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44-474: A gizmo is a gadget , especially one whose real name is unknown or forgotten. Gizmo may also refer to: Gadget The etymology of the word is disputed. The word first appears as reference to an 18th-century tool in glassmaking that was developed as a spring pontil . As stated in the glass dictionary published by the Corning Museum of Glass, a gadget is a "metal rod with a spring clip that grips

88-839: A browser war with Netscape. On the JavaScript front, Microsoft created its own interpreter called JScript . Microsoft first released JScript in 1996, alongside initial support for CSS and extensions to HTML . Each of these implementations was noticeably different from their counterparts in Netscape Navigator . These differences made it difficult for developers to make their websites work well in both browsers, leading to widespread use of "best viewed in Netscape" and "best viewed in Internet Explorer" logos for several years. Brendan Eich later said of this period: "It's still kind of

132-535: A graphical user interface , Mosaic , was released in 1993. Accessible to non-technical people, it played a prominent role in the rapid growth of the early World Wide Web . The lead developers of Mosaic then founded the Netscape corporation, which released a more polished browser, Netscape Navigator , in 1994. This quickly became the most-used. During these formative years of the Web, web pages could only be static, lacking

176-519: A sidekick language. It's considered slow or annoying. People do pop-ups or those scrolling messages in the old status bar at the bottom of your old browser ." In November 1996, Netscape submitted JavaScript to Ecma International , as the starting point for a standard specification that all browser vendors could conform to. This led to the official release of the first ECMAScript language specification in June 1997. The standards process continued for

220-474: A China tea-clipper containing the earliest known usage in print. A widely circulated story holds that the word gadget was "invented" when Gaget, Gauthier & Cie, the company behind the repoussé construction of the Statue of Liberty (1886), made a small-scale version of the monument and named it after their firm; however this contradicts the evidence that the word was already used before in nautical circles, and

264-532: A Navigator beta in September 1995, the name was changed to JavaScript for the official release in December. The choice of the JavaScript name has caused confusion, implying that it is directly related to Java. At the time, the dot-com boom had begun and Java was a popular new language, so Eich considered the JavaScript name a marketing ploy by Netscape. Microsoft debuted Internet Explorer in 1995, leading to

308-418: A database query to return information. The notable standalone runtimes are Node.js , Deno , and Bun . The following features are common to all conforming ECMAScript implementations unless explicitly specified otherwise. JavaScript supports much of the structured programming syntax from C (e.g., if statements, while loops, switch statements, do while loops, etc.). One partial exception

352-436: A few years, with the release of ECMAScript 2 in June 1998 and ECMAScript 3 in December 1999. Work on ECMAScript 4 began in 2000. However, the effort to fully standardize the language was undermined by Microsoft gaining an increasingly dominant position in the browser market. By the early 2000s, Internet Explorer 's market share reached 95%. This meant that JScript became the de facto standard for client-side scripting on

396-577: A pilot in the British Royal Flying Corps , there is the following passage: "Our ennui was occasionally relieved by new gadgets—'gadget' is the Flying Corps slang for invention! Some gadgets were good, some comic and some extraordinary." By the second half of the twentieth century, the term "gadget" had taken on the connotations of compactness and mobility. In the 1965 essay "The Great Gizmo" (a term used interchangeably with "gadget" throughout

440-452: A stand-alone JavaScript runtime system. As of 2018, Node had been used by millions of developers, and npm had the most modules of any package manager in the world. The ECMAScript draft specification is currently maintained openly on GitHub , and editions are produced via regular annual snapshots. Potential revisions to the language are vetted through a comprehensive proposal process. Now, instead of edition numbers, developers check

484-827: A variety of other software systems, both for server-side website deployments and non-browser applications . Initial attempts at promoting server-side JavaScript usage were Netscape Enterprise Server and Microsoft 's Internet Information Services , but they were small niches. Server-side usage eventually started to grow in the late 2000s, with the creation of Node.js and other approaches . Electron , Cordova , React Native , and other application frameworks have been used to create many applications with behavior implemented in JavaScript. Other non-browser applications include Adobe Acrobat support for scripting PDF documents and GNOME Shell extensions written in JavaScript. JavaScript has been used in some embedded systems , usually by leveraging Node.js. A JavaScript engine

