JavaScript???
JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages in the world. Recently, it can be seen everywhere, used to build almost 95% of websites, including some of the largest, like Facebook and Youtube.
Created 25 years ago, JavaScript was the first and the only scripting language that was supported natively by web browsers. It is one of the three core languages used to develop websites. Whereas HTML and CSS give a website structure and style, JavaScript allows us to add functionality and behaviors to our website allowing users to interact with the content in a more imaginative way.
JavaScript has nothing to do with Java, not even it's syntax. It's just a poor name choice but we have to live with it.
With the growing needs that the web platform demands, many things were introduced that allowed the language to grow quite a lot as well.
JavaScript is a client-side language, meaning it runs on your computer within your browser. However, the introduction of Node.js allowed JavaScript to be used outside of the browser as well. The rise of Node.js in the past few years unlocked backend development , which was once the domain of server-side languages.
JavaScript is now also the language powering databases and many more applications.It's also possible to develop embedded applications, mobile apps,TV sets apps and much more.
JavaScript has surpassed several languages because it is relatively easy to learn, has a free and open community, and most importantly, it allows developers to quickly create apps with audiences in the millions.
Characteristics of JavaScript
1.High-level Language :- It provides abstractions that allow you to ignore the details of the machine where it's running on. You don't have to manage memory. You don't have to know what type of processor is running. It provides many constructs which allow you to deal with highly powerful variables and objects.
2.Dynamic Language :-It gives us the powerful features like dynamic typing, late binding, reflection, functional programming, object runtime alteration ,closures and many more.
3.Dynamically Typed Language :-You can reassign any type to a
variable, for example assigning an integer to a variable that holds a string.
4.Weakly Typed Language :- It does not enforce the type of an object, allowing more flexibility but denying us type safety and type checking.
5.Interpreted Language :- It does not need a compilation stage before a program can run. Browsers do compile JavaScript before executing it, but this is transparent to the users.
6.Multi-paradigm language :- It does not enforce any particular programming paradigm. You can write JavaScript using an object-oriented paradigm, using prototypes and the classes syntax. You can also write JavaScript in functional programming style, with its first class functions, or even in an imperative style.
What started as a tiny language inside the browser is now the most popular language in the world.
Thank You!
Comment below your opinion or experience with JavaScript.
Source: The JavaScript Handbook by flaviocopes
Cover Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash
Top comments (4)
I had worked with JavaScript for a while back in the late 1990's. It was a very messy language and a pain to deal with. Accessing HTML elements seemed to be hit or miss at times and it was easy to crash a browser. I got back into JavaScript 2 1/2 years ago with Node.js 8 doing Alexa Skill development. I was very pleased to see how the language has matured and tools like ESLint and VS Code made code development and checking a breeze. Having spent years working with C#, I see plenty of parallels between the two languages. In fact, the recent addition of Optional Chaining and Nullish Coalescing bring two very useful C# features to JavaScript. Lately I have moved into TypeScript as I find that to be even more C# like and having the strong typing is a real plus
It was great knowing about your experience working with this language in its recent times. Thank you so much!
There's widely used, and then there's popular. Are you sure JavaScript is popular?
Yes, definitely the JavaScript libraries are what I believe have made JavaScript so popular, both in the mobile app development and web development industries.