Podcast Summary
The Enduring Relevance of JavaScript: JavaScript's ubiquity and the web's role as primary communication medium make it the default programming language for the web, with continued support from companies like Gatsby, Sentry, and Insanity.
Key takeaway from this episode of the Syntax Supper Club podcast is that JavaScript, despite its humble beginnings and uncertain future in the early 2010s, has become the default programming language for the web due to its ubiquity and the fact that the web is the primary medium of human communication. Ryan Dahl, creator of Node.js and Dino, shares his insights on the enduring relevance of JavaScript, reflecting on its evolution and the role it plays in our increasingly digital world. The podcast also highlights the continued support of companies like Gatsby, Sentry, and Insanity, which contribute to the growth and development of JavaScript and the web ecosystem.
A New JavaScript Runtime: Deno: Deno is a new JavaScript runtime prioritizing TypeScript, aiming to be the easiest, fastest, and most secure server-side solution.
JavaScript, which began as an organic communication tool, has grown into a powerful language with a vast developer base. However, Node.js, a popular JavaScript runtime, has struggled to keep up with the latest developments, such as ECMAScript modules and TypeScript. In response, a new project called Deno was born, aiming to be the easiest, fastest, and most secure server-side JavaScript runtime. Deno places a strong emphasis on TypeScript, which has become increasingly popular in recent years. Microsoft-owned TypeScript is seen as an extension of JavaScript 2.0, allowing for the addition of types without altering the core language. This design allows for the stripping of types to produce raw JavaScript. Proposals in TC39 suggest the addition of types as comments for web browsers to consume, further integrating TypeScript into the JavaScript ecosystem.
The Future of TypeScript: Ignoring Syntax and Improving Performance: TypeScript is evolving to ignore syntax for type annotations, enabling more robust apps and easier code linking. Deno, a TypeScript-powered runtime, outperforms Node with better async event loops and optimized JavaScript bindings.
The future of programming languages like TypeScript is heading towards ignoring syntax like colon types as comments, allowing for more robust applications and easier linking of larger code chunks. However, browser implementation of type checking is unlikely due to its inherent slowness. Deno, a JavaScript runtime, is able to run faster than Node by using a better async event loop and carefully optimizing JavaScript binding to native code. Deno now supports NPM modules and can run faster than Node in some cases. Sanity, a sponsor of the podcast, has released Sanity Studio version 3, which is fully written in TypeScript and offers embeddable authoring. Deno is written in Rust, making it a significant Rust project with over 500 crates and hundreds of thousands of lines of code. The open source project has been in development for four years.
Deno: A Runtime for TypeScript and JavaScript using C++, Rust, and JavaScript/TypeScript: Deno is primarily written in Rust but focuses on JavaScript and TypeScript for web and app development. NPM package support is becoming stable, making popular JavaScript libraries usable.
Deno, a new runtime for TypeScript and JavaScript, is built with a combination of C++, Rust, and JavaScript/TypeScript. The runtime itself is primarily written in Rust, but there are JavaScript and TypeScript wrapper functions around the internal built-in stuff. For web developers or JavaScript developers, focusing on JavaScript and TypeScript is more productive since that's where the actual APIs and websites are being written. Learning Rust might be beneficial for using WASM or taking advantage of native Rust libraries, but the performance benefits are relatively small compared to the cognitive cost. Deno is planned to support NPM packages, allowing developers to use popular JavaScript libraries in Deno. JavaScript is inherently future-proof, as it's essential for web development and won't disappear anytime soon. For typical CRUD apps, using TypeScript and JavaScript is recommended. Deno's NPM support is becoming stable, with about 80-90% of NPM packages working out of the box.
Deno Imports Npm Packages Directly with Type Checking: Deno, a new language, will allow developers to import and use npm packages directly, with type checking, starting next week. Popular packages like React, Vue, Prisma, and Express are already compatible.
Deno, a new programming language from the creator of Node.js, is making significant strides towards compatibility with Node.js packages. Starting next week, developers will be able to import and use npm packages like Express directly in Deno, with type checking and other benefits automatically piped in. There's no need for an npm install step or node modules folder. While not every Node API is supported, a large compatibility layer exists, and popular modules like React, Vue, Prisma, and Express are already working in Deno. However, Deno is committed to a future where code is spec'd to the web platform and is browser compatible, meaning it implements the web platform tests and encourages the use of browser compatible APIs like fetch and WebGPU. This approach makes Deno a web browser in a sense, and while it supports npm modules as a portal to the legacy universe, top-level code is written in ECMAScript modules and TypeScript, not using Node APIs. The ultimate goal is to eliminate the need for separate environments for server-side and client-side JavaScript code.
Sentry and Deno: Simplifying Development Experiences: Sentry offers real-time monitoring and user insights, while Deno simplifies development with built-in tools. Both aim to reduce decision fatigue for developers by providing streamlined solutions.
Sentry and Deno offer streamlined development experiences for software and application monitoring and development, respectively. Sentry provides customizable dashboards, real-time performance data, and user experience insights to ensure smooth application functioning. Deno's batteries-included development environment includes formatting, linting, and testing tools, eliminating the need for external libraries and simplifying the development process. Both platforms aim to reduce decision fatigue for developers by providing built-in solutions. The JavaScript community has historically struggled with defining standard workflows, leading to confusion and an abundance of testing frameworks. However, with platforms like Sentry and Deno, developers can focus on building and improving their applications without being bogged down by unnecessary choices.
