Why Learn JavaScript? A Brief History of the Language

Why Learn JavaScript? A Brief History of the Language

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5 min read

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How did Javascript come to be?

JavaScript was originally developed as a scripting language for web browsers. The first ever version, Netscape Navigator 1.0, was released in 1995, and its goal was to give web designers more control over their pages by adding interactivity on top of HTML. It wasn't until 1997 that another browser company created their own implementation of JavaScript: Microsoft's Internet Explorer 3. In 1998, Brendan Eich wrote the ECMAScript programming language specification which was based on Netscape's design; it would go on to be adopted as standardized by Ecma International in 1999. As time went on, other companies like Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari also implemented support for JavaScript. More recently, new versions of the language are being considered such as ES6/ES2015 (aka ES6), ES7/ES2016 (aka ES7), and beyond (which have various names). Today we have better options than just learning vanilla JS if we want to build with it - there are libraries like AngularJS or ReactJS that allow us to use many modern best practices right out of the box! Still, understanding how all these pieces work together can help one gain a deeper understanding of how code works. That said, I highly recommend you take some time to learn JavaScript history because it will help you understand how some decisions were made along the way - and also what this means for your projects today. For example, a recent update made JavaScript become an interpreted language instead of compiled which led to performance improvements. If you are interested in learning about the latest updates for ES6/ES2015 and beyond, check out 《JavaScript Allongé》by Reginald Braithwaite. You might also enjoy 《The Art of Client-Side Development》by Addy Osmani - he discusses client-side tools and frameworks too!

What will I do with JavaScript once I master it

JavaScript is a scripting language that is used to add interactive effects to web pages. JavaScript has been around since 1995 and has grown significantly in popularity with its use on websites like Facebook and YouTube. There are many benefits of mastering JavaScript such as being able to create dynamic, interactive content for your website or blog. However, it can be difficult to learn if you have no programming experience. Luckily, there are many resources out there for learning JavaScript- you just need to know where to look! One of the best sources I found was this awesome course from Code School: The JavaScript Track . The course covers everything from basic syntax and data types to more advanced concepts such as event handling, functions, and objects. After finishing the course, I felt more confident about my understanding of JavaScript and now I am eager to get started building some awesome things with this powerful language. If you're thinking about learning JavaScript but don't know how, start by browsing through all these great online courses! You won't regret it!

What are some great resources to learn javascript online

The best place to start is with Codecademy, where you can learn how to code in JavaScript. Codecademy offers a course that starts at square one and builds on top of what you learned. They also offer a course for visual learners. The second resource is Treehouse. They offer more in-depth courses than Codecademy, with over 100 hours of tutorials. You can also find free resources online through Khan Academy, W3Schools and Udacity. Some great books to consider are JavaScript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford and JavaScript Patterns: Objects, Functions, & Design Patterns by Stoyan Stefanov. If you are just getting started with JavaScript, the book will walk you through all the basics while providing plenty of examples. For those who already have some experience programming in another language, I would recommend reading Eloquent Javascript: A Modern Introduction to Programming by Marijn Haverbeke. In this book, you'll learn more advanced concepts as well as functional programming and designing data structures like trees or graphs. Once again, there are many places to read about JavaScript online so I would recommend picking your favorite and diving right into it!

Where can I use my new knowledge

JavaScript is a language that can be used in many different areas, not just web development. It's used in server-side programming, in mobile apps and even to develop desktop software. JavaScript was invented by Brendan Eich, who worked at Netscape Communications (and later became the chief architect for Mozilla). Eich wrote the first version of JavaScript as an easier way to interact with HTML elements on a webpage; before it was released, developers had to use C++ or Java. JavaScript was originally created for Netscape Navigator 2.0 and called Live Script; once Microsoft announced plans for their new browser, it was renamed and rewritten in 1995 to conform with Sun Microsystems' Java programming language. The goal of these changes was to make JavaScript more cross-platform friendly. As it turns out, this might have been too much change for some developers who preferred its original ease of interaction style over the more complex syntaxes of newer languages like Ruby and Python. Eich has said he regrets making those changes to JavaScript because they were needed in order to make the language cross-platform compatible, but also notes that they made JavaScript a better language. But don't let these improvements fool you: most developers still prefer to program in JavaScript instead of other languages because it's lightweight and easy to learn. JavaScript continues to grow every day, especially due to its presence on social media platforms like Facebook where users are encouraged to share content with one another through Like buttons, emoji reactions, comment sections and embedded videos. With all of the growth happening around JavaScript now—from both sides of the desk—it doesn't look like the popularity will be going away anytime soon!