It is crazy to know that Javascript is capable of running almost anywhere on Internet today. It does not only power the front-end, it also can be used to power the backend, through NodeJS, and can even run on IoT devices, …and even more. So if you are looking for a programming language, then learning Javascript is a perfect choice.
I’m not kidding about Javascript, and here I will tell you 5 reasons why you should learn Javascript.
Article Contents
1. Javascript is everywhere
It was used for scripting the front-end of the web, and that was story of the past. Right now, Javascript can run on almost any platform not only web (including front-end, backend), it can run on Internet-of-Things devices. Even PC desktop apps and mobile apps can be written in Javascript.
Some libraries and frameworks that power up Javascript on various platforms including:
- Front-end: React, Angular, Vue…
- Back-end: ExpressJS, hapiJS…
- IoT: iotjs, Johnny-Five…
- Cross-platform Apps: electron
- Mobile Apps: Ionic, React Native
- Machine Learning: deeplearn.js, mljs
Wow, it’s like almost anything!
2. Learning Javascript is not difficult
Comparing to other programming languages such as C, C++, Java…Javascript has a very simple and basic syntax and easier to learn. There are many good contents and resources that help beginners to learn Javascript as well as any Javascript bootcamp. To start learning Javascript, you don’t need to install and config any code editor and IDEs, that’s unnecessary; just a browser like Firefox or Chrome, that would be enough to get started with the language. All of web browsers has built-in developer tools and you can just open it and start coding Javascript immediately.
3. Most popular language
According to the 2017 developer survey report by StackOverflow, Javascript is so popular, and cover around 62.5% in the language category, following by SQL, Java and C#. The reason for this popularity is simple. The rise of NodeJS and its reachability to other platforms like backend services, mobile apps, internet-of-things, machine learning… has juiced up the growth of Javascript. It’s more like an ecosystem of Javascript language.
Following up the growth of Javascript is the large number of job demand for Javascript developers in the industry. It’s a really good opportunity, too.
4. Develop cool UI, UX effects
With Javascript, animation and UI effects are becoming easier to experiment and develop. You can see a lot of Javascript libraries and frameworks that supports smooth, deep and cool animation for the web and apps, such as: Popmotion, AnimeJS, GreenSock Animation Platform (GSAP)…
5. Game Development
With the ease of Javascript to handle HTML5 UI and user interaction, game development on web platform is never getting easier today. Many developers leverage this opportunity to develop and get successful with Javascript game development. Also, Javascript game development has become trendy in recent years with the rise of several powerful game engine libraries and frameworks powered by Javascript; to name a few: Phaser, Construct 2, Cocos2d-x, PixiJS, KiwiJS …
So how do feel about Javascript now? But remember, like any other programming languages, it’s not a perfect language for everything in every case. You should learn and know the pros and cons of Javascript to see what is best for you. So if you’re new and wondering about learning Javascript, I recommend to try it as reasons above.
Don’t know where to start learning Javascript? Checkout the list of good resources to learn Javascript.
