What is JavaScript? This question arises for many people interested in teaching programming and web design. As you know, in the world of programming, as in the real world, we face many languages, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages. In this article, we are going to introduce you to one of the most popular languages in this field, namely JavaScript. If you want to enter the world of programming by learning JavaScript and want to know more about the JavaScript language and its applications and features, stay tuned to w3camps.
What is JavaScript programming language?
JavaScript, abbreviated as JS, is one of the most popular programming languages. JavaScript is a high-level, dynamic, object-oriented, and interpreted language that supports a variety of programming styles. This language can be used for server-side programming, mobile applications, games, and desktop applications. Therefore, it can be considered that JavaScript is a versatile language.
Don’t worry if you are not familiar with any of these terms because we will explain each of them below. In order to better understand what the JavaScript language is, you must first answer questions such as what is a compiler language and how it is different from an interpreted language.
As you know, computers only speak the language of zero and one (Binary) and do not understand any other language. In the beginning, we tried to communicate with machines in their own language, that is, a language that is closer to the language of zero and one. These types of languages, which are directly connected to the processor, are called low-level languages. Assembly can be mentioned among these languages.
Learning and mastering these languages was extremely difficult for programmers. So experts decided to make languages that are closer to human language. In terminology, these languages are called high-level languages. High-level languages like JavaScript made programming easier because their structure and logic became much closer to human language. So it can be concluded that learning JavaScript is easier than other low-level programming languages.
As you have seen, in the definition of the JavaScript language, it was mentioned that it is an interpreted language. To understand the nature of interpreted programming languages, first, imagine that you are an interpreter. You don’t have more than two ways to translate a text. Either you have to translate what you receive line by line and simultaneously or translate the whole thing in one place. This is exactly the difference between interpreted languages and compiled languages.
Interpreted programming languages
In interpreted languages, the source code is interpreted line by line, that is, after interpreting and executing the first line, it goes to the second line, which slows down the execution process. Unlike the compiler language, these languages do not depend on the operating system because they are executed simultaneously and through the interpreter.
Compiler programming languages
Let us explain a little more specifically about this. In compiled languages, all source codes are compiled (translated) at once and fully processed and executed. The output provided by the compiler is a compiled file for your desired operating system with no dependencies on the written codes. In fact, compiler languages are dependent on the operating system, and it is impossible to use the compiled codes on another operating system.
Object orientation meaning in JavaScript
Object orientation is a pattern and way of thinking in programming. The object-oriented programming approach is from component to whole or bottom-up (Bottom-Up). That is, small program units are created, and by connecting these small units to each other, larger units are formed, and thus the program becomes more complete. Object-oriented programming provides two concepts of class and object.
Object orientation in programming can solve many problems for you and make the coding process easier. Since the concepts of object orientation are very close to the real world, it will be easy for the programmer to understand. In object orientation, unlike other coding methods such as procedures, instead of dealing with a large number of variables and functions, you work directly with objects. To better understand this issue, it is better to explain this with an example.
Consider a workshop that has various production machines. This workshop can be considered a class. Each of these devices produces a different product that can be considered as an object. If there is a problem with the products or if we want to change them, there is no need to destroy and rebuild the workshop.
For example, if the output product is a cake, when we want a sweeter cake, we don’t need to make any changes in the workshop or the machines; we just need to add a little sugar to the cake batter. This is exactly what happens in object-oriented programming.
Server-side and user-side languages
Some languages are processed and executed on the server, and then the result is sent to the user. These languages need software called a web server to communicate. But the interesting thing about the JavaScript language is that this language can be used for both server-side and user-side programming. But in the past, the domain of this language was limited only to user-side programming. Codes of user-side programming languages, as the name suggests, are processed and executed on the user’s system. Of course, with the help of frameworks such as Node.JS and Express.JS, this language can also be used as a server-side language.
Applications of JavaScript
Earlier, we mentioned the popularity of JavaScript language. This popularity is not without reason because, with this object-oriented language, you will be able to bring your soulless sites to life and interact with your users. That means you can display animation, audio, and video files on your site. You can also put a timer on your site, change colors with the movement of the mouse, and do many other things that make web pages more attractive.
But that’s not all JavaScript offer. You can start creating web, mobile, and desktop applications using this language. For this purpose, you can use various JavaScript frameworks that provide you with a set of libraries. Another fun thing you can do with this language is to develop computer games under the browser. So, in general, the uses of JavaScript language can be expressed as follows:
- Front-end programming
- Backend programming with JavaScript
- Mobile software development
- Desktop software programming
How does JavaScript work?
Now that we have learned what the JavaScript language is and what its applications are, you may have wondered how JavaScript runs in different browsers. The answer to this question is processing engines. Different browsers use different engines to execute JavaScript codes, some of which are mentioned below.
- V8 engine for Opera and Chrome browsers
- SpiderMonkey engine for Firefox
- Nitro and SquirrelFish engines for the Safari browser
- Trident and Chakra engines for different versions of Internet Explorer
- ChakraCore engine for Edge browser
These engines first translate JavaScript codes. Then they compile the scripts into machine language to finally execute the codes. Of course, this does not mean that the JavaScript language runs only on web browsers. This programming language can be implemented on almost all platforms using JavaScript Virtual Machine.
History of JavaScript
JavaScript was first born in May 1995 in 10 days by Brendan Eich, an employee of Netscape! Initially, the company had come to the conclusion that it needed more dynamic and attractive web pages. This was the first step towards building a simple language. Mr. Brandon Eich was commissioned by this company to create a scripting language for web pages and to manipulate HTML codes. Mr. H’s mission was to provide a language that would not only be welcomed by programming professionals but also easily used by designers.
The company initially thought of improving and simplifying the Schema language but eventually came to the conclusion that it needed a language similar to Java but with a simpler syntax. In the beginning, the name of this programming language was Mocha, which was later changed to Mona. In September of the same year, the name of this language was changed to LiveScript, and at the end of the series, the name change was completed by choosing the name JavaScript.
The finalization of this name was only because the Java programming language had become very popular in those days. Choosing this name for this language was very clever. Because at that time, by choosing this name, the language was able to take a large share of the Java market. However, in 1996, JavaScript was entrusted to the ECMA organization for standardization. Finally, the first JavaScript standard, named ECMAScript, was published in 1997. The first ECMAScript ECMA-262 and its latest version, named ECMAScript 2017, were released in June 2017.
Strengths of JavaScript
Each language used in the world of programming has its strengths and weaknesses, and JavaScript is no exception. This language is very popular among programmers due to its many advantages, which we briefly mention some of them:
- According to StackOverflow , it was the most popular programming language of 2018
- It does not need a compiler for processing and execution.
- JavaScript is easier to learn than most programming languages.
- It runs cross-platform on different browsers or platforms.
- It is lighter and faster than other programming languages.
- It provides many frameworks, libraries, and tools in general.
- The native language is the web browser and is processed in the user’s browser.
- It allows programmers to create interactive and dynamic web pages.
- In response to users’ actions, it reacts.
Weaknesses of JavaScript
Some of the weaknesses of this programming language are:
- Difficulty in identifying the cause of the error and difficulty in debugging
- Restrictions on the execution of JavaScript scripts by creating restrictions to maintain security
- Not running on old browsers
- Vulnerability to exploits and malicious agents
- It can be used to run malicious codes on users’ computers.
- By being rendered differently on different devices, it can cause inconsistencies and lack of integrity.