The Beer Driven Devs

Has JavaScript outstayed its welcome?

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In this episode, Matt rants about JavaScript—the language we all use, but few truly love. Is JavaScript objectively bad? Not necessarily. But it lacks the luxuries of more modern languages and is arguably a legacy technology that holds back innovation in UI development.

We discuss:

  • Why JavaScript was never meant for modern web applications
  • The lowest-common-denominator problem and how it stifles progress
  • How React, TypeScript, Next.js, and other frameworks exist just to fix JavaScript’s shortcomings
  • The death of plugins (Silverlight, Flash, Java Applets) and how it forced JavaScript dominance
  • What could finally break JavaScript’s stranglehold on frontend development
  • The trade-offs: Standardisation vs. Specialisation—what does this mean for devs and businesses?
  • The browser has evolved into an OS in all but name, but unlike a real OS, it’s stuck with JavaScript forever. Could WASI open the door to Rust, Zig, Go, and lower-level languages replacing JavaScript? And what would that mean for the future of frontend development?

    • Join us for this unfiltered discussion on the past, present, and potential future of UI development—and why JavaScript’s best feature might be that we won’t need it anymore.

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    Cheers! 🍻

    🍻 Tonight’s Drinks 🍻

    Matt - Bodriggy’s Utropia
    Liam - a well-earned rest after his Margaret River trip

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    The Beer Driven DevsBy Matt Goldman & Liam Elliott