In the last couple of years, there have been some significant changes in the development langscape that have elevated the status of JavaScript.

Lots of hard-core developers and engineers used to look down their noses at JavaScript as something only front-end “designers” used to make web sites look pretty.

And while the advent of AJAX-driven web development and powerful frameworks like jQuery have eroded this sentiment somewhat, a few key tools have developed in the last couple of years that have really vaulted JavaScript into first class status in the development world:

  • CouchDB – the document-oriented database that uses JSON for document structure and JavaScript for map/reduce functions.
  • Node.js – a framework for the V8 JavaScript engine from Google that lets you write sophisticated, event-driven applications in JavaScript.

In addition, the Tropo platform lets you write powerful, multichannel communication applications in pure JavaScript. Here is an example of a very simple Tropo application in JavaScript:

say("Channels are like hugs, more are better.");

One line – that’s it!

This script can be hosted and run in the Tropo cloud (much like how Google AppEngine works) and provisioned across multiple communication channels – phone, SMS, IM and even Twitter.

You can serve this humble message up to inbound callers, or send it out over all of the channels mentioned previously by kicking off an outbound session. Your choice.

Tropo blows the old notions that you can’t build powerful applications with JavaScript and that building communication apps is hard right out of the water. But what’s even cooler are the synergies that are possible when you mix up all this JavaScript goodness.

For example you can also build Tropo apps with Node.js using our WebAPI platform. Just download our Node.js library from GitHub and use the examples included with it to get started.

In addition, Tropo plays very nicely with CouchDB and you can build some really sophisticated apps that combine Tropo, Node.js and everyone’s favorite document-oriented database. (Look for a future post to cover Node.js CouchDB Tropo apps in detail.)

So if you’re a JavaScript ninja, or just someone who has used it on past projects, the time has never been better to sink your teeth into some exciting new applications.

Sign up for your Tropo account today and celebrate JavaScript’s promotion to first class status!

Originally from Voxeo Blogs