Drupal & JavaScript performance, a reality check

In Drupal we use JavaScript because we have to, not because we want to. This session will be about explaining how Drupal handles JavaScript, what needs to be changed, why and how it can be changed. There will be data, lots of data.

Here is an overview of what you can learn during this session:

• How JavaScript is handled by Drupal and what is going to change for D8,
• Stepping back: what is happening for JavaScript outside of Drupal,
• The problems we have and the ones we're going to run into very soon,
• Async and on-demand loading, Asynchronous Module Definition, what is it and how can Drupal use it,
• What does it take to significantly improve perceived performance.
• A few examples:
• What are file-level closures or what does "Aggregate JavaScript files" really do,
• There is life outside jQuery, what is it like?
• Why JavaScript will soon be a bottleneck for the Mobile initiative,
• Who's faster: a script loader, putting scripts at the bottom of the page, or disabling JavaScript altogether?
• How to reduce the amount of scripts that are run on a selection of events: page load, ajax calls, scrolling.
• jQuery is great but jQuery is not enough. To be able to grow and seduce much needed JavaScript developers, Drupal has to make use of JavaScript's full potential.

If you know what Drupal behaviors are, if you ever added a script to a page or complained that the modules admin page is painful to scoll, this session is for you.