JavaScript: The Language of the Internet Today

Today, we spend most of our lives online. Whether it is good news for you or not does not matter: the fact is that the Internet nowadays is an inseparable part of our daily routine.

So the language of the Internet is more lingua franca than English: everyone understands it.

But if we put the metaphorical parts aside and try to approach the question more technically, do we know the literal language of the Internet today?

Well, if you ask any of the developers, the answer will be undoubtedly one-and-only JavaScript. So yes, if you want to build a website, along with HTML and CSS professionals, you need to hire JavaScript developers.

The burning question remains, though: how and why did JavaScript become so popular?

Let’s start from the basics:

What is JavaScript?

For those who have no idea what JavaScript is, here’s the definition:

JavaScript, also known with its short version JS, is an object-oriented programming language using curly-bracket syntax, first-class functions, and dynamic typing.

Now, if these were just a pile of incomprehensible words for you, do not worry; we’ll put it in a more human language.

In short, JavaScript is responsible for all the fun and cool parts of your website. If you want to spice up your page and add extra elements like animated segments or interactive maps, you need to use JavaScript.

Why JavaScript?

A logical question arises: if JavaScript is responsible for all the “extra” parts, why is it so fundamental to the Internet, and why does it win the calling of “language of the Internet” beating even such essential languages as HTML and CSS.

The answer is simple because the Internet today is all about being extra. If you want to understand how much you use JavaScript, try to turn it off from your browser for a day.

At first, you might think that everything is better than ever! Your browser will start working faster, the pages will load quicker, and your battery will last longer. No annoying pop-ups or ads; everything is minimalistic and simple. What could be better, right?

Well, don’t get too excited yet. Soon enough, you will figure out that you can’t access most of your favorite websites.

Netflix, YouTube, even Google Docs or Google Maps will all be disabled. This is because all of these websites heavily rely on JavaScript to offer all their interactive features, without which they are almost nothing.

Let’s speak numbers. Today there are more than 1.8 billion websites out there, and 95% of them use JavaScript.

Another reason why JavaScript is so widely used and loved is because of its many easy-to-use qualities. Let’s just skim through the:

Main JavaScript advantages

It is easy to set up

Many people do not even start pursuing a programming career because they get too scared right from the beginning. Many programming languages take a while to set up, and the entire process looks like a nightmare for those who are new to the development world.

JavaScript is a different story. Anyone with Internet access can start coding right away cause all you need for JavaScript is a browser. So if you have Chrome, for instance, you can simply navigate to the Developer Tools, and boom: you have your development environment ready!

By the way, Chrome was an example: every browser supports JavaScript!

So if you can’t wait to start coding, here’s a simple task. Open the development environment on your browser and right “Hello World,” using the simple coding line below:

console.log(“Hello World”);

That’s it! Congratulations on writing your first code!

It includes event-based programming

Event-based programming is when a certain function is based on the user interaction. For instance, when you choose to go with the dark mode and toggle the night mode on, JavaScript executes event-based programming, making a specific segment of its code change the CSS of the entire website from the light color to the dark one.

In short, JavaScript has built-in events like “onHover” or “onClick” that function only after the user interaction.

It has a big community of supporters

Finally, if you are considering learning JavaScript on your own, it is also an important factor to make sure that you can access a community of JavaScript developers online who will help you in case you come up with questions.

In this sense, JavaScript is perfect because it has a large community of developers and simply JavaScript enthusiasts who are always ready to help and solve any issue.

In short, if you want to learn the language of the Internet, you got to learn JavaScript!