[thelist] Why history will repeat itself with JavaScript andthe web | Technology | The Guardian

Luther, Ron Ron.Luther at hp.com
Tue Oct 30 08:29:48 CDT 2007


Matt Warden noted, as usual, several things I agree with:

>>I like Joel (both of you), but actually, I think he is pretty far
>>off the mark on this one as well.


Hi Matt   ;-),

Yeah, I'm scratching my head a bit at Joel's latest too.  The migration of optimization from code to hardware to bandwidth was, IMVHO, much more driven by economics than 'cool people using cool technologies'.  It was a business decision - not an IT decision.  It's 1957?  People are cheaper than computers - save money - optimize that code!  It's 2007?  Hardware is cheaper than programmers - save money - throw more memory/cpus at the problem!  It's all about the benjamins.  It doesn't have anything to do with 'what programmers want'.


>>But, whatever; you're right; if he is successful as he is, he must be
>>doing something right. But, that doesn't by implication mean that he
>>is right about JavaScript.

+1.  Forecasting is hard.  Particularly of the future.

[Deleted tangential rant about societal impulses to imbue credence to prognostications from celebrities excised from this space.  I woulda left it in, but I couldn't get a pithy quote from Paris or Nicole in time!]


>>As for the comments about an ajax SDK, is he really telling us something
>>about the future? We're in the middle of a library war,

Excellent point.  And one that may support a projection towards 'standardization'.  Personally I'm against it.  But thinking of it from that angle may better explain where Joel was coming from.


Thanks!
RonL.



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