Programming rich UIs without JavaScript? Easy-peasy
summary
Modern frontends avoid raw JavaScript by compiling other languages or targeting the browser runtime: languages like Elm, OCaml (and Haskell-like variants), or supersets like TypeScript trade JS quirks for static typing and functional abstractions, while tools like Babel and webpack remain part of the stack. WebAssembly already hosts real products — e.g. a design tool shipped in WASM — showing WebAssembly production apps are viable. Key decisions are interop via JS FFI, ecosystem size, output cost, and whether the compiled result actually reduces runtime complexity.
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chapters (8)
- 0:00Introduction
- 1:04JavaScript history
- 8:52Why frontend got complex
- 14:01JS abstractions
- 18:25UI without JavaScript
- 27:46Language choice tips
- 32:05Why learn new languages
- 32:46Q&A
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