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528-520: A white paper in which he coined the term Ajax and described a set of technologies, of which JavaScript was the backbone, to create web applications where data can be loaded in the background, avoiding the need for full page reloads. This sparked a renaissance period of JavaScript, spearheaded by open-source libraries and the communities that formed around them. Many new libraries were created, including jQuery , Prototype , Dojo Toolkit , and MooTools . Google debuted its Chrome browser in 2008, with

572-524: Is scoping : originally JavaScript only had function scoping with var ; block scoping was added in ECMAScript 2015 with the keywords let and const . Like C, JavaScript makes a distinction between expressions and statements . One syntactic difference from C is automatic semicolon insertion , which allow semicolons (which terminate statements) to be omitted. JavaScript is weakly typed , which means certain types are implicitly cast depending on

616-488: Is a high-level , often just-in-time compiled language that conforms to the ECMAScript standard. It has dynamic typing , prototype-based object-orientation , and first-class functions . It is multi-paradigm , supporting event-driven , functional , and imperative programming styles . It has application programming interfaces (APIs) for working with text, dates, regular expressions , standard data structures , and

660-413: Is a programming language and core technology of the Web , alongside HTML and CSS . 99% of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior. Web browsers have a dedicated JavaScript engine that executes the client code . These engines are also utilized in some servers and a variety of apps . The most popular runtime system for non-browser usage is Node.js . JavaScript

704-518: Is a software component that executes JavaScript code . The first JavaScript engines were mere interpreters , but all relevant modern engines use just-in-time compilation for improved performance. JavaScript engines are typically developed by web browser vendors, and every major browser has one. In a browser, the JavaScript engine runs in concert with the rendering engine via the Document Object Model and Web IDL bindings. However,

748-487: Is by far the most-used. Other notable ones include Angular , Bootstrap , Lodash , Modernizr , React , Underscore , and Vue . Multiple options can be used in conjunction, such as jQuery and Bootstrap. However, the term "Vanilla JS" was coined for websites not using any libraries or frameworks at all, instead relying entirely on standard JavaScript functionality. The use of JavaScript has expanded beyond its web browser roots. JavaScript engines are now embedded in

792-460: Is independent of any physical or social infrastructure beyond that by which it may be ordered from catalogue and delivered to its prospective user. A class of servants to human needs, these clip-on devices, these portable gadgets, have coloured American thought and action far more deeply––I suspect––than is commonly understood. The first atomic bomb was nicknamed the gadget by the Scientists of

836-408: Is older in this context. In the movie " Back to School " from 1986 by Alan Metter, there is a scene where an economics professor Dr. Barbay, wants to start for educational purposes a fictional company that produces "widgets: It's a fictional product." JavaScript This is an accepted version of this page JavaScript ( / ˈ dʒ ɑː v ə s k r ɪ p t / ), often abbreviated as JS ,

880-543: Is the dominant client-side scripting language of the Web, with 99% of all websites using it for this purpose. Scripts are embedded in or included from HTML documents and interact with the DOM . All major web browsers have a built-in JavaScript engine that executes the code on the user's device. Over 80% of websites use a third-party JavaScript library or web framework as part of their client-side scripting. jQuery

924-410: Is unknown or has for the moment been forgotten. I have also frequently heard it applied by motor-cycle friends to the collection of fitments to be seen on motor cycles. 'His handle-bars are smothered in gadgets' refers to such things as speedometers, mirrors, levers, badges, mascots, &c., attached to the steering handles. The 'jigger' or short-rest used in billiards is also often called a 'gadget'; and

