JavaScript Online Training

How people came to like JavaScript

• Computers used to be much slower and browsers were bad at interpreting JavaScript. Most developers came from a back-end development world. Back then, JavaScript just seemed like a bad idea.
• On the other hand, the cost of hosting files was very high. This is where JavaScript came in: JavaScript is executed on users’ computers when they access the page, meaning that anything you can do in JavaScript will not add processing strain onto your server. Hence, it is client-side. This made sites much more responsive for the end user and less expensive in terms of server traffic.
• Skip forward to today – modern browsers have well-implemented JavaScript, computers are much faster, and bandwidth is a lot cheaper, so a lot of the negatives are less critical. However, cutting down on server round-trips by doing things in JavaScript still results in more responsive web applications and a better user experience.

Advantages of JavaScript

• JavaScript is very easy to implement. All you need to do is put your code in the HTML document and tell the browser that it is JavaScript.
• JavaScript works on web users’ computers — even when they are offline!
• JavaScript allows you to create highly responsive interfaces that improve the user experience and provide dynamic functionality, without having to wait for the server to react and show another page.
• JavaScript can load content into the document if and when the user needs it, without reloading the entire page — this is commonly referred to as Ajax.
• JavaScript can test for what is possible in your browser and react accordingly — this is called Principles of unobtrusive JavaScript or sometimes defensive scripting.
• JavaScript can help fix browser problems or patch holes in browser support — for example fixing CSS layout issues in certain browsers.

That is a lot for a language that until recently was laughed at by programmers favouring “higher programming languages”. One part of the renaissance of JavaScript is that we are building more and more complex web applications these days, and high interactivity either requires Flash (or other plugins) or scripting. JavaScript is arguably the best way to go, as it is a web standard, it is supported natively across browsers (more or less — some things differ across browsers, and these differences are discussed in appropriate places in the articles that follow this one), and it is compatible with other open web standards.

Future of JavaScript

• The several frameworks of JavaScript have their own reputed market which is regularly expanding. The progress of JavaScript is evident with the increase in AngularJS development services, ReactJS development services, NodeJS development services and VueJS development services.
• The arrival of NodeJS made JS to extend its scope to the server side. It became very simple for companies to contact full-stack developers who can operate with both frontend and backend applying JavaScript.
• JavaScript is one of the primary driving forces behind the quickly evolving Internet. The widespread development of the high-level programming language confirms its stability in the future.

Using JavaScript sensibly and responsibly

There is not much you cannot do with JavaScript — especially when you mix it with other technologies like Canvas or SVG. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and you should always remember the following when using JavaScript:

• JavaScript might not be available — this is easy to test for, so not really a problem. However, things that depend on JavaScript should be created with this in mind, and you should be careful that your site does not break (i.e. essential functionality is not available) if JavaScript is not available.
• If the use of JavaScript does not aid the user in reaching a goal more quickly and efficiently you are probably using it wrong.
• Using JavaScript, we often break conventions that people have got used to over years of using the web (for example, clicking links to go to other pages, or a little basket icon meaning “shopping cart”). Whilst these usage patterns might be outdated and inefficient, changing them still means making users change their ways — and this makes humans feel uneasy. We like being in control and once we understand something, it is hard for us to deal with change. Your JavaScript solutions should feel naturally better than the previous interaction, but not so different that the user cannot relate to it via their previous experience. If you manage to get a site visitor saying “ah ha — this means I do not have to wait” or “Cool — now I do not have to take this extra annoying step” — you have got yourself a great use for JavaScript.
• JavaScript should never be a security measure. If you need to prevent users from accessing data or you are likely to handle sensitive data, then do not rely on JavaScript. Any JavaScript protection can easily be reverse-engineered and overcome, as all the code is available to read on the client machine. Also, users can just turn JavaScript off in their browsers.