Programming in general and its areas like web development are typically considered to be a secluded activity: a common image would depict a programmer sitting alone in their dark room, in front of a computer. Although there is some truth to this stereotype, programming is also heavily reliant on team work, i.e. the power of communication between individuals. The world of web development is a global community, but sometimes it may be hard to see this and appreciate just how closely we’re all connected. To solve this problem, we organize tech conferences — these events help us feel more connected and engaged.
The need for communication — not only with team members but also with the global developer community — turned out to be really powerful, creating an aptitude of tech conferences where the developers finally got an incredible opportunity to talk about their favorite technologies and teach them. In the conference environment, years-long debates like “React vs. Angular” are finally silenced: we start to appreciate our global JavaScript community, so evangelists of various frameworks, tools, and libraries can talk about their favorite technologies in peace.
Nowadays, there’s a tech conference for everyone’s liking: PyCon, JavaZone, DevCon, Agile Coach Camp, and so on. With web development being an incredibly popular domain, there’s no shortage of relevant events, meetups, and cons for web developers to gather. Still, with an abundance of conferences to choose from, developers often feel overwhelmed: which one to choose and attend? Which one to watch on YouTube? Which one to follow on Twitter and send a “thank you” message to the organizers?
We felt overwhelmed too — so we decided to create a neat list of the best JavaScript conferences of summer 2019.
JSCamp
Just a month away, JSCamp 2019 will offer a deep technical dive into the world of modern web technologies. Spanning two days, the conference will house insightful and inspiring talks; some of them are:
- Kyle Simpson, the person that helped so many people realize that they don’t know JS, will talk about FOUC (flash of unstyled content) and the demise of progressive enhancement: Kyle will question if dividing the web experience into “layers” (HTML, images, CSS, and then JS) is indeed effective — after all, this method causes the infamous FOUC (here’s an example of FOUC)
- Maya Shavin will discuss CSS in JS: with new advancements in JavaScript, approaches like CSS Module and CSS-in-JS developed, promising to make the development process easier (namely, dealing with CSS files) — but some developers disagree that these approaches are indeed effective, so Maya will be the mythbuster for this topic.
- Rich Harris will invite the audience to rethink reactivity: as it turns out, reactivity can be moved into the language itself — and make the app lighter and faster.
A sister conference, CSSCamp 2019, will be held together with JSCamp: although lasting only a single day, it will house a plethora of great designers and developers discussing how to create a better web — that is, a faster, more secure, and more accessible web — and provide the best user experience. Here are some of the interesting talks that CSSCamp 2019 has to offer:
- Stéphanie Walter will talk about optimizing websites and apps — and doing it without any code. When every single line of code has been optimized, web developers still have a few tricks up their sleeves: they can adjust the user’s perception of time and keep their attention span intact. As Stéphanie herself puts it,
In the end, it doesn’t matter how fast your site loads, it’s all about how fast your users perceive it to be.
- Jason Pamental will invite the audience to explore dynamic typographic systems: variable fonts are such a flexible feature that they can be optimized across screen dimensions, accessibility needs, design requirements, and even network speeds.
JSConf US
Self-proclaimed as a federation of developers
, JSConf 2019 organizers encourage local communities creating JSConf(erences) of their own. This is why their website boasts an impressive array of cons taking place all over the world: Hungary, South Korea, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Iceland, Belgium, China. Naturally, the US is also on the list — and so we’re taking a look at JSConf US 2019.
The conference’s aim encompasses both technical and social aspects of programming: on the one hand, it strives to push the boundaries of what is thought to be conceivable with JS
; on the other hand, organizers also focus on social activities to foster human interactions: their “Activity Day” encourages attendees to take a break from relentless coding and have fun with surfing, kayaking, golf, or poolside relaxation. Here are some of the interesting talks that JSConf US has to offer:
- Adam Giese will teach you functional programming via music: using Web Audio API, he’ll show how the basics of functional programming (including function composition, closure, and array manipulation) can be used to create music and musical instruments.