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968-450: The Document Object Model (DOM). The ECMAScript standard does not include any input/output (I/O), such as networking , storage , or graphics facilities. In practice, the web browser or other runtime system provides JavaScript APIs for I/O. Although Java and JavaScript are similar in name, syntax , and respective standard libraries , the two languages are distinct and differ greatly in design. The first popular web browser with

1012-511: The Firefox browser. Firefox was well received by many, taking significant market share from Internet Explorer. In 2005, Mozilla joined ECMA International, and work started on the ECMAScript for XML (E4X) standard. This led to Mozilla working jointly with Macromedia (later acquired by Adobe Systems ), who were implementing E4X in their ActionScript 3 language, which was based on an ECMAScript 4 draft. The goal became standardizing ActionScript 3 as

1056-613: The Manhattan Project , tested at the Trinity site. In the software industry, Gadget refers to computer programs that provide services without needing an independent application to be launched for each one, but instead run in an environment that manages multiple gadgets. There are several implementations based on existing software development techniques, like JavaScript , form input, and various image formats. Proprietary formats include Google Desktop , Google Gadgets , Microsoft Gadgets ,

1100-500: The V8 JavaScript engine that was faster than its competition. The key innovation was just-in-time compilation (JIT), so other browser vendors needed to overhaul their engines for JIT. In July 2008, these disparate parties came together for a conference in Oslo . This led to the eventual agreement in early 2009 to combine all relevant work and drive the language forward. The result was

1144-732: The AmigaOS Workbench and dashboard software Apple Widgets . The earliest documented use of the term gadget in context of software engineering was in 1985 by the developers of AmigaOS , the operating system of the Amiga computers ( intuition.library and also later gadtools.library ). It denotes what other technological traditions call GUI widget —a control element in graphical user interface . This naming convention remains in continuing use (as of 2008) since then. The X11 windows system 'Intrinsics' also defines gadgets and their relationship to widgets (buttons, labels, etc.). The gadget

1188-511: The ECMAScript 5 standard, released in December 2009. Ambitious work on the language continued for several years, culminating in an extensive collection of additions and refinements being formalized with the publication of ECMAScript 6 in 2015. The creation of Node.js in 2009 by Ryan Dahl sparked a significant increase in the usage of JavaScript outside of web browsers. Node combines the V8 engine, an event loop , and I/O APIs , thereby providing

1232-537: The Plymouth meeting of the Devonshire Association in 1916 when it was suggested that this word should be recorded in the list of local verbal provincialisms. Several members dissented from its inclusion on the ground that it is in common use throughout the country; and a naval officer who was present said that it has for years been a popular expression in the service for a tool or implement, the exact name of which

1276-470: The United States. The trademark was originally issued to Sun Microsystems on 6 May 1997, and was transferred to Oracle when they acquired Sun in 2009. A letter was circulated in September 2024, spearheaded by Ryan Dahl , calling on Oracle to free the JavaScript trademark . Brendan Eich the original creator of JavaScript, was among the over 14,000 signatories who supported the initiative. JavaScript

1320-405: The Web. Microsoft initially participated in the standards process and implemented some proposals in its JScript language, but eventually it stopped collaborating on ECMA work. Thus ECMAScript 4 was mothballed. During the period of Internet Explorer dominance in the early 2000s, client-side scripting was stagnant. This started to change in 2004, when the successor of Netscape, Mozilla , released

1364-426: The ability to import scripts. JavaScript is a single- threaded language. The runtime processes messages from a queue one at a time, and it calls a function associated with each new message, creating a call stack frame with the function's arguments and local variables . The call stack shrinks and grows based on the function's needs. When the call stack is empty upon function completion, JavaScript proceeds to

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1408-519: The capability for dynamic behavior after the page was loaded in the browser. There was a desire in the flourishing web development scene to remove this limitation, so in 1995, Netscape decided to add a programming language to Navigator. They pursued two routes to achieve this: collaborating with Sun Microsystems to embed the Java language, while also hiring Brendan Eich to embed the Scheme language. The goal

