Great question 👍 Let’s go through the History of JavaScript step by step.
📜 History of JavaScript
1️⃣ Birth of JavaScript (1995)
- Created by Brendan Eich at Netscape Communications.
- Originally developed in just 10 days!
- First called Mocha, then renamed LiveScript, and finally JavaScript (for marketing reasons).
- It was designed to make web pages interactive, while HTML handled structure and CSS handled styling.
2️⃣ Java vs JavaScript Confusion
- JavaScript has nothing to do with Java (different languages).
- Netscape partnered with Sun Microsystems (creator of Java) and used the name JavaScript to benefit from Java’s popularity in the 1990s.
3️⃣ Standardization (1996 – 1997)
- Microsoft created a copy called JScript for Internet Explorer.
- To avoid browser wars, JavaScript was standardized as ECMAScript by ECMA International in 1997.
4️⃣ ECMAScript Versions
- ES1 (1997) → First version of the standard.
- ES3 (1999) → Widely adopted version, introduced
try/catch. - ES4 (2008) → Too ambitious, abandoned.
- ES5 (2009) → Big update: JSON support,
strict mode, array methods (forEach,map). - ES6 / ECMAScript 2015 → A huge update:
let,const- Arrow functions (
() => {}) - Classes, modules (
import/export) - Template literals (
`Hello ${name}`) - Promises
- After ES6, new versions came yearly (ES7, ES8, etc.) with small improvements.
5️⃣ Modern JavaScript (2015 – Present)
- Modern JS (ES6+) is powerful and modular.
- Can be used for frontend, backend, mobile, desktop, AI, IoT.
- Popular frameworks/libraries: React, Angular, Vue, Node.js, Express, Electron, React Native.
🗓️ Quick Timeline
- 1995 → Brendan Eich creates Mocha (later JavaScript).
- 1996 → Renamed JavaScript, Microsoft creates JScript.
- 1997 → Standardized as ECMAScript (ES1).
- 1999 → ES3 released.
- 2009 → ES5 (major improvements).
- 2015 → ES6/ES2015 revolutionizes JS.
- 2015–Now → Continuous yearly updates (ES7, ES8, … ES2025).
✅ Today, JavaScript is one of the most widely used languages in the world, powering everything from websites to mobile apps, desktop apps, and even AI.
