Javascript of my Life
01 Sep 2017Javascript
I have encountered the Javascript language before during an internship over the summer of 2015. D3 which is a data visualization platform built on top of Javascript was one of the technologies I decided was the best tool at the time to use. The D3 libraries are very capable, so there was no need to create a utility library for my project. Thus, I did not invest too much time in reading up on, at the time, the newly published ECMAScript 6 specifications.
Since that experience I did not take too much interest into Javascript and focused more on the back-end language I was using. Quiet recently I have been reintroduced to the Javascript language, specifically the ES6 edition. Certain things like the for of loops are very reminiscent of python and the dictionary data structure. Another thing I find interesting is how Javascript tutorials do not introduce the concept of scope when declaring variables. I’ve only seen var being used in beginner tutorials about variable declaration. When using let and const it changes the variables from function scoped to block scoped.
Javascript seems to be an increasingly popular language as many frameworks for both front-end and back-end Javascript. There is a full stack, the MEAN stack, that is programmed from back to front in all Javascript. My reintroduction to this language in my software engineer course, has been paralleled by the introduction of a new method of studying a programming language. The Athletic Software Engineering or ASE method utilizes timed exercises called Work Out of the Day or WOD. As someone who feels immense pressure when under a time limit it can be very stressful. Although the forced repetition and need for efficiency encourages students to be competitive and confident before attempting a WOD.