This article is based on the assertion that there are people that think Javascript is Scheme with an ugly makeover. But do those people exist? Most people who make the comparison aren't saying they they're equal to each other, but that they share similarities. Maybe some people hear that out of context and take it too far, but I don't think they're the majority.
I think the thing that makes the comparison is more the first class functions than the closures. The closures assist the first class functions, but the functions are the star.
Not a whole lot of non functional programming languages support first class functions with the simplicity and completeness of javascript.
In javascript, passing functions as parameters is a day to day thing, and that style of being able to pass around different functions as building blocks is what gets it compared to functional languages. Sure, that's not the only thing that functional languages have going for them, but it's the most important thing, and what they're even named after.
I think the thing that makes the comparison is more the first class functions than the closures. The closures assist the first class functions, but the functions are the star.
Not a whole lot of non functional programming languages support first class functions with the simplicity and completeness of javascript.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_class_function#Language_s...
In javascript, passing functions as parameters is a day to day thing, and that style of being able to pass around different functions as building blocks is what gets it compared to functional languages. Sure, that's not the only thing that functional languages have going for them, but it's the most important thing, and what they're even named after.