Notices by Axel Rauschmayer (rauschma@fosstodon.org)

@mattly Like this?

import { h, render } from 'https: //esm.sh/preact';
const app = h('h1', null, 'Hello World!');
render(app, document.body);

Source: https://preactjs.com/guide/v10/getting-started/

FWIW: I recently used JSX via tagged templates and it was more pleasant than I thought (no build step is nice). Tag functions can cache their output so performance shouldn’t be much worse than compiled JSX.

@evan Thanks! I’m wondering if people like this kind of fusion; if it works well for them. Pros and cons if you will.

What are your thoughts on adding #ActivityPub support to a blog? I feel like blogs are different and should be separate from social media(?)

A simple solution for letting people comment on a blog post could be embedding a post including all of its replies. However, for blogs, you want comments to survive as long as possible and Fediverse servers generally don’t guarantee that.

Feature in next week’s #TypeScript 5.8 Beta: --erasableSyntaxOnly
• Pull request: https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript/pull/61011
• Description (with an old name): https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript/issues/59601#issuecomment-2294010520

Forbids non-type syntax that isn’t JavaScript—e.g. enums and namespaces.

Use case: TypeScript support in Node.js. https://2ality.com/2025/01/nodejs-strip-type.html

/via @robpalmer

WebAssembly as an ecosystem for programming languages
https://2ality.com/2025/01/webassembly-language-ecosystem.html

#WebAssembly #2ality

It’s a shame that JavaScript still has no built-in support for equality checks and that its support for cloning (not part of ECMAScript, but supported by virtually all platforms) has significant limitations—e.g., the clone of an instance of C is not an instance of C:

class C {}
const clone = structuredClone(new C());

assert.equal(clone instanceof C, false);
assert.equal(
Object.getPrototypeOf(clone),
Object.prototype
);

More information: https://2ality.com/2022/01/structured-clone.html

#JavaScript

Short survey: What languages do you use to compile to #WebAssembly?
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd5rDVpwMsh0qtGHxvtAMGgc84sIoj9_H8_UBqbs6mH_2i1Vg/viewform?usp=dialog

I’ll publish the results on January 1.

:mastodon: Boosts appreciated!

@functionalscript But if your user handle is a domain name (where a TXT record mentions the current server) then moving to another server is completely transparent.

One could also do a simple form of content-addressing:
my-server.example/@user.example/12345

Such a URL could be routed to the correct server via the user handle. Then the path would work on every server. For complete transparency, one could use a domain that points to the current server.

That would be good enough for my needs.

@functionalscript
For me it’s mostly about avoiding lock-in. And the Fediverse does that well enough (for my taste). Hopefully, it’ll eventually support domains or URLs as user handles. Which shouldn’t be too difficult(?)

But there is definitely room for something even more decentralized—especially for people who have a high risk of being censored such as dissidents of totalitarian regimes. Such a solution will have different pros and different cons.

@silverpill That makes sense! Per-server caching significantly lessens the load.

One remaining challenge is replies, profile data etc. being incomplete and/or out of date (you are working on that, IIRC). Thanks to per-server caching that shouldn’t cause too much additional traffic.

@serapath From what I know about Bluesky’s team, I believe that their intentions are good.

But, eventually, they’ll have to make money.

Upside: People have moved once (from Twitter to Bluesky). Moving again is going to be much easier and the Fediverse isn’t going anywhere.

Only potential downside of ActivityPub that isn’t relatively easy to fix: It *may* not scale as well—no one knows at the moment. I’m curious: Could AP handle (e.g.) Taylor Swift joining the Fediverse?

Bluesky says that: “Never lose access to your followers or data.”

However, I don’t think that’s true. Can someone confirm?

Even in a scenario where there are multiple Relay/AppView/Labeler services, if you move to a different service:
• You can only follow a user if their PDS is crawled by your service.
• A user can only follow you if your PDS is crawled by their service.

Are there any #JavaScript projects you’d like to draw attention to? Reply to this post!
👉 Mention *why* others may find it interesting.

(I’ll boost as much as I can without overwhelming my followers.)

Tips for finding interesting #Fediverse accounts: https://2ality.com/2022/10/mastodon-getting-started.html#finding-accounts

1/ One reason why I now self-publish: control over my writing.

O’Reilly on using AI for translations, the “Answers” bot, etc.: “Remember, if your contract […] is royalty-bearing, we have the exclusive right to leverage the intellectual property you created with us to produce derivative works. We plan to maintain the transparency offered within those contracts and provide complete credit and remuneration for your work with any adoption of AI that creates adaptations of it in the future.”

29 years ago today (1995-12-04): “Netscape and Sun announce JavaScript, the open, cross-platform object scripting language for enterprise networks and the internet”
https://web.archive.org/web/20070916144913/http://wp.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease67.html

#JavaScript

@functionalscript The biggest challenge with social networks: There are not only technical problems but also people problems. And those are really difficult—e.g., as a woman you can have a really bad time on social networks. AFAICT that’s why many women don’t use headshots as avatars.

One thing that I’d find very useful is built-in support for ActivityPub in Bluesky.

@SocketSecurity I wish the narrative were less one-sided: Who evaluates the efficiency of managers and investors and how much money they get? Who evaluates *why* people are quiet-quitting? Happy employees usually don’t.

If iPadOS were as open as macOS, iPads would rival Macs with regard to versatility. Right now, I can’t use an iPad because it doesn’t have:
– Homebrew
– Terminal
– Visual Studio Code

File and window management could also be improved but that’s much less important.

It would be great to have Mac-like power with the option of touch input.

But I’m not holding my breath. It currently seems more likely that I’ll eventually switch completely over to Linux.

I have similar thoughts about most big tech companies: Tech has lost its way. It used to genuinely improve people’s lives. Now it’s often about ads and tricking people into using tech even more. Tech is looking for a way to go uphill, even though it’s already reached an impressive peak.

Most tech visions involve ever more sensors, machines and automation. And I don’t find that appealing at all. My vision for us is: simpler lives, less consumption, more free time, more nature in cities.