Editing JavaScript (section)

== History ==
=== Creation at Netscape ===
The first popular [[web browser]] with a [[graphical user interface]], [[Mosaic (web browser)|Mosaic]], was released in 1993. The lead developers of Mosaic then founded the [[Netscape]] corporation, which released a more polished browser, [[Netscape Navigator]], in 1994. This quickly became the most-used.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mwdwebsites.com/nj-web-design-web-browsers.html|title=The Evolution of the Web Browsers|last=Enzer|first=Larry|date=August 31, 2018|website=Monmouth Web Developers|access-date=August 31, 2018|archive-date=August 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831174847/https://www.mwdwebsites.com/nj-web-design-web-browsers.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During these formative years of the Web, [[web page]]s could only be static, lacking the capability for dynamic behavior after the page was loaded in the browser. There was a desire in the flourishing web development scene to remove this limitation, so in 1995, Netscape decided to add a [[programming language]] to Navigator. They pursued two routes to achieve this: collaborating with [[Sun Microsystems]] to embed the [[Java (programming language)|Java]] language, while also hiring [[Brendan Eich]] to embed the [[Scheme (programming language)|Scheme]] language.<ref name="origin">{{cite web|url=https://exploringjs.com/es5/ch04.html|title=Chapter 4. How JavaScript Was Created|website=speakingjs.com|access-date=2017-11-21|archive-date=2020-02-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227184037/https://speakingjs.com/es5/ch04.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The goal was a "language for the masses",<ref name="EichVideo" /> "to help nonprogrammers create dynamic, interactive [[website|Web sites]]".<ref>"Netscape Communications Corp.", Browser enhancements. Encyclopædia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD</ref> Netscape management soon decided that the best option was for Eich to devise a new language, with syntax similar to Java and less like Scheme or other extant [[scripting language]]s.<ref name="looklikejava" /><ref name="origin" /> Although the new language and its [[Interpreter (computing)|interpreter]] implementation were called LiveScript when first shipped as part of a Navigator [[beta software|beta]] in September 1995, the name was changed to JavaScript for the official release in December.<ref name="origin" /><ref name="press_release" /><ref name="techvision">{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208124612/https://wp.netscape.com/comprod/columns/techvision/innovators_be.html | archive-date=February 8, 2008 | title=TechVision: Innovators of the Net: Brendan Eich and JavaScript | url=https://wp.netscape.com/comprod/columns/techvision/innovators_be.html }}</ref><ref name="wired2024">{{cite magazine |last1=Han |first1=Sheon |title=JavaScript Runs the World—Maybe Even Literally |url=https://www.wired.com/story/javascript-runs-the-world-maybe-literally/ |magazine=Wired |date=4 March 2024 |access-date=21 August 2024}}</ref>

The choice of the ''JavaScript'' name has caused confusion, implying that it is directly related to Java. At the time, the [[Dot-com bubble|dot-com boom]] had begun and Java was a popular new language, so Eich considered the JavaScript name a marketing ploy by Netscape.<ref name="EichVideo">{{Citation|last=Fin JS|title=Brendan Eich&nbsp;– CEO of Brave|date=June 17, 2016|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOmhtfTrRxc |website=YouTube |access-date=February 7, 2018 }}</ref>

=== Adoption by Microsoft ===
[[Microsoft]] debuted [[Internet Explorer]] in 1995, leading to a [[browser war]] with Netscape. On the JavaScript front, Microsoft created its own [[Interpreter (computing)|interpreter]] called [[JScript]].<ref name="sjsch5">{{cite web |title=Chapter 5. Standardization: ECMAScript |url=https://speakingjs.com/es5/ch05.html |website=speakingjs.com |access-date=1 November 2021 |archive-date=1 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101184346/http://speakingjs.com/es5/ch05.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Microsoft first released JScript in 1996, alongside initial support for [[CSS]] and extensions to [[HTML]]. Each of these [[implementation]]s was noticeably different from their counterparts in [[Netscape Navigator]].<ref name="O'Reilly-2001">{{cite web |url=https://archive.oreilly.com/pub/a/javascript/2001/04/06/js_history.html |title=JavaScript, How Did We Get Here? |last=Champeon |first=Steve |date=April 6, 2001 |website=oreilly.com |access-date=July 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160719020828/https://archive.oreilly.com/pub/a/javascript/2001/04/06/js_history.html |archive-date=July 19, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.microsoft.com/1996/05/29/microsoft-internet-explorer-3-0-beta-now-available/ |title=Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 Beta Now Available |publisher=Microsoft |date=May 29, 1996 |website=microsoft.com |access-date=July 16, 2016 |archive-date=November 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124154053/https://news.microsoft.com/1996/05/29/microsoft-internet-explorer-3-0-beta-now-available/ |url-status=live }}</ref> These differences made it difficult for developers to make their websites work well in both browsers, leading to widespread use of "best viewed in Netscape" and "best viewed in Internet Explorer" logos for several years.<ref name="O'Reilly-2001" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.technologizer.com/2010/09/16/the-unwelcome-return-of-best-viewed-with-internet-explorer/ |title=The Unwelcome Return of "Best Viewed with Internet Explorer" |last=McCracken |first=Harry |date=September 16, 2010 |website=technologizer.com |access-date=July 16, 2016 |archive-date=June 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623192402/https://www.technologizer.com/2010/09/16/the-unwelcome-return-of-best-viewed-with-internet-explorer/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== The rise of JScript ===
{{Quote box|[[Brendan Eich]] later said of this period: "It's still kind of a [[sidekick]] language. It's considered slow or annoying. People do [[Pop-up ad|pop-ups]] or those scrolling messages in the old [[status bar]] at the bottom of your old [[web browser|browser]]."<ref name="EichVideo" />|width=30%}}

