# Maytham Alsudany: Menus without JavaScript

> **Key Architectural Takeaway:** This is more of a note to myself since I keep forgetting and "rediscovering" this technique every time I need it, but if it helps you, great! The JavaScript way is be to toggle displaying the menu based on a button click.

**Published:** 2026-10-12T23:34:00+00:00  
**Source:** Planet Debian (Developer Blogs)  
**Category:** distro-planet  
**Canonical URL:** https://fosswire.org/news/maytham-alsudany-menus-without-javascript.html  

## Executive Summary
This is more of a note to myself since I keep forgetting and "rediscovering" this technique every time I need it, but if it helps you, great! The JavaScript way is be to toggle displaying the menu based on a button click. For instance, here's an example in Svelte: [This interactive/preview is only available on the website.] <script lang="ts"> let showMenu = $state(false); </script> <button onclick={() => (showMenu = !showMenu)}> {#if showMenu} Hide menu {:else} Show menu {/if} </button> <nav class:hidden={!showMenu}> <ul> <li>Home</li> <li>Blog</li> <li>Foo</li> <li>Bar</li> </ul> </nav> <style> .hidden { display: none; } </style> But there is a hack to use a hidden...

## Architectural & Systems Analysis
From a Linux distribution, deployment reliability, and systems engineering perspective:

- **Dependency Determinism:** Declarative and isolated package trees guarantee reproducible execution across production hosts.
- **Platform Integration:** Tighter alignment with target hardware profiles improves driver interoperability and device stability.
- **Supply Chain Integrity:** Independent package verification and public build infrastructure prevent unauthorized supply-chain regressions.

## Impact on the Open Ecosystem
Strengthens transparent, community-governed distributions against closed software and proprietary lock-in.