> What is it with people liking Javascript. I really don't get it. What can I do that is so beautiful or mindbending that I can't do in python?
That's kind of a silly question to ask.
For one, features are duplicated across masses of languages. If you ask, 'what is the one specific thing I can do in this language that I couldn't do in some other language?', the answer is almost certainly nothing. Languages only really start standing out from one another when you start talking about combinations of features. Javascript's combination of prototyping, closures, and first class functions isn't like any of the other languages on the list even before you get to html DOM manipulation or nosql.
But the more important point I'd like to make is, that if a whole bunch of smart people say they really like something, and you can't see why, that should be a sign to look harder.
Which is not to say, if a whole bunch of smart people like something you have to like it, too. But there's a reason smart people recommend it. And even if you eventually end up disagreeing with the reason, that doesn't mean it isn't there.
That's kind of a silly question to ask.
For one, features are duplicated across masses of languages. If you ask, 'what is the one specific thing I can do in this language that I couldn't do in some other language?', the answer is almost certainly nothing. Languages only really start standing out from one another when you start talking about combinations of features. Javascript's combination of prototyping, closures, and first class functions isn't like any of the other languages on the list even before you get to html DOM manipulation or nosql.
But the more important point I'd like to make is, that if a whole bunch of smart people say they really like something, and you can't see why, that should be a sign to look harder.
Which is not to say, if a whole bunch of smart people like something you have to like it, too. But there's a reason smart people recommend it. And even if you eventually end up disagreeing with the reason, that doesn't mean it isn't there.