A few different themes emerged over the course of the JSConf this week: that JavaScript is growing up, the need for a JavaScript core, the value of modules over frameworks and the continued debate over native apps vs. Web apps. But the most potent theme, hiding beneath the surface of many talks was made explicit by CoffeeScript creator Jeremy Ashkenas: “JavaScript is too important to be left to the experts.”

Too important because JavaScript has become essential to the Web, through AJAX, mobile application development, server side scripting and more. The Web, Ashkenas says, is the most important invention of the past two decades, and JavaScript is a fundamental part of it. By experts, he means the companies and organizations that make browsers and the standards committees that develop language specs.