Why Should you learn JavaScript in 2020?

 Hey there, In this blog, I will answer some of the common questions that we regularly get as part of our community. A lot of people often have doubts and queries regarding  JavaScript. These people are either students who are looking for internships or jobs or these are professionals who are just seeking a career change. The questions they ask are, why should I learn JavaScript? Who uses JavaScript? Is JavaScript only used for creating web pages? Are there any jobs available in JavaScript?

In this blog, I will answer these questions so that you can make the best decision for yourself. JavaScript is a cross-platform language, which means you can write the code on one platform, let's say Linux and be able to run it on Windows and Mac. JavaScript is an object-oriented scripting language that provides dynamic inheritance using a prototype-based model, which means what is inherited by objects can vary between individual objects.

Now JavaScript is used on all browsers available today to make web pages interactive. It is available as the backend language to develop server-side applications. On browsers, client-side JavaScript extends the core language by supplying objects to control the browser and the document object model. On servers, the server-side JavaScript extends the core language by supplying objects relevant to running JavaScript on the server. For example, a server-side extension allows an application to communicate with the database or performing file I/O operations. This means JavaScript exists everywhere from the backend to the front end.

Now let's take a look at how the JavaScript ecosystem is available in every part of the software development. Starting with the database, the most popular choice to work with JavaScript is MongoDB. MongoDB is a NoSQL document-based database where the data is stored in the form of a JSON structure. The JSON data structure is an object with key-value pairs, which translates natively with JavaScript. The data types available in MongoDB are mostly either directly mapped or convertible to JavaScript types. In order to perform the CRUD operations with MongoDB, the most popular choice is a library called mongoose. It provides an easy to use API to interact with the database.

In order to create a backend application, NodeJS is the most popular choice available in the JavaScript ecosystem. The framework is mature and is used to create scalable network applications. When creating a backend application, typically the requirement is to interact with the outside world. The ExpressJS is a library that is used with NodeJS to create APIs. This framework is based on REST-based architecture. Speaking of APIs, there are two popular ways of creating and consuming APIs. The first one is called REST, also known as the Representational State Transfer and it's a very popular way to work with. The data in the database is called resources and the client uses HTTP protocol to work with these resources. When I say work, it means creating, modifying, reading, or deleting the data.

The other popular way is GraphQL. The GraphQL works differently and solves the challenges that exist with REST-based architecture. GraphQL is a query language and a runtime to execute those queries with the existing data. When working with APIs, it is also important to secure them to prevent abuse of the system. A very popular choice in the JavaScript ecosystem is called PassportJS. It provides authentication with over 500 strategies including login with Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other strategies. 

On client-side JavaScript, there are plenty of options to use. Some of them are React, VueJS, Gatsby, NextJS, and AngularJS. Each one of them has similarities and differences with each other. The most popular choice in this area is ReactJS, which is open-sourced by Facebook. However, only using react will not help to develop beautiful UI implementations. Therefore, we use a library called Material-UI, which is based on Google Material Design. It helps us develop beautiful and consistent UI designs faster.

Now when you have an application ready, you need to deploy them somewhere so that the rest of the world can use your product or service. Right? In the JavaScript-based ecosystem, there are a lot of deployment options available. There are providers such as Firebase by Google, Surge, Zeir, Netlify, GitHub Pages, and Heroku where you can deploy your JavaScript app bundles with ease. The most amazing part is that if you build only a static application, which means only the front end part, most of them are completely free to use. 

Isn't that great? So how do you feel? Do you see how powerful you can become when you know how to work with each of these technologies and it does not take years to learn them. You need to start with your fundamentals and build on top of it and in the case of the JavaScript ecosystem, you need to invest and learn the languages first. After that, using the guided help, you can pick each new item at a time and build useful applications.

Now if you're looking to create native apps for iOS and Android, JavaScript covers you here as well. React Native is the best in class JavaScript library that helps you create beautiful native applications. You might already be using some of these apps written in react native such as Instagram, Facebook, Uber, and Pinterest. Additionally, if you are also thinking of creating native desktop applications for Mac, Linux, or Windows, learning JavaScript opens up doors for you here as well.

You could leverage Electron, which is an open-source project by GitHub to create cross-platform desktop applications with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. In fact, there are lots of apps created using Electron and you may already be using them without knowing that they were created using Electron. So as you see, JavaScript is available in every aspect of software development whether you create applications for servers, browsers, phones, or desktop.

 

Using the knowledge of JavaScript, you can create applications that can reach a wider audience. After all, these are most of the devices and technologies people use, right? Now when it comes to jobs, with JavaScript, most of the employers look for knowledge of JavaScript along with the experience of various frameworks. For example, front-end jobs will advertise with terms such as React developer, React engineer, or a front-end developer. While on the backend they will advertise with terms such as Full Stack developer or NodeJS developer. 

This is a little different than other programming languages such as Python or Java where the jobs are explicitly advertised to using the language. However, even with the jobs that require React or Node, most employers test your knowledge based on JavaScript along with your understanding of the framework and you would find literally thousands of jobs in these areas where employers are either seeking people in fulltime part-time or remote positions. So what do you think? Would you learn JavaScript? Or do you have any further questions? 

Until then, keep learning new skills and apply them regularly to become an expert programmer. See you next time.