Deno Deploy: Fast, Cost-Effective Edge Hosting with Deno: Deno Deploy is a serverless system offering fast cold start times, low costs for no traffic sites, and scalability. It operates at a higher level of abstraction, resulting in faster start-up times but limiting certain Node APIs. The Winter CG spec, in development, holds potential for future web development with modern, worker-style scripts.
Deno Deploy is a serverless system by Deno, a company, which allows hosting and running JavaScript functions at the edge. It offers fast cold start times, low costs when websites have no traffic, and the ability to scale up when traffic increases. Deno Deploy operates at a higher level of abstraction compared to services like AWS Lambda, as it does not run on Linux and does not provide access to a file system, NIC, or Linux kernel. This higher level of abstraction results in faster start-up times but limits the use of certain old-school Node APIs. As more and more things become browser-compatible with the Winter CG spec, we can expect to see a shift towards using these types of services for faster and cheaper deployment. JavaScript frameworks will also need to be structured as modern, Winter CG-compatible worker-style scripts to take full advantage of these benefits. While the Winter CG spec is still in development, it holds great potential for the future of web development.
Fresh: A Fast and Efficient Web Framework on Deno: Fresh is a new web framework on Deno that offers fast server-side rendering and optimization through a just-in-time build process, eliminating the need for an intermediate server and NPM build, resulting in 5-second deployments.
Fresh, a new web framework on Deno, offers a unique approach to server-side rendering and optimization. It's a React-like framework using JSX, but with a more lightweight build process. Fresh stands out by running the ES build in the web server itself, resulting in faster deployments. This just-in-time build step eliminates the need for an intermediate Linux server and NPM build, making your website available in just 5 seconds after pushing a new PR. Additionally, Fresh keeps all server-side route handlers and component logic together, making development and maintenance more connected and efficient. Deno chose to create its own framework to fully utilize Deno's capabilities and to offer this innovative just-in-time build process. Overall, Fresh is an intriguing choice for developers looking for a fast, efficient, and connected web development experience.
Rendering front-end code on the server side: Serverless JavaScript and serverless at edge systems enable faster development and better user experience by delivering static HTML to the browser, avoiding build steps and improving Lighthouse scores.
The future of web development lies in rendering front-end code on the server side as much as possible. This approach, enabled by serverless JavaScript and serverless at edge systems, results in faster developer iteration and improved user experience by delivering static HTML to the browser. The benefits include avoiding the need for a build step and achieving higher Lighthouse scores. Tools like Gatsby, which supports on-demand bundle or generation, can help improve page scores significantly. The ongoing development of platforms like Deno, which prioritizes ease, speed, and security, further supports this trend. By leveraging these technologies, developers can create and maintain faster, more efficient websites.
Deno: A Language for Easier, Faster, and More Secure Development: Deno's focus on simplicity and efficiency is evident in its use of NPM modules through Deno Deploy, minimal setup including Vim, and fast TypeScript support using Microsoft's TSC and SWC.
Deno, a new programming language, is focused on making development easier, faster, and more secure. Deno Deploy ensures easy access to NPM modules. A MacBook Air m1 user shares how it significantly improved compilation times. The importance of a minimal setup, including a text editor like Vim, was emphasized for efficient coding. Deno's TypeScript support uses Microsoft's TSC for type checking, which is built into Deno and available through the Versus Code extension. The type stripping stage uses SWC for fast parsing. Experimental projects to build type checkers in Rust or Go exist, but full TypeScript support is a challenging undertaking. The type checking algorithm is not typically in the hot path for most developers, who primarily edit in Versus Code.
Learning TypeScript vs JavaScript for web development: Start with JavaScript for ease of learning and widespread use, then introduce TypeScript for added structure. Keep an eye on the future of web development with serverless at edge frameworks like Dino, which will likely become accessible to all websites and blur the line between serverless and edge functions.
For most developers, using TypeScript with language servers in IDEs like VS Code for fast type feedback is a great experience. However, for new developers starting from scratch, learning JavaScript first is recommended due to its widespread use and ease of learning. TypeScript can be introduced later for added structure. Regarding the future of web development, the shift towards serverless at edge frameworks, such as Dino, is an exciting development. This approach, which involves running applications in multiple edge locations for faster, cheaper, and better performance, will likely become accessible to all types of websites in the coming years. Ultimately, as technology advances, the distinction between serverless and edge functions will blur, and JavaScript will become the dominant language at the edge.
Addressing global latency for web developers: Use edge computing and services like Deno Deploy to deliver content faster from data centers closer to users. Optimize for global latency to enhance user experience.
As we continue to expand our reach globally, the importance of minimizing latency for users, no matter their location, becomes increasingly significant. This is particularly relevant for web developers, as users in distant regions may experience significant delays when accessing servers located far away. This issue can be addressed through the use of edge computing and services like Deno Deploy, which allow for faster, more efficient delivery of content from data centers closer to the user. Additionally, the discussion touched on the concept of having a "sick pick" and a "shameless plug." The former refers to choosing something enjoyable or exciting, while the latter is an opportunity to promote a personal project or product. The speaker shared their love for flying kites and encouraged listeners to try out the new NPM module support in Deno 1.28. Overall, the conversation provided valuable insights into the importance of optimizing for global latency and offered some fun and interesting tidbits along the way.
