Shelley Vohr

In an ecosystem undergoing constant flux, what does it mean for an API to be modern? In this talk, I'll discuss the work that's taken place over the last year to deliver modern JavaScript APIs to developers in the Electron project, and the obstacles we encountered along the way.

We'll discuss updates ranging from asynchronous JS to idiomatic getters and setters, as well as allowing developers to access new platform-dependent functionalities. Our APIs can and often are implemented across two or more languages on their way to the end user, and so we'll walk through some examples of how to effectively gather context and write reusable code to make updating simpler.

You'll come away with a deeper understanding of how open source projects can more effectively balance innovation with maintenance, as well as perspectives on how to appropriately consider end-users and their needs when modernization affects the code they use.

2019

JSConf Budapest

API Modernization: Building Bridges As You Cross Them

Get a glimpse into the inner workings of three powerful open source projects: Electron, Node, & Chromium.

On principle, Electron is designed to lower the barrier to entry for development and maintenance of cross-platform desktop development. 

However, beneath the surface of this seeming magic is a carefully engineered web of JavaScript concepts that need to connect in just the right way to make that magic possible. 

A JavaScript runtime uses a message queue, or event loop, in order to process messages. Each kind of message has an associated function which handles it, and both Node.js and Chromium, which Electron embeds, have different event loops which must be reconciled. 

This talk will discuss the principles of the event loop as well as the challenges and solutions that Electron faced and arrived at in order to make the synthesis of Node.js and Chromium in Electron possible. 

You'll get a glimpse into the inner workings of three powerful open source projects, as well as how they leverage and utilize JavaScript for the benefit of users from beginner to expert.