Comment Re:JavaScript (Score 1) 386
Ultimately it isn't possible to speak of the language without speaking of the execution evironment without becoming purely academic (little practical discussion and a lot of discussion about the form/syntax of the code). One cannot have a programming language without implementation.
Javascript is broken because it really has a lack of standardization. As it stands now it is just a loose agreement among browser vendors to design javascript engines to run like other vendors' browsers. There's often "special case" code you have to use if you want your code to run on a specific browser for instance.
Furthermore, Javascript security is a joke. Either you have to let it all in or reject it all, the finest grade control one has over javascript is being able to block it/allow it from specific domains. Since Javascript runs in the context of the browser, it's also impossible to utilize firewalls to block any javascript-initiated traffic without also taking the browser down. And given that a good chunk of the HTTP internet now relies on javascript, it's really no longer feasable to say "just use noscript or turn it off".
I could go into a full rant, but suffice to say, javascript was a noble idea when it was started, but now it has become a pool of bad ideas, a way too powerful language for what it is and poor implementation. The need to sandbox it is a sign of that.