Web JavaScript English (US)
JavaScript
JavaScript (JS) is a lightweight interpreted (or just-in-time compiled) programming language with first-class functions.
While it is most well-known as the scripting language for Web pages, many non-browser environments also use it, such as
[Link], Apache CouchDB and Adobe Acrobat . JavaScript is a prototype-based, garbage-collected, dynamic language,
supporting multiple paradigms such as imperative, functional, and object-oriented.
JavaScript's dynamic capabilities include runtime object construction, variable parameter lists, function variables, dynamic
script creation (via eval ), object introspection (via for...in and Object utilities), and source-code recovery (JavaScript
functions store their source text and can be retrieved through toString() ).
This section is dedicated to the JavaScript language itself, and not the parts that are specific to Web pages or other host
environments. For information about APIs that are specific to Web pages, please see Web APIs and DOM.
The standards for JavaScript are the ECMAScript Language Specification (ECMA-262) and the ECMAScript
Internationalization API specification (ECMA-402). As soon as one browser implements a feature, we try to document it.
This means that cases where some proposals for new ECMAScript features have already been implemented in browsers,
documentation and examples in MDN articles may use some of those new features. Most of the time, this happens between
the stages 3 and 4, and is usually before the spec is officially published.
Do not confuse JavaScript with the Java programming language — JavaScript is not "Interpreted Java". Both "Java" and
"JavaScript" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle in the U.S. and other countries. However, the two
programming languages have very different syntax, semantics, and use.
JavaScript documentation of core language features (pure ECMAScript, for the most part) includes the following:
The JavaScript guide
The JavaScript reference
For more information about JavaScript specifications and related technologies, see JavaScript technologies overview.
Beginner's tutorials
Our learn web development core modules contain modern, up-to-date tutorials covering JavaScript fundamentals.
Your first website: Adding interactivity
This article provides a brief tour of what JavaScript is and how to use it, aimed at people who are completely new to web
development.
Dynamic scripting with JavaScript
This module focuses on the essentials of the core JavaScript language, plus some key surrounding topics — learning
these topics will give you a solid basis to work from.
JavaScript frameworks and libraries
JavaScript frameworks are an essential part of modern front-end web development, providing developers with tried and
tested tools for building scalable, interactive web applications. Many modern companies use frameworks as a standard
part of their tooling, so many front-end development jobs now require framework experience. This set of articles provides
a comfortable starting point to help you begin learning frameworks.
JavaScript guides
Fundamental language guides
JavaScript Guide
A much more detailed guide to the JavaScript language, aimed at those with previous programming experience either in
JavaScript or another language.
Intermediate
Advanced JavaScript objects
The object-oriented nature of JavaScript is important to understand if you want to go further with your knowledge of the
language and write more efficient code, therefore we've provided this module to help you.
Asynchronous JavaScript
In this module, we take a look at asynchronous JavaScript, why it is important, and how it can be used to effectively
handle potential blocking operations, such as fetching resources from a server.
Client-side web APIs
Explores what APIs are, and how to use some of the most common APIs you'll come across often in your development
work.
JavaScript language overview
An overview of the basic syntax and semantics of JavaScript for those coming from other programming languages to get
up to speed.
JavaScript data structures
Overview of available data structures in JavaScript.
Equality comparisons and sameness
JavaScript provides three different value comparison operations: strict equality using === , loose equality using == , and
the [Link]() method.
Enumerability and ownership of properties
How different methods that visit a group of object properties one-by-one handle the enumerability and ownership of
properties.
Closures
A closure is the combination of a function and the lexical environment within which that function was declared.
Advanced
Inheritance and the prototype chain
Explanation of the widely misunderstood and underestimated prototype-based inheritance.
Memory Management
Memory life cycle and garbage collection in JavaScript.
Reference
Browse the complete JavaScript reference documentation.
Standard objects
Get to know standard built-in objects: Array , Boolean , Error , Function , JSON , Math , Number , Object , RegExp ,
String , Map , Set , WeakMap , WeakSet , and others.
Expressions and operators
Learn more about the behavior of JavaScript's operators instanceof , typeof , new , this , the operator precedence,
and more.
Statements and declarations
Learn how do-while , for-in , for-of , try-catch , let , var , const , if-else , switch , and more JavaScript
statements and keywords work.
Functions
Learn how to work with JavaScript's functions to develop your applications.
Classes
JavaScript classes are the most appropriate way to do object-oriented programming.
Your blueprint for a better internet.