Javascript and Typescript in the SJGAR stack

v0.2 - last updated July 2020

Prerequisite reading

If you want to read why JavaScript is part of the SJGAR stack read the Introducing the SJGAR stack post.

Introduction

Javascript is the worlds most popular programming language. It basicallly runs everywhere. In the browser, on mobile, in the cloud or on IoT devices.
The language is known to have it's quirks. These were especially hard to deal with in the early days. However, slowly but steadily, it has evolved into an elegant programming language that is used to write high grade production software in many industries.

JavaScript basically runs everywhere. In the browser, on mobile, in the cloud or on IoT devices.

There is a large community surrounding the language which results in
  • A vibrant open source community
  • A large talent pool

JavaScript in the web browser

The web browser is where JavaScript originated. As Eric Elliot mentions in his article: "Software ate the world, the web ate software, and JavaScript ate the web". Where it started as a simple scripting language to handle things like form navigation when a button was clicked.

Software ate the world, the web ate software, and JavaScript ate the web - Eric Elliot

Today JavaScript powers complex web applications like Facebook, Netflix or SalesForce.

Create APIs and other backend code with Node.js

The arrival of Node.js in 2009 opened up a new exciting set of possibilities for the language. Nowadays a single developer can write code on front- and backend without having to learn a new programming language.
Famous examples of companys using Node.js include Netflix, Paypal, LinkedIn and Uber.

Node.js helps us solve this by enabling both the browser and server applications to be written in JavaScript. It unifies our engineering specialties into one team which allows us to understand and react to our users’ needs at any level in the technology stack - Jeff Harrell, Director of Engineering at PayPal.

Create mobile apps with native UI with React Native

After conquering the browser and the cloud, React Native offered JavaScript developers the chance to also start creating mobile apps for iOS and Android when it was opened to the public in 2015. It introduced a first of its kind of hybrid mobile technology where the UI was built using native components. This allowed these apps to get very close to the user experience of native apps. Because of a large percentage of code reuse between iOS and Android at the same time development costs and time to market were cut almost in half.

The rich community and ecosystem

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The rise of Functional Programming

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The rise of TypeScript

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Further reading