Wait, You Used JavaScript For What?
Surprising uses for JavaScript
In the early 1990s, the internet started to ramp up in popularity, but the available websites were static, very wordy, and perhaps contained a few pictures. We needed a change.
Enter Brendan Eich, who created a new programming language called Mocha that could run in the browser. Mocha had an identity crisis and was renamed LiveScript, and finally christened JavaScript as a marketing ploy due to the popularity of the Java programming language.
Now a livelier web was available! JavaScript is now the programming language of the internet and runs in all major browsers. Surprisingly, its services have expanded to many diversified sectors. But what other uses have we found for it? Let’s take a look at some of the compelling ways JavaScript has been used over the decades.
Robotics
If you have any coding experience with JavaScript, you can use the language to control machines! A module called node-serial port was constructed by Chris Williams that provides JS developers the resources to program hardware and bring their lines of code into the tangible world. Node-serial port has even been used for walking robots!
Johnny-Five, a JS library released in 2012 by Bocoup, delivers a way to program Arduino boards to use sensors, make an AI-powered robot, connect them to the internet and create a swarm of connected robots. There is even a JS library that controls drones!
VR and AR Apps
Games like Pokemon Go have proven AR is a driving force in mobile gaming, and Yelp and Google have been toying with basic AR for a decade. AR.js is a framework with cross-browser compatibility for Android and Apple mobile devices, along with VR headsets and desktop applications. It allows users to view over-laid content in the physical world using cameras and shown on the device display. One of the significant benefits of using JavaScript with VR and AR is immediately pushing out new releases rather than relying on the user to update manually.
Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality is growing fast! The marginal market value could reach $210 billion in sales by 2022, making it a significant section of the industry to discover.
Desktop Applications
Did you know Slack, Netflix, and even Visual Studio Code are written in Javascript? They all use a framework called Electron JS that takes Chromium, Node.js, CSS, and HTML and re-works it into a cross-platform app that works on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Electron takes care of all of it behind the scenes making it easy for the JS developer to design and deploy full-featured apps with native menus, notifications, and installers. There are several other frameworks to choose from, like Meteor and AppJS, that are also capable.
Conclusion
These examples are barely scratching the surface of the dynamism and malleability of JavaScript. Now that you’ve learned these exciting applications, I hope you’ll want to continue to acquire more knowledge about the influence of JS even thirty years after its release!
