Professional, JavaScript® for Web Developers, Second Edition

Chapter 20. Best Practices

The discipline of web development has grown at an extraordinary rate since 2000. What used to be a virtual Wild West, where just about anything was acceptable has evolved into a complete discipline with research and established best practices. As simple web sites grew into more complex web applications, and web hobbyists became paid professionals, the world of web development was filled with information about the latest techniques and development approaches. JavaScript, in particular, was the beneficiary of a lot of research and conjecture. Best practices for JavaScript fall into several categories and are handled at different points in the development process.

Maintainability

In early web sites, JavaScript was used primarily for small effects or form validation. Today's web applications are filled with thousands of lines of JavaScript executing all types of complicated processes. This evolution requires that developers take maintainability into account. As with software engineers in more traditional disciplines, JavaScript developers are hired to create value for their company, and they do that not just by delivering products on time, but also by developing intellectual property that continues to add value long after the fact.

Writing maintainable code is important because most developers spend a large amount of their time maintaining other people's code. It's a truly rare occurrence to be able to develop new code from scratch; it's often the case that ...