If James Bond can be rebooted, as Daniel Craig has done back in 2008, then so can programming languages. That is the backstory for JavaScript, which has grow in capability and importance since its pop up window days.
JavaScript has been rising in importance for web and app design over the past few years. It’s an old programming language, much like James Bond is an old movie series. But just as Daniel Craig revitalized the series back in 2008 with Casino Royale, culminating in 2015’s Spectre, JavaScript is being revitalized for a new era of mobile devices and IoT that was not in existence in its 1996 debut in Netscape.
Part of the reason stems from the canvas element in HTML5. Because it is called out in a container, called <canvas>, Javascript can be used to manage the elements. This gives Javascript the capability to manage elements in an unprecedented way, such as data visualization.
Another source is a growing number of Javascript libraries for interacting with the document object model. Originally Javascript was used for pop up windows - to instruct the browser to show another window automatically - or infamously, depending on the content.
But new uses developed, requiring more interaction with the DOM in the browser. The DOM is an operational code within the browser that is accesses to tell the browser how to render a page or another media that appears in a browser.
The business value is the capability for developing browser features that the user can see and interact while cutting calls to a server and reducing time to render a site or app.
A dashboard with visual elements, telling the story of trends that lead to business decisions, is a great example. The data can be called without multiple calls to a server, permitting visualization for tablet devices.
You can read how JavaScript is influencing technology in the following posts:
CMSWire - How To Use JavaScript for App and IoT Development
IOT Solutions - The IoT Ushers In the Ascendance of JavaScript
Also check out this Zimana JavaScript post on coding basics that can help you understand JavaScript better for your website and app development plans.