In November 1996, [[Netscape]] submitted JavaScript to [[Ecma International]], as the starting point for a standard specification that all browser vendors could conform to. This led to the official release of the first [[ECMAScript]] language specification in June 1997.

The standards process continued for a few years, with the release of ECMAScript 2 in June 1998 and ECMAScript 3 in December 1999. Work on ECMAScript 4 began in 2000.<ref name="sjsch5" />

However, the effort to fully standardize the language was undermined by Microsoft gaining an increasingly dominant position in the browser market. By the early 2000s, [[Internet Explorer]]'s market share reached 95%.<ref name="searchenginejournal.com">{{cite news | url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/mozilla-firefox-internet-browser-market-share-gains-to-74/1082/ | title=Mozilla Firefox Internet Browser Market Share Gains to 7.4% | first=Loren | last=Baker | work=Search Engine Journal | date=November 24, 2004 | access-date=May 8, 2021 | archive-date=May 7, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507013607/https://www.searchenginejournal.com/mozilla-firefox-internet-browser-market-share-gains-to-74/1082/ | url-status=live }}</ref> This meant that [[JScript]] became the de facto standard for [[client-side scripting]] on the Web.

Microsoft initially participated in the standards process and implemented some proposals in its JScript language, but eventually it stopped collaborating on ECMA work. Thus ECMAScript 4 was mothballed.

=== Growth and standardization ===
{{pic|Logo of TC39.svg|Logo of Technical Committee 39 ("TC39"), the committee of [[Ecma International]] that is responsible for maintaining the standard|150px}}
During the period of [[Internet Explorer]] dominance in the early 2000s, client-side scripting was stagnant. This started to change in 2004, when the successor of Netscape, [[Mozilla]], released the [[Firefox]] browser. Firefox was well received by many, taking significant market share from Internet Explorer.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4508897.stm |title=The assault on software giant Microsoft |last=Weber |first=Tim |date=May 9, 2005 |work=[[BBC News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925233936/https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4508897.stm |archive-date=September 25, 2017}}</ref>

In 2005, Mozilla joined ECMA International, and work started on the [[ECMAScript for XML]] (E4X) standard. This led to Mozilla working jointly with [[Macromedia]] (later acquired by [[Adobe Systems]]), who were implementing E4X in their ActionScript 3 language, which was based on an ECMAScript 4 draft. The goal became standardizing ActionScript 3 as the new ECMAScript 4. To this end, Adobe Systems released the [[Tamarin (software)|Tamarin]] implementation as an [[Open-source model|open source]] project. However, Tamarin and ActionScript 3 were too different from established client-side scripting, and without cooperation from Microsoft, ECMAScript 4 never reached fruition.

Meanwhile, very important developments were occurring in open-source communities not affiliated with ECMA work. In 2005, [[Jesse James Garrett]] released a white paper in which he coined the term [[Ajax (programming)|Ajax]] and described a set of technologies, of which JavaScript was the backbone, to create [[web application]]s where data can be loaded in the background, avoiding the need for full page reloads. This sparked a renaissance period of JavaScript, spearheaded by open-source libraries and the communities that formed around them. Many new libraries were created, including [[jQuery]], [[Prototype JavaScript Framework|Prototype]], [[Dojo Toolkit]], and [[MooTools]].

