Learning React, 3rd Edition

Chapter 2. JavaScript for React

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Since its release in 1995, JavaScript has gone through many changes. At first, we used JavaScript to add interactive elements to web pages: button clicks, hover states, form validation, and so on. Later, Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) made it possible to load data without refreshing the page, and websites started to feel more like apps. Today, JavaScript runs on servers too, thanks to Node.js, so we can use one language to build an entire application.

JavaScript’s evolution has been guided by a group of individuals from companies that use JavaScript, browser vendors, and community leaders. The committee in charge of shepherding the changes to JavaScript over the years is the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA). Changes to the language are community-driven, originating from proposals written by community members. Anyone can submit a proposal to the committee. The responsibility of the ECMA committee is to manage and prioritize these proposals ...