A random Javascript Q and A
Javascript is one of those languages that elicit different emotions from different people, usually not the good kind. When I started learning Javascript, I found it a little overwhelming at the beginning and very confusing. The Q and A below attempts to answer some of these questions.
Question 1: How did Javascript come to be?
Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape Navigator believed that Html needed a language that could be used by part-time programmers to assemble components such as images and plugins, where the code could be written directly in the Web page markup. in 1995, they recruited Brendan Eich who created the prototype that would be Javascript in 10 days. It was developed under the name Mocha and officially named LiveScript when it was first shipped in beta releases and later renamed to Javascript.
Question 2: What is ECMA International?
ECMA International is an industry association founded in 1961, dedicated to the standardization of information and communication systems
Question 3: Does Javascript have a standard specification?
When Javascript was built by Netscape, many other browsers built their own implementation of Javascript some popular ones being JScript and ActionScript. This meant that websites looked different when viewed in different browsers and sites would recommend the browser one should use in viewing. In November 1996, Netscape submitted Javascript to ECMA to build a standard specification. It gave other implementors a voice in the evolution of JS. Each new specification comes with a standard and a committee and in the case of Javascript the standard is ECMA-262 and the committee is TC-39.
Question 4: What are the different ECMAScript Versions?
Javascript didn’t change much in its first 15 years and after ECMAScript 3 it took 10 more years before it changed again. In 2012, many things began to change and more people wrote javascript using ECMAScript 5 (ES5). A new standard was then released that worked to incorporate many of the ambitious ideas in ES4 and merge the split between 3.1 and 4 and was named Es.Harmony(ES6) because of this in 2015, the TC-39 committee resolved to having yearly releases where new features would be added as they were approved. As a result ECMAScript 6th edition was renamed ECMAScript 2015 (ES2015). To learn more about the stages TC-39 goes through before approving a proposal, checkout the TC-39 repository here.
Question 5: Where do I start when learning Javascript?
Here is a list of resources that I have found very useful when learning Javascript.
• The modern Javascript tutorial
• Codecademy
• Js the right way
• You don’t know Js
• JavaScript: The Good Parts
• Tyler McGinnis
• Egghead
Below are some of the sources that were critical in writing this piece: •Javascript versioning
• The modern Javascript course by Tyler McGinnis => tylermcginnis
• Javascript
There are so many amazing resources other than these, I only listed the ones that were a big highlight for me. Feel free to add any resources you found helpful in the comment section. Happy learning :)
