A ClojureScript Survival Kit - Nolen

David Nolen discusses the complexity of modern web development and explains how ClojureScript offers a simpler, backwards-compatible alternative.

When Google kicked off the AJAX craze back in 2004 with Google Maps, JavaScript was something you could learn in week (or a day if you already knew Lisp). A few more days to master HTML (an uglier Lisp) and perhaps a month before ditching CSS and going back to tables. Fast forward to 2025, a mortal can no longer hope to learn modern web dev in a single lifetime. Firing up a Gen AI web dev vibe session to "accelerate" the process will convince you that the number of software developers that have even heard of Simple Made Easy is a rounding error. Fortunately the Web, like Clojure, is mostly backwards compatible, there's no need to use the latest anything when the supposedly "old" thing is simpler, smaller, faster, and just as capable. By the end of this talk, whether you're a beginner, or a seasoned Clojure developer, you'll learn how to fend off the Cacodemons of Complect with ClojureScript. David Nolen is the lead developer of ClojureScript. Recorded Nov 13, 2025 at Clojure/Conj 2025 in Charlotte, NC.