JavaScript: Difference between revisions

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*'''Lack of transparency''': To optimize network bandwidth, JS code is typically served in [[wikipedia:Minification_(programming)|minified]] form, which makes it harder to understand for humans. This is particularly problematic if the original source is not publicly [[wikipedia:Source-available_software|available]], which is typically the case of [[wikipedia:Proprietary_software|proprietary software]].

*'''Excessive tracking''': JS is much more capable than HTML and CSS '''combined''' to track user behavior, because of its first-class access to [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API user-agent (UA) APIs].<ref>https://clickclickclick.click/</ref> JS can communicate with almost any server (only limited by [[wikipedia:Cross-origin_resource_sharing|CORS]]) at any time (limited by connection availability), using a plethora of protocols. JS can get hardware information and compute a [[Device fingerprint|fingerprint of the device]], user, or both.<ref>https://privacycheck.sec.lrz.de/</ref><ref>https://abrahamjuliot.github.io/creepjs</ref><ref>https://www.deviceinfo.me/</ref>

*'''Market control''': JS (alongside [[wikipedia:WebAssembly|Wasm]]) are built into almost every web-browser and UA, including "light-weight" ones (such as [[wikipedia:W3m|w3m]]). Incentivizing companies to use it for everything, since "there's no need to worry about compatibility or portability".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Everyone has JavaScript, right? |url=https://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/everyonehasjs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260316024516/https://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/everyonehasjs.html |archive-date=2026-03-16 |access-date=2026-03-19 |website=Kryogenix Consulting}}</ref> Some people say that JS shouldn't even be a Web Standard,<ref>https://daringfireball.net/linked/2017/06/22/navistone-form-data</ref><ref>https://daringfireball.net/linked/2017/06/27/web-without-javascript</ref> implying that it should be an [[wikipedia:Browser_extension|extension]] or [[wikipedia:Plug-in_(computing)|plug-in]] (such as Java Applets and [[Adobe]] Flash) the user willingly installs; this would reduce the incentive to use JS, as there's no guarantee the user has it.

*'''Market control''': JS (alongside [[wikipedia:WebAssembly|Wasm]]) are built into almost every web-browser and UA, including "light-weight" ones (such as [[wikipedia:W3m|w3m]]). Incentivizing companies to use it for everything, since "there's no need to worry about compatibility or portability".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Everyone has JavaScript, right? |url=https://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/everyonehasjs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260316024516/https://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/everyonehasjs.html |archive-date=2026-03-16 |access-date=2026-03-19 |website=Kryogenix Consulting}}</ref> Some people say that JS shouldn't even be a Web Standard,<ref>https://daringfireball.net/linked/2017/06/22/navistone-form-data</ref><ref>https://daringfireball.net/linked/2017/06/27/web-without-javascript</ref> implying that it should be an [[wikipedia:Browser_extension|extension]] or [[wikipedia:Plug-in_(computing)|plug-in]] (such as Java Applets and [[Adobe]] Flash) the user willingly installs; this would reduce the incentive to use JS, as there's no guarantee the user has it.

*'''Security risks''': It is well-known that JS is poorly-designed,<ref>https://github.com/denysdovhan/wtfjs</ref><ref>https://github.com/brianleroux/wtfjs</ref><ref>https://wiki.theory.org/YourLanguageSucks#JavaScript_sucks_because</ref><ref>https://github.com/Rudxain/ideas/blob/aa9a80252a4b7c9c51f32eda5c716e96220ed96e/software/evar/with_bf.js</ref> even [[wikipedia:Ecma_International|tc39]] acknowledges that{{Citation needed}}. This leads to programmers and even experienced software-devs to accidentally add vulnerabilities to their code. That, and the fact that JS is [[wikipedia:Turing_completeness|Turing-complete]] (both [https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness/#mathematical-vs-practical in practice and in theory]) is a recipe for disaster, as it makes [[wikipedia:Debugging|debugging]] and [[wikipedia:Reverse_engineering|reverse-engineering]] impractical in big code-bases. It's worth noting that tooling, such as [[wikipedia:TypeScript|TypeScript]] and [[wikipedia:ESLint|ESLint]], exist to substantially minimize the likelihood of [[wikipedia:Software_bug|bugs]].

