JS is in a different league because it solved the distribution problem. The one that everyone tried to solve, and spent big on it. Turned out you just needed a working interpreter on every device that can speak to the screen and to the internet (the browser), and the labor will appear to shape it into whatever it needs to be.
This, to me, is a lesson worth hearing: sometimes the feature you think is most important, the ones your customers are saying are most important, is not, and is not even close. The biggest software problem after PARC solved GUIs was distribution. The browser won 80% of apps out of the gate, but when the rest of the way with XHR.
It's really a startling turn of events when you think about it.
This, to me, is a lesson worth hearing: sometimes the feature you think is most important, the ones your customers are saying are most important, is not, and is not even close. The biggest software problem after PARC solved GUIs was distribution. The browser won 80% of apps out of the gate, but when the rest of the way with XHR.
It's really a startling turn of events when you think about it.