Chris Heilmann @codepo8, December 2017

…now what?

Congratulations.You chose wisely.

First of all:

Far from perfect (what is?)EverywhereFree to useIndependent of environmentFreely documentedInstantly gratifying

JavaScript is:

Versatile:

Brower based solutions

Browser extensions

App extensions

Web standards based apps

Server-side (Node)

Convertible to binary formats

Robots

Packages (NPM)

JavaScript is:

I envy you for the chance you have right now.

And here is the killer:

Congratulations.You chose wisely.

First of all:

It is an amazing time for JavaScript

It’s not about the language, but about the world you enter now.

Setting new priorities:

Feel free to disregard and challenge. Your voice matters. …just don’t repeat old mistakes

Reminder:

developer.mozilla.org/en-US

caniuse.com

caniuse.com

Not a “black hole” any longerStandards basedInvolved in standard creation (innovation behind flags or in developer editions)

Available for feedbackSupportive for web developers as “proper engineers”

Dealing with browsers:

Browsers come with development and debugging tools giving us important insights.

Moving beyond console.log()

Audit your work before you go liveLearn from explanations of why these are mistakesKeep iterating until it becomes second nature.

Testing:

Find mistakes while you make themBased on the experience and consensus of many othersLearn from explanations of linting resultsInstall and configure, or use in-built linting.

Linting:

Avoid mistakes before they happen by adding a stricter ruleset.

vscodecandothat.com

Editors and development environments are holy war material in the JavaScript world

Beware:

Open Source, Cross-platformHundreds of extensionsBuilt-in source control supportBuilt-in terminal Integrates into build processesWritten and extensible in JavaScript ☺

Visual Studio Code:

Linting and validation tools as a part of your release process.

sonarwhal.com

Should you start your own project to love, cherish and follow best practices?

Learning about build processes:

Should you start your own project to love, cherish and follow best practices?

Learning about build processes:

codepen.io

jsbin.com

glitch.com

Work with preset environments, instead of installing and uninstalling them.

Spilling out into the world of open source…

Staying prepared:

Things will get messy and uncomfortable.

Questioning the dogma:

Everybody must learn how to solve problems.

Be the person you’d like to meet. Be kind, be supportive, and avoid unnecessary drama.

It is currently problemantic: Our community needs to become more diverse to deliver to a diverse market and avoid burnout.

We can’t do that without new voices. Be one. You deserve it.

Chris Heilmann

@codepo8