Now, I'm thinking is there anything that can't be done by JS?

#discuss #javascript

Top comments (19)

Yeah. JS is not the right choice in many many many cases.

We happen to be in a place in history where JS is super convenient (or the only option) for a lot of user-facing stuff, but its value only goes so far.

Avalander • Aug 31 '18

Nevertheless, the OP asked whether there is anything that can't be written in JS, not whether there is anything that shouldn't be written in JS :P

Angel Daniel Munoz Gonzalez • Aug 31 '18 • Edited

yeah, like most OSes do, the rest of the os interaction (user facing stuff) is made with node/javascript

Core development is being done in layers. There could be some differences to adjust better to each target platform, but the general structure is:

barebones custom Linux kernel with an initramfs that boots to a Node.js REPL

initramfs Initram environment to mount the users partition & boot the system

usersfs multi-user environment with the same behaviour of traditional OSes

If you had said Kernels, yeah I would have bought it, but the res of the os is prominently javascript

Angel Daniel Munoz Gonzalez • Aug 31 '18

The statement was can't build an os, not a kernel while an os needs a kernel, not everything in the os has to be a kernel to work, just as in user space we use python, C++, C, java, and a ton of languages that underlying end up using 0's and 1's, node os builds it's os user space consuming side with javascript, just as that.
If you don't want to buy the idea it's fine, the project will still exist there and that OS wouldn't be usable without javascript so it fits the statement for me

Quentin Sonrel • Sep 3 '18

I came to see that comment.

I was not disappointed.

Quentin Sonrel • Sep 3 '18

The thing is, programming is programming, you can do almost anything with almost any language.

Writing a complex system-level app in JS is like building a website with C. Is it possible? Yes. Is it a good idea? That's another debate (spoiler: no).