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Skeptical of rewriting JavaScript tools in "faster" languages

(nolanlawson.com)
160 points todsacerdoti | 3 comments | 20 Oct 24 21:25 UTC | HN request time: 0.405s | source
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sksxihve ◴[20 Oct 24 22:16 UTC] No.41898942[source]▶
> Whereas if it’s written in a native language, I’d need to check out the source code and compile it myself – a big barrier to entry.

Is it though? Rust/Zig/Go programs are pretty much all incredibly easy to checkout and compile, it's one of the big selling points of those languages. And at the end of the day how often are javascript developers fixing the tooling they use even when it's written in javascript?

I've always felt learning new languages give me not only new tools to use but shapes the way I think about solving problems.

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1. timeon ◴[20 Oct 24 22:21 UTC] No.41898974[source]▶
I wonder if author is aware that Node.js is not written in JavaScript.
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2. jbreckmckye ◴[21 Oct 24 09:05 UTC] No.41902091[source]▶
Probably: he is a contributor to Servo
3. claytongulick ◴[21 Oct 24 15:38 UTC] No.41905319[source]▶
It depends. A lot of it absolutely is, I've been through a ton of that source.

Low level stuff is mostly c++ to talk to v8 or do system calls, talk to libuv, etc... but even that stuff has a bunch of js to wrap and abstract and provide a clean DX.