Ada 99: Rewriting the very first computer program: How does JavaScript stack up?
Marquis de Geek at CityJS 2019
I've been developing in JavaScript for nearly 20 years and so am used to solving every problem with a JavaScript-shaped hammer. I don't think I'm alone in this, and wanted to break out of that mindset. Over my career I've professional developed in 16 different languages (and used a further 10 out of curiosity) so I set about re-writing the same code in each of those languages. The purpose of the exercise was (and is) to learn, re-learn, and refresh my memory of these programming languages. By focusing on the paradigms, syntax, data types, and structure of the code I was able to draw parallels between them and JavaScript which encourages me to think outside of the JavaScript-shaped box. This talk will take you on that journey of discovery highlighting many ideas you can take back into your own code, and well as giving an insight into many other languages you might not have seen. It will also make you thankful, or otherwise, by showing what you need to work through in other languages to achieve the same results as JavaScript.