In-fighting saves JavaScript
John Resig announced some very good news about the future of JavaScript yesterday. The technical team at ECMA - TC39 - responsible for writing the spec for the next version of JavaScript (called variously ES4 or ES3.1) had effectively split in two, hindering any real progress towards producing a real spec. The result was that the group finally decided to jettison some of the ideas both camps had adopted and coalesce around a more evolutionary approach to JavaScript.
Despite whatever conflict might have caused this, the outcome is undoubtedly good for JavaScript developers everywhere. The ES3.1 spec add minor sugar while completely neglecting some of the glaring issues with the language. The ES4 spec, meanwhile, mutilated the language to the point of making it unrecognizable. ES4 would have both led to the removal of some of JavaScript’s most useful features while simultaneously telling the world to ignore JavaScript for another 5 years while the standard body in charge of it decided what they wanted it to become.
So thanks TC39, you’ve made a wise choice. Let’s hope your new middle path can fix the language without leaving its most powerful features behind.
Update: Douglas Crockford weighs in as well.
