#25: Language Spotlight — JavaScript

In our new mini-series, Language Spotlight, we’ll take a tour of every language that Platform.sh supports. Today our focus is on JavaScript, as we delve into what’s new and exciting in the space, asynchronous coding, and the advantages of Node.js with two JavaScript experts and Software Engineers, Jessica and Austin Keener.Understanding asynchronous JavaScriptJavaScript can be different from other asynchronous languages. As Austin Keener explains, “In JavaScript, you say, ‘Hey, make this request.’ Whenever you're creating these contexts that need to be actually executed, they're all going into this queue that gets picked up and gets run back on that thread. So while it is single threaded, you still get all of the asynchronous aspects of it, because each piece is broken up, instead of being this one long, continuous thread of execution that needs to happen. And that can cause some question marks to pop up for people, because it's different than the majority of other language asynchronous models.”Exciting JavaScript developments Our other expert guest, Jessica, names the three things that excite her most about the JavaScript space right now. She includes:Adding query selectors and query select allImproved looping and selecting inside of arraysNative support for AjaxShe adds, “As JavaScript is moving further and further into platform jQuery, pushing yourself to learn more than just jQuery and starting to understand some of the underlying native stuff that is supported now is going to be a great advantage.”Node.js promotes consistencyAustin Keener shares what he thinks is the biggest advantage of using server-side language Node.js. “Developers are going to be able to understand, read, debug, and contribute to every single one of our repositories no matter where it is in the stack.” He adds that the large amount of available libraries helps, too, “It allows you to have consistency in your language or in your repositories, among your developers, and a shared understanding that you can speak to.”If you learned something new about JavaScript today, and you’re excited to get started, try Node.js on Platform.sh.Platform.shLearn more about us.Get started with a free trial.Have a question? Get in touch!Platform.sh on social mediaTwitter @platformshTwitter (France): @platformsh_frLinkedIn: Platform.shLinkedIn (France): Platform.shFacebook: Platform.shWatch, listen, subscribe to the Platform.sh Deploy Friday podcast:YouTubeApple PodcastsBuzzsproutPlatform.sh is a robust, reliable hosting platform that gives development teams the tools to build and scale applications efficiently. Whether you run one or one thousand websites, you can focus on creating features and functionality with your favorite tech stack.