What is ECMAScript? What is it to do with JavaScript?

JavaScript is essential in web development. As web technologies have evolved rapidly, JavaScript has continuously innovated to meet developers' needs. ECMAScript (or ES) is the standardized specification for JavaScript. Every year, new versions are released, introducing new syntax features and capabilities.

In this article, we'll explore the relationship between JavaScript and ECMAScript, helping you understand how JavaScript has developed over time.

The Origins of JavaScript

JavaScript originated in 1995, created by Brendan Eich at Netscape. Back then, web pages were static—they could display text and images but offered little interactivity. Netscape wanted to make web pages more dynamic and engaging. To achieve this, they needed a programming language that could run inside the browser and bring web pages to life.

Riding the Java Wave

At first, JavaScript was called "Mocha," then "LiveScript." But in December 1995, Netscape partnered with Sun Microsystems—the creators of Java—to rename it "JavaScript."

The name choice was strategic. Java was hugely popular at the time, with a large developer community and user base. By associating their new language with Java, Netscape hoped to ride the wave of Java's popularity and attract more developers to JavaScript.

It's worth noting that despite the name, JavaScript is not directly related to Java. The two languages have different syntax and are used for different purposes.

Microsoft's JScript

That same year, Microsoft entered the browser wars with Internet Explorer. They introduced their own version of JavaScript called "JScript," which was first supported in IE 3.0.

The Beginning of Standardization

Because there was no unified standard, Netscape's JavaScript and Microsoft's JScript (Internet Explorer's implementation) had differences in syntax and features. This meant that web pages might not display correctly across different browsers.

Standardization was crucial. To address this, in 1996 Netscape submitted JavaScript to the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) for standardization. In 1997, ECMA created the ECMAScript standard specification, known as ECMA-262, based on JavaScript. JavaScript became the most famous implementation of ECMAScript.

ECMA, by the way, is an international industry association dedicated to standardizing information and communication systems. Beyond JavaScript, they've been responsible for standardizing languages like C#. (Wikipedia)

Browser Wars and Language Evolution

In the early 2000s, Microsoft's Internet Explorer dominated the browser market. But in 2004, the landscape began to shift when Mozilla—the successor to Netscape—launched the Firefox browser. At the same time, JavaScript and related libraries like jQuery started to flourish.

By 2008, Google entered the scene with Chrome, introducing the V8 JavaScript engine, which was faster than its competitors. One key innovation was Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation, which significantly improved performance. This didn't just make web pages load faster—it opened up new possibilities for using JavaScript in more complex applications. It also paved the way for technologies like Node.js, allowing JavaScript to be used on the server side.

This forced other browser vendors to revamp their JavaScript engines. With these developments, JavaScript's evolution accelerated. In 2009, ECMAScript 5 was released, adding many new features that made JavaScript more powerful and easier to use.

The Arrival of ECMAScript 6

2015 was a pivotal year for JavaScript. That's when ECMAScript 6—also known as ES6 or ES2015—was released.

In reality, ES6 had been in the works since 2009, aiming to make the language suitable for developing large-scale applications. This version introduced many important features that are now standard tools for JavaScript developers: arrow functions, modules, classes, Promises, and more. These additions modernized JavaScript, making it easier to develop and maintain

Annual ECMAScript Updates

After ES6, ECMAScript moved to a regular release schedule, rolling out a new version each year with added features and updates. The most recent version is the 15th edition, released in June 2024. (ECMAScript® 2024 Language Specification)

This yearly release cycle helps the language evolve steadily, allowing developers to adopt new features incrementally.