Presentation: The Overlooked Power of Javascript

Posted by Werner Schuster on Apr 01, 2008

Sections

Development,

Architecture & Design

Topics

Language Design ,

Javascript ,

Programming ,

Language ,

Ruby ,

Java

Tags

JAOO Conference ,

Language Features ,

AJAX

In this presentation from JAOO 2007, Glenn Vanderburg shows the power of Javascript.

Glenn starts out by going over the history of Javascript, its start from a (from the slides)

10 day hack that got shipped (We could tell)

and the time it was considered a nuisance that was mostly used to create ads and other things in the browser.

However, while Javascript wasn't too popular in the browser for a long time, Glenn points out how it got embedded in other systems, such as Flash, Acrobat, Widget libraries, or the Mozilla platform, before it's resurgence with the AJAX boom.

Glenn continues to detail the merits of Javascript, such as it's prototype-based OOP system and more. Building on that, he shows how powerful libraries such as jQuery, Prototype, and others make use of the powerful tools that Javascript provides.

Watch Glenn Vanderburg on "The Overlooked Power of Javascript".

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   That's great!

   by João Vieira da Luz

   Glenn got the point. I've put my two arms in the air several times. I reviewed myself several times on my javascript learning curve.
   
   The last statement: "Great, new, powerful things aren't going to look like the things we already understand. If we aren't expecting that, we'll miss them."
   
   This is very true about javascript.
   Thanks Glenn.

   Reply

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   Nice presentation

   by Julian Browne

   A good presentation that's well worth sitting through. Not sure that it will convince hardened doubters that javascript is a candidate for more serious work, despite it's growing role in the ajax world, but then if you have strong views on the risk/power that javascript's fluidity provides I guess it would take more than one presentation. I've been playing with Phobos recently (admittedly for my own edification as opposed to anything industrial strength) and love it.

   Reply

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   Excellent article that taught me a lot about JavaScript...

   by Chris Randall

   Got to love American presentations. These guys are naturals are being entertaining and charismatic. It's been a long time since I saw an event where the speaker was American, that was truly boring.
   
   It's the approach that states the speaker must make the audience understand the topic, rather than like here in England where the emphasis is on the audience member giving his or her full concentration towards understanding the subject of the talk.
   
   This was one of the more informative talks I've had the pleasure of watching. I've always tended to avoid using JavaScript, but after watching this presentation, I will be investing much more time in learning the subject.

   Reply

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