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Here's what people in tech had to say about JavaScript when it debuted in 1995
Time and time again JavaScript is crowned the most popular programming language in the World. Whether you agree with that or not, one thing's for sure: It's come a long way since its debut back in 1995.
To mark the release of JavaScript a joint press release was issued from Netscape and Sun Microsystems on December 4, 1995.
"Programmers have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic about Java because it was designed from the ground up for the Internet. JavaScript is a natural fit, since it's also designed for the Internet and Unicode-based worldwide use," said Bill Joy, co-founder and vice president of research at Sun. "JavaScript will be the most effective method to connect HTML-based content to Java applets."
[ . . . and some testimonials . . .]
"SCO looks forward to supporting the JavaScript language on both our OpenServer and UnixWare product lines. JavaScript will enable developers to create substantially more stimulating and interactive web-based applications than ever before, giving them the edge they need to compete for the attention of the increasingly sophisticated population of Internet users."
Richard Treadway
Vice President, Layered Products
SCO
It claimed that JavaScript would be an "easy-to-use" scripting language designed for "creating live online applications".
The press release then went on to share praise from then industry bigwigs.
Here's what members of the tech industry had to say about little old JavaScript back in 1995. Some of the companies here are still going, others....not so much.
"JavaScript brings the power of rapid multimedia application development with cross-platform mobility at both the operating system and architecture level. We are pleased to integrate this powerful language into our Developer's Program."
Mike Connors, President
America Online Technologies"JavaScript will allow us to easily create personalized applets for the Excite service. These applets, combined with the rich functionality of the Excite service, will integrate more fully into the users experience as they explore and navigate the Internet."
Graham Spencer, Chief Technology Officer
Architext Software
JavaScript is popular. Also, I would observe, based on the number of participants, that death and taxes are extremely popular!
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 25 2020, @02:25AM (7 children)
Websites that need Javascript to show me the pictures are websites I don't need Javascript turned on for.
Websites that need Javascript to tell me a simple four-paragraph news item are websites I don't need, I don't read, and they don't last in my RSS feed.
A little Javascript here and there may be useful but its predominance actually interferes with consumption of information.
And let's not talk about the load one experiences on one's workstation, with dozens of pages open, all running client-side code.
I'm not a web designer but it seems to me that look and feel can mostly be handled by HTML/CSS. Content can be fetched with PHP, Perl, or even Python. That leaves Javascript for stuff like cycling images, but, there we are, software bloat and wasting client-side CPU cycles, so, I say, just leave the Javascript out and we'll all be a lot happier.
Basically, as a client of such websites, you should run at LEAST two browsers - and the default one should be the one with Javascript turned off.
~childo
PS: Bill Joy! Been a long time since I heard HIS name. He's a BSD guy, from Berkeley. And, I'm a guy who used SunOS 1.1 (running on a 68000 card, I think, in a VME bus), and later. I was just a kid, back then. *sigh*
(Score: 4, Interesting) by hendrikboom on Tuesday February 25 2020, @03:14AM (2 children)
And when right-clicking on a link, the menu should include "open in other browser".
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday February 25 2020, @04:23AM (1 child)
Goddamn that, brother. Nothing's more infuriating when you see a button or something with the Javascript void(0) or whatever that shit is, and instead of opening the link in a new tab, it opens the same fucking page in a new tab. Government websites especially suck ass with that kind of thing.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday February 25 2020, @07:10PM
But you MUST have JavaScript! Once the web page is loaded, the JavaScript can then fetch the primary article text (and advertisements) to load into the page so that you can read it.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 25 2020, @03:41AM (2 children)
There seems to be a lot of blaming of the enabler of the root cause rather than the root cause here. All the stuff that Javascript is doing that you don't like are the real problem, not Javascript. Even without Javascript as long as there are avenues to do all that shite that you don't care about it'll still happen.
Unless the economics of how the world-wide-web changes, platforms that deliver the core info/content, i.e. the Chrome browsers, etc., you want will continue to enable for those kinda stuff you're actively suppressing whether Javascript is there or not.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by shortscreen on Tuesday February 25 2020, @08:08AM (1 child)
In that case, the root cause is that people are stupid and/or evil. Since no solution to that problem is presenting itself, rejecting their request to run whatever they want on your machine will have to suffice.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 25 2020, @11:27PM
Or perhaps because there's little demand for it. You do realize the geek community is but a fraction of the user base. Our current economy is based on market demand rightly or wrongly.
And you're right we should block things like JS, etc. but that doesn't necessarily mean "JS is evil" because Ads. If you say JS is evil because there's no type checking or some such, that at least have some more merit to it.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday February 25 2020, @11:16AM
Classical computing performance is going to increase by at least a couple of orders of magnitude. It will probably outpace even JavaScript's ability to make systems hang. I can't wait to see the future of software bloat. It will be glitzy and glorious.
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