Is enhancement JavaScript worth it?
Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:48 pm
I like calling AJAX "newfangled" because there's a lot of buzz surrounding the hype (you know, lots of people think AJAX is overhyped, and it's those people who I am observing). Nonetheless, this sort of forces me to learn a little more about JavaScript (which I gave up on after writing only one script).
Now, to tell the truth, I hate JavaScript. Well, I don't hate JavaScript, but I hate the browser incompatibilities and syntax subtleties.
I could get over the syntax. Once you're in a programming state of mind, it's easy to transfer that mentality over, even if that needs to be augmented with an event-driven programming state of mind. But... is it worth it?
After all, you can't trust JavaScript. The browser might not support it, the user may have turned it off, nothing mission-critical can be in JavaScript. I think it's safe to say that JavaScript is an enhancement. An enhancement that comes with a whole lot of hair-tearing over cross-browser issues.
Of course, there are certain things that simply can't be accomplished any other way (such as the script I linked earlier). But most things can. Why do you find JavaScript worth the trouble?
Now, to tell the truth, I hate JavaScript. Well, I don't hate JavaScript, but I hate the browser incompatibilities and syntax subtleties.
I could get over the syntax. Once you're in a programming state of mind, it's easy to transfer that mentality over, even if that needs to be augmented with an event-driven programming state of mind. But... is it worth it?
After all, you can't trust JavaScript. The browser might not support it, the user may have turned it off, nothing mission-critical can be in JavaScript. I think it's safe to say that JavaScript is an enhancement. An enhancement that comes with a whole lot of hair-tearing over cross-browser issues.
Of course, there are certain things that simply can't be accomplished any other way (such as the script I linked earlier). But most things can. Why do you find JavaScript worth the trouble?