JavaScript appeared in the mid-90-s, created by Brandan Eich just in 10 days. This scripting language vastly improved the quality of web pages, making them similar to native desktop applications. Development teams can use this programming language in the majority of web pages that allows them to create more interactive sites with better user experience. Various JavaScript frameworks allow developers to adapt this programming language to almost any task. Moreover, JavaScript can run on both the server-side and client-side, but also on native devices, embedded systems, etc. Sounds interesting, right? Let’s review why this programming language is so popular.
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4 reasons that make JavaScript Popular
JavaScript is an extremely popular programming language. Such the world’s largest companies like Skype, Facebook, Netflix, Instagram and many others are powered by JavaScript. Here are 4 reasons why Javascript is so popular.
1. High Usage
According to GitHub’s State of the Octoverse, JavaScript or often abbreviated as JS or JScript became the most popular programming language over the past four years. This popularity is based on its high usage among IT projects in various areas: from the Internet of Things to software and website development. This language gained its popularity partly because of the high flexibility. JavaScript does not require specific environment installation. Developers can start working in a simple text editor or browser DevTools. That is why it is a good choice for those who only start coding. However, it is rather complex to master and creates some challenges for even more experienced specialists. JavaScript developers use this programming language for creating full-scale web applications. JS has a significant number of libraries that enlarges its functionality and makes it more universal. Moreover, it provides the opportunity to make a web-browser a full-scale web application platform.
2. Full-stack Development
Originally, JavaScript was used for client-side web development and added interactivity to web pages. But with the development of Node.js, it became possible to use JS on the server-side. As a result, the term “full-stack javascript development” appeared. It means both parts of an application client-side and server-side will be using JS frameworks. The advantage of this approach is obvious: more effective team interaction. Usage of JavaScript makes it easier for front-end and back-end developers to communicate and increase code reuse. Also, this kind of technology provides a developer with a quick switch between the front-end and back-end environment. This gives extra flexibility to the IT team. Another advantage of full-stack development which is so popular is a big knowledge base. This language is actively supported by the community that opens a significant amount of opportunities for developers. So, full-stack development gives a company a substantial boost of productivity, making the team of developers more flexible and productive.
3. A Good fit for IoT
The Internet of Things is a new trendy area of software development that grows at a very fast pace. It is used in smart houses, educational institutions and offices that significantly increases the efficiency of human-to-machine communication. According to the Microsoft IoT Signals report, IoT adopts in almost 50% of cases for improving productivity and security enhancement. JavaScript’s potential to respond to events and asynchronous code execution makes it suitable for IoT solution development. When creating an IoT system, developers can easily switch between the front-end and back-end which significantly boosts productivity.
4. Cross-Platform Mobile Development
The development of the mobile app is a complex process that becomes even more complicated when we are talking about mobile operating systems. Android OS and iOS differ in approach, however, JavaScript makes it much easier to develop and support the mobile application. With the use of JScript frameworks, developers can create a single application for both operating systems. It means that during one cycle of development, software companies can create applications for both platforms. It allows improving the productivity of the IT team and cuts down the app development cost. Instead of two software development teams, you can use only one, which significantly decreases the budget of the project. One of the reasons why JavaScript is so popular in cross-platform mobile development is its advanced frameworks, which provide a huge place for experiments. According to the Statista report, ReactNative, which is a JavaScript framework, is the most popular tool in cross-platform mobile development.
Bottom line
To sum up, JavaScript is the most popular programming language which is used by the majority of companies to create applications and web solutions. One of the main features of this programming language is its frameworks which can boost its areas of implementation. They allow utilizing JScript in front-end development, back-end development, web games development, IoT solutions development, etc. With expanding libraries, frameworks and ever-growing community, it seems like JavaScript is here to stay. Not only does it help you streamline development, but you can also increase team efficiency and save considerable costs.
