Not true , 80s OS language for home computers was 100% Assembly, z80 assembly to exact. Basic was provided as an easy to use scripting language. Modern web tools and languages and frameworks are bloated and fragmented. Actually the only thing that keeps the 80s nostalgia is modern implementations of Smalltalk if you come from Amiga , or lisp if you come from command line CP/M OS. Web Dev is a huge pile of mess and I am surprised how you consider anything but the exact opposite of the 80s home computers.
I think what Kyriakos means is, the Basic environment was how you operated the machine. On my Amstrad CPC, if I wanted to see what was on a disc, I'd use the Basic command CAT. I wouldn't type "dir" or "ls" into a command line or click on a folder icon. If I wanted to run a program, I'd have to type a Basic command.
I use Chrome dev tools as a general coding environment all the time. I have a blank HTML page on my computer which loads jQuery and few other things, and I just load it up and open the dev tools. I have a bunch of snippets for generating Java boilerplate for work(!), transforming various things into JSON, etc. etc. It just sort of evolved over time into my personal coding environment. Of course I'd rather have something like the Symbolics Lisp machine:) but it's a fun little system.
