Closure, perhaps it will convice some JavaScript haters to stop…
Google open sourced their Closure JavaScript Tools!
If you’re not familiar with them, and you do any web development at all, now’s the time to read up. In short, this is a set of groundbreaking tools for the JavaScript developer, which bring some amazing capabilities to the table. If you are in any way involved in web development, you should take a look at the range of features now at your disposal.
In recent years, things like jQuery, MooTools, ExtJS and Dojo have given me hope that people have recognized the value of JavaScript, and that you can indeed write solid code in the language. Too often in my direct experience, it’s been looked down upon, and its usage even expressly forbidden in some cases. Some people simply have been unable to shake their negative view of it, relative to their early web development experience. As recently as last week even, someone commented to me “why in the hell would you ever write anything in JavaScript ?” Why ? Because it made the most sense in this particular case, and because I pick technologies based on the needs of the project, not based solely on my current proficiencies or personal preferences. JavaScript does have it’s place, and can be a powerful tool, and Closure is an excellent addition to the toolbox.
What really has me excited are the language enhancing features, such as the dependency system, the name space/object capabilities, and the debugging additions. I’ve already started incorporating some of them into the next version of my most recent JavaScript project: Real-Time Ionosonde. It was a relatively small and quick project to begin with, so it should serve nicely as an introduction to the tool’s API.
Google’s use of JavaScript in its products, and the release of these tools will hopefully sway some of the haters when they realize what’s possible.