I'm often overwhelmed by the size of the JavaScript language; it's a big language (and I'm coming from mostly working in Perl which is also a very big language...but it is dwarfed by modern JS in terms of TIMTOWTDI and in terms of core language features). But, every time I learn about a new feature, I can't fault them for adding it. It's usually a clear improvement in terms of readability and capability. And, because it's such a widely used language there tends to be a lot of input before new features are added. They are rarely half-baked once they reach the standard.
So, I agree it's overwhelming; books about JavaScript from two years ago are already out of date on a lot of fronts. But, it's also resulted in a really powerful and concise language.
Agreed. I've only given it a cursory glance, but I've read several people bemoaning how awful it is. And, I think it's an example of what happens when APIs are built by folks who aren't actually building things with them. Audio always seems to get screwed up by engineers, sometimes for years. Linux had absolutely shitty audio up until...like yesterday.
It's a feedback loop, I think. Almost nobody uses the web for serious audio because the web sucks for serious audio, and thus almost nobody who uses the web for serious audio is working on the standards for web audio. I admire anyone who can make the web platform work at all for anything audio related.
Hyperbole. It really was fixed a couple years ago, maybe as much as three or four, if you were running a cutting-edge distribution like Fedora. But, it was entirely fair to say Linux absolutely sucked at audio for decades.
So, I agree it's overwhelming; books about JavaScript from two years ago are already out of date on a lot of fronts. But, it's also resulted in a really powerful and concise language.