What is JavaScript?

JavaScript is a programming language that was developed by Netscape in the mid 1990s to power their web browser. JavaScript is now one of the most popular technologies on the internet and is used by virtually every webpage, including this one. The popularity of JavaScript has led to its widespread use for building full-featured web applications and mobile apps. Because JavaScript can be embedded in HTML pages it does not need to be installed on client devices, which makes it an ideal choice for building cross-platform applications that target multiple device types or operating systems.

JavaScript is a popular language for front end web development. Articles related to JavaScript may focus on the fundamentals of this language, or they may be more specific tutorials on one of its many frameworks. Additional topics related to JavaScript include Node.js, AngularJS, ReactJS, jQuery, and Vue.js.