Abstract:  
Modern JavaScript, powered by the Node.js runtime, is a performant language that is ubiquitous across the web both for client- and server-side development, and the language's support for asynchronous programming allows programmers to build responsive web applications. However, to write efficient code, JavaScript programmers need to internalize the intricacies of a variety of language features that are rapidly evolving, while also being aware of the "full stack" of technologies at play in the web. Tool support could help alleviate this burden, but JavaScript's dynamism and expressiveness complicate the analyses required by approaches that have been effective in other languages.
In this talk, I will sketch the landscape of asynchronous programming in JavaScript, illustrating various pitfalls awaiting programmers, and showing how a little lightweight tooling can go a long way in helping write better code.

Bio:  
Alexi Turcotte is a 5th year PhD candidate at Northeastern University. He is advised by Frank Tip and Jan Vitek; with Frank, he works on optimizing asynchronous JavaScript programs, and with Jan he works on fuzzing and type system design for the R programming language. Broadly, he is interested in anything and everything related to dynamic and data science languages.