JavaScript to be the default language for GNOME

JavaScript is becoming a force to reckon with GNOME developers have at last decided to stick to JavaScript to write applications for the desktop environment. However, the developers are still recommending C to write system libraries.

“During the GNOME Developer Experience Hackfest this week, one of the major goals we identified was the need to pick a single language to give a simple answer to those who ask, 'How do I write a GNOME app?' Our decision is to support JavaScript as the first class language for GNOME application development”, read a blog posting by Collabora engineer and GNOME developer, Travis Reitter.
Explaining the reason for choosing JavaScript, Travis added, “Our language of choice needs to be dynamic and high level. There is already momentum in the GNOME Project for JavaScript; it's used in GNOME Shell and GNOME Documents. There's a lot of work going into the language to make it especially fast, embeddable, and framework-agnostic. JavaScript is increasingly being seen as a first class desktop programming language; it is being used in Windows 8, in mobile platforms, and for local Web applications. JavaScript is self-contained; it doesn't come with its own set of core libraries, which makes it more convenient for us when integrating it into the platform”.

Until now, there were no specific set of tools to write an application for the GNOME desktop environment. With this announcement, JavaScript will become the default language for GNOME applications.


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