[[Google]] debuted its [[Google Chrome|Chrome]] browser in 2008, with the [[V8 (JavaScript engine)|V8]] JavaScript engine that was faster than its competition.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,687738/Big-browser-comparison-test-Internet-Explorer-vs-Firefox-Opera-Safari-and-Chrome-Update-Firefox-35-Final/Practice/|title=Big browser comparison test: Internet Explorer vs. Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome|work=PC Games Hardware|date=3 July 2009|publisher=Computec Media AG|access-date=June 28, 2010|archive-date=May 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502043027/http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,687738/Big-browser-comparison-test-Internet-Explorer-vs-Firefox-Opera-Safari-and-Chrome-Update-Firefox-35-Final/Practice/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://lifehacker.com/lifehacker-speed-tests-safari-4-chrome-2-and-more-5286869 | title=Lifehacker Speed Tests: Safari 4, Chrome 2 | first=Kevin | last=Purdy | work=[[Lifehacker]] | date=June 11, 2009 | access-date=May 8, 2021 | archive-date=April 14, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414095403/https://lifehacker.com/lifehacker-speed-tests-safari-4-chrome-2-and-more-5286869 | url-status=live }}</ref> The key innovation was [[just-in-time compilation]] (JIT),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://brendaneich.com/2008/08/tracemonkey-javascript-lightspeed/|title=TraceMonkey: JavaScript Lightspeed, Brendan Eich's Blog|access-date=July 22, 2020|archive-date=December 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151204091540/https://brendaneich.com/2008/08/tracemonkey-javascript-lightspeed/|url-status=live}}</ref> so other browser vendors needed to overhaul their engines for JIT.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Mozilla asks, 'Are we fast yet?' |url=https://www.wired.com/2010/09/mozilla-asks-are-we-fast-yet/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=January 18, 2019 |archive-date=June 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622213244/https://www.wired.com/2010/09/mozilla-asks-are-we-fast-yet/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In July 2008, these disparate parties came together for a conference in [[Oslo]]. This led to the eventual agreement in early 2009 to combine all relevant work and drive the language forward. The result was the ECMAScript 5 standard, released in December 2009.

=== Reaching maturity ===
Ambitious work on the language continued for several years, culminating in an extensive collection of additions and refinements being formalized with the publication of [[ECMAScript 6]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://es6-features.org/ |title=ECMAScript 6: New Features: Overview and Comparison |website=es6-features.org |access-date=March 19, 2018 |archive-date=March 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318064130/https://es6-features.org/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

The creation of [[Node.js]] in 2009 by [[Ryan Dahl]] sparked a significant increase in the usage of JavaScript outside of web browsers. Node combines the [[V8 (JavaScript engine)|V8]] engine, an [[event loop]], and [[Input/output|I/O]] [[Application programming interface|APIs]], thereby providing a stand-alone JavaScript runtime system.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZH6bpbcrlvYC&q=nodejs Professional Node.js: Building JavaScript Based Scalable Software] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324021220/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZH6bpbcrlvYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=nodejs&hl=en&sa=X#v=onepage&q=nodejs&f=false |date=2017-03-24 }}, John Wiley & Sons, 01-Oct-2012</ref><ref name="b3">[https://books.google.com/books?id=KGt-FxUEj48C&dq=nodejs&pg=PT24 Sams Teach Yourself Node.js in 24 Hours] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323192039/https://books.google.com/books?id=KGt-FxUEj48C&pg=PT24&dq=nodejs&hl=en&sa=X#v=onepage&q=nodejs&f=false |date=2017-03-23 }}, Sams Publishing, 05-Sep-2012</ref> As of 2018, Node had been used by millions of developers,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lawton |first1=George |title=The secret history behind the success of npm and Node |url=https://www.theserverside.com/blog/Coffee-Talk-Java-News-Stories-and-Opinions/The-secret-history-behind-the-success-of-npm-and-Node |website=TheServerSide |access-date=2 August 2021 |date=19 July 2018 |archive-date=2 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802165613/https://www.theserverside.com/blog/Coffee-Talk-Java-News-Stories-and-Opinions/The-secret-history-behind-the-success-of-npm-and-Node |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[npm (software)|npm]] had the most modules of any [[package manager]] in the world.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Paul |title=State of the Union: npm |url=https://www.linux.com/news/state-union-npm/ |website=Linux.com |access-date=2 August 2021 |date=13 January 2017 |archive-date=2 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802165614/https://www.linux.com/news/state-union-npm/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The ECMAScript draft specification is currently maintained openly on [[GitHub]],<ref name=branscombe /> and editions are produced via regular annual snapshots.<ref name=branscombe>{{cite web |url=https://thenewstack.io/whats-new-es2016/ |title=JavaScript Standard Moves to Yearly Release Schedule; Here is What's New for ES16 |last=Branscombe |first=Mary |date=2016-05-04 |access-date=2021-01-15 |work=The New Stack |archive-date=2021-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116181757/https://thenewstack.io/whats-new-es2016/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Potential revisions to the language are vetted through a comprehensive proposal process.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tc39.es/process-document/|title=The TC39 Process|publisher=Ecma International|work=tc39.es|access-date=2021-01-15|archive-date=2021-02-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207105535/https://tc39.es/process-document/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://github.com/tc39/proposals/blob/master/README.md |title=ECMAScript proposals |access-date=2021-01-15 |publisher=TC39 |archive-date=2020-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204221147/https://github.com/tc39/proposals/blob/master/README.md |url-status=live }}</ref> Now, instead of edition numbers, developers check the status of upcoming features individually.<ref name=branscombe />

The current JavaScript ecosystem has many [[List of JavaScript libraries|libraries]] and [[web framework|frameworks]], established programming practices, and substantial usage of JavaScript outside of web browsers.<ref name="wired2024" /> Plus, with the rise of [[single-page application]]s and other JavaScript-heavy websites, several [[source-to-source compiler|transpilers]] have been created to aid the development process.<ref name="transpilers" />