- Alexandra Sunderland will demonstrate mobile surfing with a twist — how to stay connected to the internet with a phone that is only capable of calls and SMS. To do this, she’ll show how to build a special browser that handles and sends its quests over SMS.
- Florian Rival will examine how the “React—JavaScript—WebAssembly” trio can be used to create software capable of competing with complex desktop apps. Florian calls them “Native Web Apps” and claims that they’re the lovechild of two worlds — web apps and native apps — and can provide the best of them.
Full Stack Fest
Although it’s not a 100% JavaScript-focused event, Full Stack Fest would still be very valuable for all developers: the talks at this conference will broaden the general understanding of modern web technologies: No matter if you consider yourself a backend, frontend developer, or anywhere in-between, Full Stack Fest 2019 is for you.
Here are some of the interesting talks that Full Stack Fest has to offer:
- Cate Huston will examine the importance of in-team communication — and how it can turn a failing team into a functional one and then into a great one.
- Paul Frazee will guide the attendees through the mysterious world of peer-to-peer networking: although it seems like an outdated technology only suitable for file-sharing via Napster, Paul argues it could be used for hosting websites, all the while offering great benefits like sharing costs, open-sourcing, data privacy, and more.
- Sarah Drasner will show that web animation is only starting to bloom. Although technologies like nuxt allow for some impressive native-like page transitions already, the real future of web animation is far more creative: biofeedback sensors and 3D, for instance.
Nordic.js
Rather harsh Nordic climate will be negated by the warm welcome that Nordic.js organizers and speakers bid you: with over 1000 developers, designers, and creatives gathering for this 2-day conference, JavaScript will be pushed to its fullest potential — and social activities like “Dinner with strangers” (pairing you with 5 attendees you don’t know at a restaurant). Here are some of the interesting talks that Nordic.js 2019 has to offer:
- Vaidehi Joshi will ask a great question: “You’ve probably created numerous JavaScript objects, but how well do you understand them?” — and then she’ll cover the JavaScript object model thoroughly: how to interact with them and what really happens under the hood.
- David Khourshid will explore how user interfaces can become mind-reading technologies: that is, how adaptive and intelligent user interfaces that learn from how individual users use your apps can personalize the interface and features just for them, in real-time.
- Vitaly Friedman will highlight the importance of designing and building with privacy in mind: he will make a case against data collection, retargeting, video autoplays, and more — and how we can make a better web without these elements.
International JavaScript Conference
This year’s iJS will span over 5 days and feature more than 90 sessions, keynotes, and talks. One of the conference’s tagline is “JavaScript is everywhere!” — and this is echoed by the variety of topics iJS speakers will be covering. Here are some of the interesting talks that iJS 2019 has to offer:
- Jecelyn Yeen will cover how modern JavaScript frameworks perform SEO-wise: as they render content on the client side, search engines like Google Search often have trouble parsing their content. In her talk, Jecelyn will show how these problems can be fixed and what tools can be used in the process.Joel Lord will uncover the latest changes to web browsers that enhance their functionality, e.g. processing audio feeds, connecting to Bluetooth devices, and sending notifications.
- Tamar Stern will give an introduction into how machine learning can be incorporated into Node.js: with JavaScript’s latest advancements, machine learning solutions are no longer the privilege of (data) scientists — software developers are joining in as well.
- Marta Wiśniewska will explore the “Offline first” approach: she encourages you to check whether your web app performs well even if the network doesn’t. Marta will show how to handle offline state and manage the app’s resources under various network conditions — all with the help of Angular and PWA features.
Conclusion
Conferences come in many shapes and sizes — and with just enough patience, you’re sure to find one that fits you just right. After all, we’re all part of this global developer community — and whatever crazy idea you want to implement with JavaScript, there will always be like-minded people to join in. 🙂
