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Saturday, April 25, 2009

JavaScript Is A Toy? So C#, Java, PHP, and Python Are!

I wrote a truly big post about this subject ... but it was nervous and not that technical as well. I decided then to simply post this image, hosted in Pam webOS Project page:

Think about the right box, it should be the state of the current Web 2.0 Era ... now think who is in charge to maintain the layer between your server application, and the customer ... I am quite sure 90% of cases will be a Web Designer, rather than a Senior skilled JavaScript Developer ... now wonder why if you ask for JavaScript skills plus Photoshop, you will rarely being able to make right profits from your business. JavaScript is not a toy, and "web speaking", is one of the most important programming language your team should know, it's time to stop to underestimate it.

10 comments:

kentaromiura said...

?!?
I suppose a link to "the source" will be enlightful ...

Stefano said...

I agree

Andrea Giammarchi said...

kentaromiura there's no source cause I decided to do not post it :)

kentaromiura said...

Sorry Andrew, but I try to restate my question...
Ahem XD...
Who, in the hell, said that javascript is a toy?

Please enlight us XD

Andrea Giammarchi said...

The simple fact that Senior, Junior, Architect JavaScript role is never mentioned and the fact that most of server-side developers, maybe scared of delegate because too complicated, think that JS is not a real language.
Finally, the fact that if a company is looking for a PHP or C# developers, they never mention Photoshop, while Photoshop + JavaScript Skills are too many times part of the same searched candidate role (as a designer should deeply know JS or a JS developer should know Photoshop ... a non-sense, imho)

Olivvv said...

Yeah, recruitment agencies should be definitely educated on that topic.

Recently a IT recruitment company mailed me to take part to a survey on the new trends in the IT industry, javascript was not even mentioned !!

http://vz82.edigitalresearch.com/test/test_survey.php?sid=112633617&vault=vz82


It is currently uneasy for candidates to look for a specific kind of js job (for instance related to a specific lib).

In the same manner it is difficult for recruiter to find applicants with a specific skillset.

Somehow there is some pedagogical work needed.

We need to push keywords in the non-technical minds in this industry. Currently they only know "web 2.0" and "ajax". That's 4 years old.

Maybe it is time in the web industry to start an educational campaign targeted toward non-technical people, and more specifically recruiters.

We could set up a small webpage explaining in a simple manner what is modern javascript (accessible/unobtrusive), presenting the main js libraries (prototype, dojo, jQuery, mootools), server-side javascript and desktop javascript.

Then we (developers) would have to mail the recruiters we know, inviting them to have a look at that page.

Andrea Giammarchi said...

olivvv, that would be a neat idea!

Olivvv said...

Ok, I gave a quick try to my own proposal. I hope some people will want to improve upon it.

I tried to keep it simple and to stuff-in a lot of keywords, I believe that recruiters are keywords-orientated.

Here it is :

Explaining Javascript to Recruiters.


Dear Recruiters,

we think that you are commonly misunderstanding and underestimating javascript.


Javascript makes the "web 2.0" happend. "AJAX" is javascript.

Developing Javascript for the browser is called "Front-end development".
It is the evolution of what we use to name "HTML integration".


THere is 4 major libraries for Javascript: Prototype, Dojo, jQuery, Mootools.
It does matter a lot which library(ies) your client/team uses. Ask about it. It will make you save time and money.

Javascript handles interaction in your browser. It work with CSS and manipulates HTML (DOM).

It is crucial for the user experience, for interaction design.

Javascript is in every browser.
It is the language with the largest installation base in the world.


Javascript is in modern mobile devices. (iPhone, Android, etc)

Javascript is going server-side (SSJS) with Jaxer, Helma, ...
On the server-side it aint replace other languages but work with them.
Soon, servers will run Java + javascript or PHP + javascript or ...

Javascript is going in desktop application using technologies such as Adobe AIR, Google Gears, Titanium, ...
That way it permits websites to work online or offline.


Javascript is on the way to become the universal glue language, tying every kind of applications together.


We would like you :
- to stop considering it as a toy, as a small additional skills for designers.
- to stop considering it less-important than PHP, Java, Python, C, C#, Coldfusion.
- to stop confusing it with JAVA. It is a different thing.

- to start considering javascript in its own category, apart of the other languages.
- to realize that the market need for javascript developers is about to explode. It is better for you to understand that now.

Andrea Giammarchi said...

I like it, except the libraries part.
I can create, use, change, every library thanks to deep JS knowledge, so in my opinion unless the company does not need "That Lib Guru" it is not important. Moreover, since libraries are simple to use, these are common choice for designers without logic and/or programming skills so the knowledge is important, because there are Junior, Senior, and Architect developers in JS as in every other language.
A JS Senior/Guru will never be a designer, if they want a designer, they cannot look for senior skills in programming languages ... it simply does not make sense.

Mark said...

True.