eCommerce Glossary: What is JavaScript?

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What is JavaScript and How it Works

Intro to JavaScript

You must be wondering, what is JavaScript? Why should I bother with it? To answer your question, JavaScript refers to a technical programming language mainly used by web designers to create an innovative and interactive web browser experience. It was first introduced in the late 1990s to be used in the Netscape Navigator Browser.

In the early days of the internet, web pages were quite basic. Web developers did not have the tools to make any dynamic elements on the webpage. Old websites did not offer much in terms of user interaction, something unheard of in today’s internet world.

But with JavaScript, web designers were able to transform the web page into its current avatar. With JavaScript, internet users get the opportunity to interact with a web page through animations, videos, adaptive content, and form validation.

Two people collaborating on web design with connected UI components

Initially, JavaScript worked on a limited number of browsers. However, it became an industry-standard at the beginning of the 21st century, with the onset of the dot com boom. The popularity and usefulness of the program have not waned since. It remains ever-popular among programmers and developers. Despite its popularity and acceptance, JavaScript has battled with issues with compatibility with certain browsers over the years. This article is a useful primer to understand the basics of JavaScript and why it is an essential tool in the digital landscape.

JavaScript is a computer language that requires some basic skills in programming. In layman’s language, JavaScript is a client-side programming language that is designed to perform all the tasks on the client machine, without any interference with the server. Basic web applications like the search browser work based on the interaction between the user device and the main server.

Here is a perfect example of how JavaScript works: When you can interact with a web page's elements despite our internet connection going down. JavaScript allows the user to interact with the elements on a web page loaded when the device was connected. It doesn’t require any input from the main website server. However, you can't access new links or data remotely; you have to be online to receive that information.

Unlike other programming languages like C++, JavaScript is an interpreted language. The codes written in JavaScript are meant to be read and interpreted by the computer simultaneously. Modern JavaScript has powerful code that makes the browser experience smooth and bug-free.

Building Unique Functionality Into an Application or Web Page

What Is The Use Of JavaScript?

JavaScript is practically used everywhere on the internet. It is the primary way web designers make any website suitable for user interaction. Here are some common ways people use and interact with JavaScript online.

  • Autocorrect: All of us are familiar with this feature that exists on all popular search browsers. With autocorrect, the website can predetermine what the user search query is going to be.
  • Loading new data on to the webpage without refreshing the page. This is also called asynchronous interaction. In simple terms, it means that JavaScript can communicate with the server to load new elements onto the web page without disturbing the user interaction and experience taking place. This is arguably one of the most powerful and useful features of JavaScript.
  • Playing audio and video elements on the web page.
  • Playing animated features across the web page, including fading, relocating, and resizing.
  • Repairing compatibility issues with the browser.
  • Validating input from web forms. This is another way web developers utilize the asynchronous function of JavaScript. A user can fill in a form online without having to reload the page to view new elements on the website.

As we can see, JavaScript works in the backend to enable a smooth online experience for the user. It runs in the background to send all the inputs being fed into the website to the main server, which interprets this information to give what the user is searching for.

Overall, JavaScript is pretty important within the digital landscape. This is the reason why developers prioritize working on JavaScript and perfecting the code. JavaScript does the heavy lifting of ensuring the perfect transmission of information between the user device and the main server.

Where Can I Learn JavaScript?

If you have a knack for coding, then you will benefit from learning JavaScript. As a programming language, JavaScript is an essential part of any software or web designer's tool kit. As programming languages go, JavaScript is quite easy to learn. You can easily start your journey with JavaScript by taking an online course through SkillShare, Coursera, or edX, or you can choose to watch YouTube videos on coding in JavaScript. With practice and dedication, you will be a pro at JavaScript in no time.

Learning JavaScript will make your professional profile more attractive as it is a skill that is sought after in the tech industry.

Why Should You Use JavaScript?

JavaScript is definitely here to stay. The nature of the internet and how we interact with it makes JavaScript a necessary part of the digital ecosystem. It is still widely used by tech companies and web designers to enable their websites to be user friendly and dynamic. JavaScript is an integral part of the internet. It has allowed developers to build the most innovative and complex ways to interact with a web page.

The programming language fosters innovation and creativity by being the tool with which developers create new and exciting web experiences. Our virtual world of phones, the internet, social media, and computers is incomplete without JavaScript. The future of JavaScript lies in constant innovation.

Disadvantages Of Using JavaScript

While JavaScript has become an industry-standard in the world of web designing, there are some drawbacks to the software. Software experts have pointed out that JavaScript is weakly typed and not an object-oriented language.

Many developers find JavaScript difficult and cumbersome to work with. However, they have tried to solve this problem by tweaking the programming language to improve versions of JavaScript. Since JavaScript is used everywhere, developers must focus on innovating high quality, bug-free programming language that can enable coders to create elegant codes.

Innovation has led to improved JavaScript languages called TypeScript. It solves the problems that JavaScript has by being strongly typed and object-oriented. Developers have also created JavaScript libraries, which codes and frameworks to make web design a faster process. Examples of this include Angular ember and React JavaScript frameworks. JavaScript frameworks have become a regular feature in any developers’ kit for browser-based UI development. jQuery, Prototype, and Dojo are a few popular versions of JavaScript libraries that exist.