WDS08: Workshop Day Two - Javascript, the awesome parts

Today's workshop, "Javascript: The Good Parts" was run by Douglas Crockford, a very clever guy who is part of the committee organising the next version Javascript.

Although this session was more of a lecture than a workshop, it takes a session with a guy like this to show you how little you actually know about Javascript. I left this workshop with so much more knowledge about Javascript that I came with, which I definitely was not expecting, having worked with Javascript for years now.

Doug started with a history of computing in general which, on reflection, seemed a bit like unnecessary filler as he seemed to rush through the final topics towards the end of the day as he ran out of time. He soon moved on to pointing out some of the bad parts of the Javascript spec, which was a real eye opener. What followed was a heap of useful tips, functions and explanations that explained a lot of the reasons why things are done the way they are. I also got a few unintentionally great band names that came from some of Doug's terminology, including "Syntactic Sugar", "The Lunatic Fringe" and "Fat Metal".

Following the workshop was the Port 80 meet-up, which I missed out on last year. It was a great chance to network as well as catch up with peeps that I'd met over the previous two conferences (many of who had surprisingly remembered my name, or at least knew me as the guy who looked like Jon Snook). The drinks flowed freely, but I managed to pace myself. :-)

First day of the conference proper is tomorrow, so I'd better get some shut-eye.