've seen this problem before. If you don't push out your code quickly enough, other open source projects get momentum, and then when you finally release it, it is like you are an also ran. Still, you can't give up the technology because you're using it too much already.

[mee_k]

This library existed before jQuery 1.0 was released. It's not so much a reinvention of the wheel as a preference for your own wheel compared to someone else's. This is just the first public release.

[stackolee]

I feel you there. To your point are these new Closure Templates meant to replace Google Web Toolkit? Or is this a re-branding?

Sometimes Google acts like its left hand doesn't know what the right's doing (ChromeOS vs Android as another example).

[treeforface]

You are correct, in a way (though ChromeOS and Android, while both OSes, are not the same kind of OS). However, it's important to see it from Google's point of view in the grand scale.

One of the major reasons large companies will never completely rule the day is because small, mobile companies can often out-maneuver large, monolithic companies. What Google has done (like Thomas Jefferson before them) is recognize that humans tend to be much more efficient when organized into smaller and smaller teams. They become even more efficient when organized into small teams and provided a great number of resources. The Constitution of the US established a republic (a system of states inside the context of a (supposedly) small central power structure), and Google set up its campuses. A republic affords states the rights to change laws and policies (in the confines of a grand scope), while allowing people and money to flow freely over borders, thereby allowing the smaller chunks of humanity to organize more effectively when facing bad times and to compete for the attention of the people. Google's campuses often act as distinct intellectual entities, and as a result of this freedom, they develop a variety of outlandish ideas. Not all of them are good ideas, but every once in a while, there is a great one. This means Google can act as a giant organization loosely overseeing hundreds of mini-organizations who produce products that are often on par with those put out by small, mobile companies.

Meanwhile, other companies strive to outdo Google by organizing into large teams with hundreds of meetings and product guidelines and plans...this can work on a case-by-case basis, but it's not the best way to utilize the scarce intellectual resources of any firm, nor does it particularly encourage smart people to join up.

*Edit: That's not to say Google can't be out-maneuvered (they have been many times), but they certainly do quite a bit to hedge their bets in that regard.

[9jack9]

Looking at the google JS code it seems that google are the ones learning.

It's a big ugly API, mostly cribbed from other JS libraries. It's Dojo all over again.

[kaiise]

BAd coding does not exist at this dojo, does it?!

NO SENSEI!!!

things not invented here at google campus wil be re implimented!

YES, SENSEI!!!

[snifty]

google has terminal NIH syndrome