What is JavaScript?

If you have ever used a web page that allows you to do things like fill out forms, scroll maps, or register for events then chances are that the javascript programming behind those pages is what enabled you to interact with them. HTML provides the structure and CSS adds the style but javascript is what brings those pages to life.

JavaScript is a computer programming language that was created to “make web pages come alive”. It is written as plain text and can be embedded directly into HTML, it then runs automatically when the page loads. This gives a developer the power to do lots of stuff including controlling multimedia within a page, creating animation and even making the page interactive.

When a user enters data into a form on a website and submits it, it is the javascript behind that form that determines whether or not the input is valid before sending it off to the server for processing. JavaScript also makes it possible to trap user-initiated actions such as button clicks or link navigation allowing the user to get immediate feedback without having to wait for the page to reload.

In the world of web development javascript is one of the most essential tools for developers to have at their disposal. It allows them to create complex and interactive websites and applications and is what sets them apart from static HTML pages.

The best part about javascript is that every Internet browser has a built-in interpreter for it meaning that it can run on just about any device anywhere in the world. That is a huge advantage over other languages that may not have such an extensive reach.

As a scripting language javascript allows you to do anything that any other programming language could do but it also has some special features that make it more powerful than most. For example, javascript has the ability to handle multiple tasks at once using techniques such as event loops and batching DOM updates. It is also a dynamic weakly typed language which means that you do not have to declare the types of your variables and their true type is determined at runtime. Lastly, it supports prototypal inheritance which is a type of object-oriented programming where you can inherit behaviors from other objects.

Javascript is very easy to learn and once you understand its basics it is fairly simple to pick up and use. There is a lot of information available to help you get started as well as a wide variety of resources for getting more advanced with it. It is not a programming language that should be ignored and it is definitely worth learning if you want to take your web application development skills to the next level.

So how does javascript actually work behind the scenes? In a word, it gets translated into assembly which is a language that processors can understand. The processor takes care of converting the javascript into the actual executable code and then it executes.