Does anyone really like JavaScript as a language?

I mean i like working with it because you can build a lot of creative and cool stuff with it, but i find the language itself to be hacky, wierd and too complex.

I love it. No sarcasm.

I don't love it, but gawd knows I have to use it.

to understand it, compare it to something even worse, like bad php or java.

I will take js any day combare to those languages, and I even enjoy it.

I do like javascript if the project has been written by me mostly. Then I use the good parts of language instead of figuring out crazy spagetty mutation.

For example I haven't used for loop syntax in 5 years, not even once. I hate to see it, I don't use it. this makes me enjoy the language.

I love Javascript for its prototype-based object orientation, its functional expressiveness, and everything ES5 added. It's unfortunate ES6 added a shitty class implementation, forced it onto custom elements, and made arrow functions block-scoped-only. Also, this might sound weird, but I dislike async/await: when sth runs async, I want it to look like it is (ie a promise or a callback)

Y'all ever hear about this thing called jQuery?

I like it, a lot. Like, a lot. before kids were writing server side apps with Node I was switching between VbScript and JScript inside of classic ASP. To me it made sense, the gotchas, the type ssytem, everything made sense and I never pushed it towards things it shouldn't be.

I remember reading in Linux Format about the Node JS project and Ryan Dahl, I liked what I saw, I remember before that Crockford's book, I liked what I saw, I have honestly no qualms with the language, since it is about the second language I know the most. It serves me well and It does not fail me, even though lots of blog posts and articles write about how bad it is.

Honestly, Javascript did things for the dev world that other language failed to do, Node has made it possible to write a number of apps for different spaces. It has a library for practically everything, and Node by itself (with no packages) is extremely powerful, add typeScript and you are good to go

there is only one reason people like javascript. it's called "stockholm syndrome"

I like the language.

What I don't really like is the people who write hacky or 'smart' code just because they can, not beacause it is needed. In any language.

@sariel Most even heard about https://youmightnotneedjquery.com - I used that to migrate a jQuery based, somewhat complex widget to vanilla JS just to get rid of the jQuery dependency. :-)

@danielstaleiny php and java bad, javascript good right? How do you make this comparison? These are tools and they have their uses. You cant just compare two different tools without a context.

@hack Based on my experience. You do you but after using all of them I have my take on them.

I got to know JavaScript back when it was used on client side (DOM manipulation, JQuery) and thought it was a terrible language.

Then I had the chance to use it with React and Angular (actually Typescript) and realized it is a good language…

…used to make terrible stuff.

I'm an ardent believer in "the right tool for the right job". Javascript is great for webstuff, as it was originally created to enrich it.
Using JS for standalone desktop applications? Still can't understand the need, when we have so many established and arguably more efficient languages to use.

The only aspect I get however is the ease of understanding JS. This is imho the very best thing JS ever brought us: A low starting difficulty for peeps to learn it. Even kids can cobble something together using it, as I did back in my days. It's a gateway-drug for programmers.

My gripe is that most people don't know how to think algorithmically, partially because they never learned how the low-level stuff works. That is okay in the web-world, as you don't want to have less abstract things to worry about. Using a language for things it was never envisioned for just brings in new problems with more complex environments to support it.

Right tool, right problems. Don't be a tool, use Assembly.

I hate it because it’s ugly, but also love it because of its flexibility.

The amount of times I’ve said “oh wait that actually worked” when trying to figure something out…

Also, love how east it is to parse and store JSON data in objects & object arrays.

No

people with broken brains do

@Fakerlol "Using js for standalone desktop applications? still can't understand the need.."

*proceeds to explain the need*
- easy to learn/understand - check
- no need to know low-lvl stuff - check
(- cross-platform)
= faster = cheaper (+ corporate hype)

I looked into Qt & GTK, and used TKinter.. CSS + JS is waaaay easier / more flexible