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 *'''Lack of transparency''': To optimize network bandwidth, JS code is typically served in [[wikipedia:Minification_(programming)|minified]] form, which makes it harder to understand for humans. This is particularly problematic if the original source is not publicly [[wikipedia:Source-available_software|available]], which is typically the case of [[wikipedia:Proprietary_software|proprietary software]].
 *'''Excessive tracking''': JS is much more capable than HTML and CSS '''combined''' to track user behavior, because of its first-class access to [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API user-agent (UA) APIs].<ref>https://clickclickclick.click/</ref> JS can communicate with almost any server (only limited by [[wikipedia:Cross-origin_resource_sharing|CORS]]) at any time (limited by connection availability), using a plethora of protocols. JS can get hardware information and compute a [[Device fingerprint|fingerprint of the device]], user, or both.<ref>https://privacycheck.sec.lrz.de/</ref><ref>https://abrahamjuliot.github.io/creepjs</ref><ref>https://www.deviceinfo.me/</ref>
-*'''Market control''': JS (alongside [[wikipedia:WebAssembly|Wasm]]) are built into almost every web-browser and UA, including "light-weight" ones (such as [[wikipedia:W3m|w3m]]). Incentivizing companies to use it for everything, since "there's no need to worry about compatibility or portability".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Everyone has JavaScript, right? |url=https://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/everyonehasjs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260316024516/https://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/everyonehasjs.html |archive-date=2026-03-16 |access-date=2026-03-19 |website=Kryogenix Consulting}}</ref> Some people say that JS shouldn't even be a Web Standard,<ref>https://daringfireball.net/linked/2017/06/22/navistone-form-data</ref><ref>https://daringfireball.net/linked/2017/06/27/web-without-javascript</ref> implying that it should be an [[wikipedia:Browser_extension|extension]] or [[wikipedia:Plug-in_(computing)|plug-in]] (such as Java Applets and [[Adobe]] Flash) the user willingly installs; this would reduce the incentive to use JS, as there's no guarantee the user has it.
+*'''Market control''': JS (alongside [[wikipedia:WebAssembly|Wasm]]) are built into almost every web-browser and UA, including "light-weight" ones (such as [[wikipedia:W3m|w3m]]). Incentivizing companies to use it for everything, since "there's no need to worry about compatibility or portability".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Everyone has JavaScript, right? |url=https://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/everyonehasjs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260316024516/https://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/everyonehasjs.html |archive-date=2026-03-16 |access-date=2026-03-19 |website=Kryogenix Consulting}}</ref><!-- We need another citation here. The current one is relevant, but doesn't cite anyone who assumes JS is portable. Ideally, it should cite an entity using that quote as an excuse to add JS everywhere --> Some people say that JS shouldn't even be a Web Standard,<ref>https://daringfireball.net/linked/2017/06/22/navistone-form-data</ref><ref>https://daringfireball.net/linked/2017/06/27/web-without-javascript</ref> implying that it should be an [[wikipedia:Browser_extension|extension]] or [[wikipedia:Plug-in_(computing)|plug-in]] (such as Java Applets and [[Adobe]] Flash) the user willingly installs; this would reduce the incentive to use JS, as there's no guarantee the user has it.
 *'''Security risks''': It is well-known that JS is poorly-designed,<ref>https://github.com/denysdovhan/wtfjs</ref><ref>https://github.com/brianleroux/wtfjs</ref><ref>https://wiki.theory.org/YourLanguageSucks#JavaScript_sucks_because</ref><ref>https://github.com/Rudxain/ideas/blob/aa9a80252a4b7c9c51f32eda5c716e96220ed96e/software/evar/with_bf.js</ref> even [[wikipedia:Ecma_International|tc39]] acknowledges that{{Citation needed}}. This leads to programmers and even experienced software-devs to accidentally add vulnerabilities to their code. That, and the fact that JS is [[wikipedia:Turing_completeness|Turing-complete]] (both [https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness/#mathematical-vs-practical in practice and in theory]) is a recipe for disaster, as it makes [[wikipedia:Debugging|debugging]] and [[wikipedia:Reverse_engineering|reverse-engineering]] impractical in big code-bases. It's worth noting that tooling, such as [[wikipedia:TypeScript|TypeScript]] and [[wikipedia:ESLint|ESLint]], exist to substantially minimize the likelihood of [[wikipedia:Software_bug|bugs]].