JavaScript: Overview

JavaScript (often abbreviated JS) is a high-level, interpreted programming language that serves as one of
the core technologies of the World Wide Web 1 2 . It is designed to make web pages dynamic and
interactive: for example, JS can validate form data, animate content, respond to user events (clicks, typing,
etc.), and update page elements on the fly 2 3 . In practice, JavaScript code runs in the browser (each
major browser has a built-in JS engine) to drive webpage behavior, and it also runs outside the browser in
environments like Node.js (a popular server-side runtime) 4 5 . JavaScript is extremely prevalent –
roughly 98–99% of websites include JavaScript code for client-side functionality 1 6 . (Despite its name,
JavaScript is unrelated to the Java language – the similarity is only superficial 7 .)

History and Standardization

JavaScript was created by Brendan Eich at Netscape in 1995. Originally named LiveScript and shipped in
Netscape Navigator that year, it was soon renamed JavaScript (for marketing reasons) in the official
December 1995 release 8 . To ensure cross-browser compatibility, Netscape submitted JavaScript to Ecma
International. In 1997 the ECMAScript specification (ECMA-262) was published as the first standard, making
JavaScript an open language for all browsers 9 . Since then, the language has evolved through subsequent
editions (ECMAScript 3 in 1999, ES5 in 2009, etc.) and in modern times the spec is updated annually by the
TC39 committee. Each year’s edition (e.g. ES2015/ES6, ES2016, … up to ES2025) introduces new syntax and
features 10 . These standards define the core language behavior, while browsers and engines implement
that standard.

Language Characteristics
JavaScript has several distinctive characteristics and features:

• High-level, interpreted language – JavaScript code is generally executed by an engine at runtime

(in text form) rather than compiled to machine code beforehand 11 . In practice modern engines
perform just-in-time (JIT) compilation to improve performance, but JavaScript is still considered an
interpreted language because the compilation happens at runtime 11 .
• Dynamic and weakly typed – Variables in JS are not bound to a single type; types are determined at
runtime 12 . This allows flexibility (you can, for example, add a string and a number), but requires
care with type conversions.
• Prototype-based object-orientation – JS objects inherit directly from other objects (called
prototypes) rather than from classes (though ES2015 introduced a class syntax for convenience)
12 . Functions are first-class objects, meaning they can be passed around, returned from other
functions, and have their own properties 12 . This enables a functional programming style (with
callbacks, higher-order functions, etc.) as well as traditional OOP.
• Multi-paradigm – JavaScript supports imperative, functional, and event-driven programming styles
12 . It is especially built around an event loop model for concurrency: code is single-threaded, and

asynchronous operations (timers, network requests, user events) are handled via callbacks,

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 promises, or async/await . This makes it natural for reactive interfaces (responding to user
actions) and asynchronous I/O.
• Rich built-in APIs – The core language provides standard objects and methods for text
manipulation, mathematics, dates, regular expressions, arrays, etc. In web browsers, JS also has
access to the Document Object Model (DOM) API, so it can create, modify, or remove HTML elements
and CSS styles in a page 13 . Browsers also supply other host APIs (for networking, storage,
graphics, etc.). In non-browser environments (like Node.js), different APIs (for files, network sockets,
etc.) are provided by the host.

Execution Environments
JavaScript code runs in several environments:

• Web Browsers – Every modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, etc.) includes a JavaScript
engine (e.g. V8, SpiderMonkey, JavaScriptCore) that executes JS for client-side scripting 4 . This
allows webpages to run scripts that can manipulate the page and respond to user input without
needing a round-trip to the server for each action.
• Server and Other Runtimes – Outside the browser, the most popular JS runtime is Node.js (built on
Chrome’s V8 engine). Node.js allows JavaScript to be used for building web servers, APIs, and
general-purpose programs 5 . Other environments include Deno (a newer secure runtime for JS/
TypeScript) and embedded engines in applications (e.g. in desktop apps via Electron, or in
databases).
• Cross-platform scripting – JavaScript is often called “cross-platform” because it can run on many
operating systems and devices without change 14 . For example, JS runs on Windows, Linux, and
macOS (through browsers or Node), on smartphones (in hybrid apps), and on microcontrollers or IoT
devices (with specialized JS engines).

