It Is Time to Learn JavaScript

JavaScript is presented as a language worth learning now because it is widely used in web development and increasingly in mobile and server programming. The author argues that many developers still avoid it, but that its maturity makes it relevant across several parts of the software stack.

Learning JavaScript is also described as useful beyond JavaScript itself. The author says it changed how he writes C# and thinks about LINQ, callbacks, async patterns, parameter passing, and Node.js, and he encourages developers to learn it for professional growth.

Reading notes

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• JavaScript is described as having a strong year, supported by web development, Node.js, and Apple using it as a replacement for AppleScript.
• The author says developers often learned a language as part of a package or ecosystem, not as a separate skill.
• He contrasts older language choices with vendor-bound stacks and notes that developers often identify strongly with a language or platform.
• Functional languages such as Swift, F#, Scala, and Clojure are said to be changing how developers think about solving problems.
• JavaScript is presented as a language people have long felt they had to know, but often treated with skepticism.
• The text says JavaScript has matured and is now used as a real language in different scenarios.
• Its biggest use is client-side web development, but mobile and server use are becoming more common.
• The author says some developers avoid JavaScript with excuses about object orientation or weak typing.
• He says learning JavaScript helped him write C# differently.
• He says JavaScript helped him understand LINQ, callbacks, async patterns, and parameter passing in new ways.
• Embracing Node.js influenced the way he wrote ASP.NET code and made asynchronous thinking more natural.