javascript
Web Development: LLVM
Web development, i.e. HTML/JS/CSS kinda sucks. Really it does.
While on the server side you have free range; we can use nice languages and frameworks (or any of these for anyone of a more lambda persuasion). We can use scripting languages where they make sense, and opt to use a fully compiled and typed language when and if the situation calls for it.
On the client side we have… well, just javascript. JavaScript is a great little language to quickly hack something up, and make some nifty gadgets. I even enjoy making them. The problem is that we’re no longer using javascript as that little bit of glitter to make websites shiny. JQuery, Prototype, and other AJAX libraries provide a small extension to our honeymoon period with javascript, but now we’re wondering if he can still provide for our family. We’ve been using it to build full fledged applications, and this is where it gets gross.
HTML Eats Babies and Spits Hot Fire
HTML5 is fast becoming the new hot thang that all the guys want to fuck. But, like the hot girl: she’s a raging bitch, requires a ton of maintenance, actually is just so-so in bed, and you cannot protect your investment (because she’s open, but remember she has standards). And all the boys want to have their way with her: Google is the new kid on the block, Microsoft the rich kid that wants to buy her, her best friend Mozilla has been holding her hands when time was tough, and now Apple the bad boy because he wants to prove to his gay lover that it’s really over.