Each environment provides its own “host” APIs. For example, browsers provide the DOM and browser APIs,
while Node.js provides server APIs (file system, HTTP servers, etc.) 15 5 . In all cases, the core ECMAScript
language is the same.

Common Uses and Ecosystem

JavaScript’s versatility means it is used across many domains:

• Web front-end development – JavaScript is essential for building interactive web pages and Single-
Page Applications (SPAs). It can dynamically modify HTML/CSS in the page (e.g. showing/hiding
elements, form validation, animations), fetch data from servers (AJAX/Fetch), and generally create a
responsive user interface 2 3 . Frameworks and libraries like React, Angular, and Vue.js are built
on JavaScript to organize complex front-end code and enable reusable UI components.
• Web back-end development – On servers, JS (via Node.js) is used to write web servers, RESTful APIs,
real-time services, and full-stack applications. Popular Node.js frameworks include Express, Fastify,
and Next.js. The same language (JS) can be used on both client and server, which simplifies
development of web applications.
• Mobile and Desktop Apps – JavaScript powers mobile app frameworks like React Native and
NativeScript, which allow developers to write native mobile apps using JS and web-like components.

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 It also underlies desktop application platforms like Electron (which runs Chromium + Node.js), used
to build apps like VSCode or Slack with web technologies.
• Game Development – JS and HTML5 canvas/WebGL are used for browser games and simple 2D/3D
games. Libraries like Phaser or Three.js help create interactive games and graphics in JavaScript.
• Other Areas – JavaScript has even reached fields like machine learning (e.g. TensorFlow.js for
running ML models in JS), Internet of Things (libraries like Johnny-Five for controlling hardware with
JS), and more.

In summary, JavaScript is not limited to “just a web scripting language” – it has grown into a general-
purpose language with a huge ecosystem of tools and frameworks. Recent surveys consistently rank
JavaScript as the most widely used programming language, and nearly every developer who works on the
web uses it daily 16 6 .

ECMAScript and Language Evolution

JavaScript’s standardized name is ECMAScript. The ECMAScript Language Specification (ECMA-262) defines
the official features of the language 17 . In most contexts “JavaScript” refers to implementations of this spec
(browsers and engines), while “ECMAScript” refers to the standard itself. Over time, ECMAScript has added
many modern features: for example, ES2015 (also known as ES6) introduced modules, class syntax,
arrow functions, promises, template literals, let/const declarations, and more. Subsequent yearly
editions (ES2016/ES7, ES2017, … through ES2025) have continued this trend, adding features like async/
await , new data structures (Map, Set), spread syntax, and so on. All major JS engines (Chrome V8, Firefox
SpiderMonkey, etc.) follow the ECMAScript standard, so code using standard features works across
browsers (possibly after using transpilers like Babel for older browsers).

Key points: JavaScript is a dynamic, prototype-based language built for the web 12 2 . It started in 1995
at Netscape and was soon standardized as ECMAScript 9 . Today it runs in browsers and servers, enabling
interactive webpages and full-stack development. Despite its C-like syntax, JS is weakly typed and multi-
paradigm 12 11 . Its ubiquity means almost every website uses JavaScript on the client side 1 6 . The
language continues to evolve under the annual ECMAScript standard (ES2025 being the latest edition as of
2025) 10 .

Sources: Authoritative definitions and usage data from Mozilla MDN and Wikipedia 2 12 1 11 , and
industry reports (W3Techs, StackOverflow) 6 16 , were used to compile this overview. These confirm that
JavaScript is a high-level, interpreted, event-driven language central to modern web development.

1 4 7 8 12 13 JavaScript - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript

2 JavaScript: Adding interactivity - Learn web development | MDN

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn_web_development/Getting_started/Your_first_website/Adding_interactivity

3 5 11 What is JavaScript? - Learn web development | MDN

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn_web_development/Core/Scripting/What_is_JavaScript

6 14 Usage Statistics of JavaScript as Client-side Programming Language on Websites, August 2025

https://w3techs.com/technologies/details/cp-javascript

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 9 10 15 17 ECMAScript Language (ECMA-262), including JavaScript
https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000443.shtml

16 Technology | 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey

https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2024/technology