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160 points todsacerdoti | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.206s | source
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cyberax ◴[] No.41899004[source]
> For another thing: it’s straightforward to modify JavaScript dependencies locally. I’ve often tweaked something in my local node_modules folder when I’m trying to track down a bug or work on a feature in a library I depend on. 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.

Yeah, JavaScript is sloppy, but you can always monkey-patch it by modifying tool-controlled files. Great idea. Not.

JS is just not a good language. The JIT and the web of packages made it slightly more usable, but it's still Not Good. There's no real way to do real parallel processing, async/await are hellish to debug, etc.

It's unavoidable in browsers, but we _can_ avoid using it for tools. Look at Python, a native PIP replacement improved build times for HomeAssistant by an order of magnitude: https://developers.home-assistant.io/blog/2024/04/03/build-i...

replies(1): >>41901325 #
1. eviks ◴[] No.41901325[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.

Or you could use the source code already downloaded by a package manager and do similar tweaks locally with the build manager picking them up and compiling for you