Javascript is a high level, object oriented, multi-paradigm programming language:

• It is high level because we do not have to think about a lot of complex stuff such as managing the computer memory while it runs the program.
• It is object oriented because the language is based on the concept of objects for storing most kinds of data.
• It is multi-paradigm because it is flexible and versatile. Javascript has a lot of use not only in websites and it is important that we know a little about its history and other features as users of the language.

  History of Javascript

  Story time: Quickly after the internet was invented and the two web browsers were developed, developers needed a programming language to make the web more interactive. Sidenote: Javascript was initially built to make websites interactive not to build web applications as used presently. In 1995, the Nescape navigator hired Brendan Eich to create the first Javascript in just 10 days!. Its first name was Mocha. In 1996, Mocha was changed to Livescript and then to Javascript for marketing purposes. Although, Javascript and Java are two different languages. Later in the year, Microsoft launches Internet Explorer and copied Javascript from Netscape and called it script for legal reasons. With a need to standardize the language, ECMA releases ECMASCRIPT1(ES1), the first official standard for javascript. ECMASCRIPT is used to refer to the standard while Javascript is used when we talk about the language in practice. 2009- ES5 was released with new features. 2015- ES6, the single biggest update to the language ever. After ES6 was released, ECMASCRIPT changed to an annual release of cycle in order to ship less features per update.

Backwards and Forward Compatibility

Backwards Compatibility: If you bring any code from Es1 and put into the latest browser engines, it will still work perfectly without any error; that is why old websites that were built with Es1, ES2 and so on still work perfectly in new web browsers. This is because a fundamental principle that is baked into Javascript language which is not to break the web, this means nothing is removed rather new updates are incremental updates which add new stuff.

Forwards Compatibility: Javascript is not forward compatibility rather backward compatibility. Forward compatibility means that futures codes cannot work in old web engines. Both the Backwards and Forwards Compatibility have their pros and cons. Common! how would a language that was built in 10 days not have bugs and weird stuff plus the fact that the old release of the languages cannot be removed even with the bugs and weird stuff, it is a wonderful language.

Browser Support for Es releases Es5- Fully supported in all browsers down to Internet Explorer 9 from 2011. Es6/2015-Es2020- It is well supported in all modern browsers but no support in older browsers that is why polfilling and transpilling with Babel is done to covert the modern Javascript to Es5 in other to work in older browsers.

Thank you for reading! I will be in the comment section.