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If He's Right, It Bodes Very Well for My Career

Sep 27, 2006 3:30 PM
Tags: browsers, business, career, javascript, programming, software

Says Steve Yegge, formerly of Amazon and currently of Google:

JavaScript is probably the most important language in the world today. Funny, huh? You'd think it would be Java or C++ or something. But I think it just might be JavaScript.

...

See, JavaScript has a captive audience ... Most non-technical people I know pretty much live in their browsers, and they only emerge periodically to stare in puzzlement at iTunes or a game or something, and wonder why isn't it in the browser, because everything else useful seems to be. It's where the whole world is. To non-technical people, of course. Which is, like, practically everyone.

...

There's money at play here, lots and LOTS of money; every company in the world wants a cool website. Not just a cool website; they want cool apps. Companies are realizing — glacially, yes, belatedly, yes, but inexorably — that most people with computer access in the world today live inside their browser, and they'd prefer not to leave it.

Some really original pro-Ruby on Rails ranting in there too.

I've written more JavaScript than Python at this new job, even though I was hired as a Python developer.


Comments: If He's Right, It Bodes Very Well for My Career

Well, clearly. Hasn't it been obvious over the past two or three years? The browser is back; it's 1998 all over again... but it's probably not going anywhere this time. Hopefully this time they don't stop working on the browser platform.

Posted by: Bob Ippolito on September 27, 2006 5:58 PM | permalink

I feel that people are taking JS more seriously the past few years, which has started a snowball effect. I mean, if you have a great technology (platform-independent scripting from within the browser) and most "real" programmers think it's for mouseover images and form validation, it's dead in the water.

Posted by: Joe Grossberg on September 27, 2006 6:08 PM | permalink

As a non-technical person, I just wanted to say that I hope Steve Yegge is correct! I like things to be simple and easy when I'm online. If these tech-savvy people can make my browser better and more functional, then bring it on!!

Posted by: RisingSunofNihon on September 27, 2006 6:21 PM | permalink

No more comments! Either someone has violated Godwin's Law, I'm tired of the discussion or, most likely, the ten-week window has closed. You can, however, contact me through email.