The Grave of JavaScript: 5 Functions You Must Abandon
The web is a living museum, and JavaScript is its most crowded wing. While backwards compatibility is a core tenet of the web, certain functions have been superseded for decades. Using them isn't just "old school"—it's dangerous for your application's reliability.
1. escape() and unescape()
Superseded by encodeURI() and encodeURIComponent(). escape() was never actually standardized and handles non-ASCII characters unpredictably.
2. String.prototype.substr()
It’s a legacy function. Use slice() or substring() instead. substr() is confusing because its second parameter is a length, while most modern methods use indices.
3. Object.prototype.__proto__
Use Object.getPrototypeOf() and Object.setPrototypeOf(). Accessing __proto__ is incredibly slow in many JS engines.
Sentinel Tip: If you find a tutorial or library still using these methods, flag it! Help us keep the knowledge fresh.
Flag Stale Code