Welcome to a new year of programming and the brand new monthly list of JavaScript stories just for developers! Among the highlights of this new year: Svelte and SvelteKit have seen a slew of incremental improvements, Astro.js 5.0 just hit, and the Next.js team is working on a composable caching mechanism.
Meanwhile, we revisit the old “Is JavaScript dead?” canard, respectfully consider TypeScript (a valid replacement if you’re looking), and put the whole thing to bed with a look at two recent developer community surveys. Also, scroll down for a couple of solid tutorials and a deep dive into SEO for web developers.
Top picks for JavaScript readers on InfoWorld
Just say no to JavaScript
Starting the new year with a bang, InfoWorld’s Nick Hodges vents his critiques about the lingua franca of the web—or as he puts it, the assembly language of web browsers. My take? The one thing that keeps developers loving JavaScript is its flexibility, and that’s not going anywhere.
What is TypeScript? Strongly typed JavaScript
Nick might not like JavaScript, but he has plenty of good things to say about TypeScript. If you want JavaScript’s ubiquity with the benefits of strong typing, 2025 might be the year to make your move. Here’s a good overview to get you started.
JavaScript is still number one–JetBrains report
Reports of JavaScript’s demise are greatly exaggerated, and the December 2024 JetBrains report seals it. Get the lowdown on why JavaScript is still the most popular language on the planet.
Intro to Express.js: Endpoints, parameters, and routes
Learn the basics of using the most popular JavaScript server—in fact, one of the most popular servers anywhere. This two-part tutorial demonstrates Express’ simple, direct approach to handling requests and delivering responses. (Part 2 covers templates, data persistence, and forms.)
More good reads and JavaScript updates elsewhere
State of JS 2024
The results from the annual festival of self-reflection by and for the JavaScript community have hit the shelves. More framework stability, simpler tooling, and it turns out people still want static typing. It’s all here in the State of JS report.
Run your Next.js SSR app on Deno Deploy
One of the most interesting JavaScript projects is the Deno runtime, which includes a deployment service called Deno Deploy—now supporting server-side rendered Next.js apps.
The must-have SEO checklist for developers for 2025
SEO has become a crucial part of developing web apps, and this update is packed with practical tips for developers who want to get it right.