Before a proper comparison of JavaScript to other traditional programming languages such as C it needs to be stated that JavaScript is a scripting language should be taken into consideration. I say this as JavaScript is a scripting language in definition only. A brief definition of a scripting language is that a scripting language is interpreted rather than compiled. So, with this in mind, comparing JavaScript to a full programming language that requires a compiler is akin to comparing a boat to a plane and therefore should be noted that some comparisons I make will be bias. In terms of creating a basic script such as updating a git repository or the automation of a task, JavaScript is just about as good as any other scripting language. To be more specific, the use of JavaScript over Python or even Shell is a matter of which syntax is preferred.
When comparing my experience with JavaScript and my experience with C++ I have to say, I much prefer C++. I see the benefits of JavaScript such as the ability to store variables as strings or numbers, but not declaring any primitive data types or not having to typecast makes me a little uncomfortable. Maybe this is a problem that will solve itself the more I use JavaScript.
As far as how “good” or “bad” JavaScript is from a software engineering point of view, I find it really comes down to what kind of project I am doing. For something relatively simple and not memory sensitive then JavaScript would seem like a choice on par with Java. If however, I wanted to build something that is designed to have large scalability, I do not think JavaScript would be the most optimal choice.
The use of JavaScript in regard to “athletic software engineering” seems to be a good choice. So far, using JavaScript in a timed environment has been very beneficial. Although the benefits can mostly be attributed to the way JavaScript handles data types, I do not have to spend as much time considering what sort of data I am passing and how I pass it. JavaScript is more lenient with its syntax making it great for just getting a working solution. However, being put into a timed enviroment with little time to plan is something I don’t know if I can ever be comfortable with.