I code primarily in javascript and in vb.net. I’ve found that if I can achieve the same thing in both javascript and vb.net that I feel far more productive and expressive using javascript for the task. I often find myself researching server-side javascript implementations to see if anything has gone mainstream so that I can code my back-end business logic and data access in javascript. Given all the advanced tooling and language features in .Net this preference seems somewhat paradoxical to me. I’m not suggesting one is better than the other (I’ve been a vb programmer since I started programming), I’m just wondering if my preference is entirely subjective or if anyone else shares it. So, does anyone else enjoy coding in javascript to the point where you prefer it to the .Net and Java environment, and if, so why?
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javascript just has a higher signal-to-noise ratio, since it doesn’t require all that superstructure of declarations and explicit typecasting. If you are confident of your coding, it’s much faster to write and debug.
With static-type languages I spend more time thinking about language requirements than problem-solving requirements.
If you want a direct comparison, try ActionScript. It’s literally javascript with all rigging added – they hoped it would be the next standard version but failed. It’s kind of a litmus test – some people prefer it because of the explicit typing and error-checking. You and I would not so much because of the overhead.