1452-425: The essay), the architectural and design critic Reyner Banham defines the item as: A characteristic class of US products––perhaps the most characteristic––is a small self-contained unit of high performance in relation to its size and cost, whose function is to transform some undifferentiated set of circumstances to a condition nearer human desires. The minimum of skills is required in its installation and use, and it

1496-552: The fact that it did not become popular, at least in the US, until after World War I. Other sources cite a derivation from the French gâchette which has been applied to various pieces of a firing mechanism, or the French gagée , a small tool or accessory. The October 1918 issue of Notes and Queries contains a multi-article entry on the word "gadget" (12 S. iv. 187). H. Tapley-Soper of The City Library, Exeter , writes: A discussion arose at

1540-475: The foot of a vessel and so avoids the use of a pontil". Gadgets were first used in the late 18th century. According to the Oxford English Dictionary , there is anecdotal evidence for the use of "gadget" as a placeholder name for a technical item whose precise name one can't remember since the 1850s; with Robert Brown's 1886 book Spunyarn and Spindrift, A sailor boy's log of a voyage out and home in

1584-448: The name has been applied by local platelayers to the 'gauge' used to test the accuracy of their work. In fact, to borrow from present-day Army slang, 'gadget' is applied to 'any old thing.' The usage of the term in military parlance extended beyond the navy. In the book Above the Battle by Vivian Drake, published in 1918 by D. Appleton & Co., of New York and London, being the memoirs of

1628-492: The new ECMAScript 4. To this end, Adobe Systems released the Tamarin implementation as an open source project. However, Tamarin and ActionScript 3 were too different from established client-side scripting, and without cooperation from Microsoft , ECMAScript 4 never reached fruition. Meanwhile, very important developments were occurring in open-source communities not affiliated with ECMA work. In 2005, Jesse James Garrett released

1672-414: The next message in the queue. This is called the event loop , described as "run to completion" because each message is fully processed before the next message is considered. However, the language's concurrency model describes the event loop as non-blocking : program I/O is performed using events and callback functions . This means, for example, that JavaScript can process a mouse click while waiting for

1716-409: The operation used. Values are cast to strings like the following: Values are cast to numbers by casting to strings and then casting the strings to numbers. These processes can be modified by defining toString and valueOf functions on the prototype for string and number casting respectively. JavaScript has received criticism for the way it implements these conversions as the complexity of

1760-437: The rules can be mistaken for inconsistency. For example, when adding a number to a string, the number will be cast to a string before performing concatenation, but when subtracting a number from a string, the string is cast to a number before performing subtraction. Often also mentioned is {} + [] resulting in 0 (number). This is misleading: the {} is interpreted as an empty code block instead of an empty object, and

1804-436: The status of upcoming features individually. The current JavaScript ecosystem has many libraries and frameworks , established programming practices, and substantial usage of JavaScript outside of web browsers. Plus, with the rise of single-page applications and other JavaScript-heavy websites, several transpilers have been created to aid the development process. "JavaScript" is a trademark of Oracle Corporation in

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1848-502: The use of JavaScript engines is not limited to browsers; for example, the V8 engine is a core component of the Node.js runtime system . A JavaScript engine must be embedded within a runtime system (such as a web browser or a standalone system) to enable scripts to interact with the broader environment. The runtime system includes the necessary APIs for input/output operations, such as networking , storage , and graphics , and provides

1892-399: Was a "language for the masses", "to help nonprogrammers create dynamic, interactive Web sites ". Netscape management soon decided that the best option was for Eich to devise a new language, with syntax similar to Java and less like Scheme or other extant scripting languages . Although the new language and its interpreter implementation were called LiveScript when first shipped as part of

1936-478: Was a windowless widget which was supposed to improve the performance of the application by reducing the memory load on the X server. A gadget would use the Window id of its parent widget and had no children of its own. It is not known whether other software companies are explicitly drawing on that inspiration when featuring the word in names of their technologies or simply referring to the generic meaning. The word widget

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