JavaScript is a programming language that developers use to create interactive web pages. From updating social media news feeds to displaying animations and interactive maps, JavaScript functions can improve the user’s experience of interacting with a website. JavaScript is a programming language for developing scripts to run on the client side, making it one of the underlying technologies on the World Wide Web. For example, the image carousel, clickable drop-down menus, and dynamically changing colors of elements on a web page that you see as you browse the Internet are made with JavaScript.
What does JavaScript do?
Historically, web pages were static, similar to pages in a book. A static page basically displayed information in a fixed form and didn’t do all the things we now expect from a modern website. The JavaScript language emerged as a browser-side technology to make web applications more dynamic. Using it, browsers could respond to user interaction and change the layout of content on a web page.
As the language evolved, JavaScript developers created libraries, frameworks, and programming practices and began using it outside of web browsers. Today, JavaScript can be used for both client-side and server-side development. In the following subsections, we provide some general examples of use.
Historically, web pages were static, similar to pages in a book. A static page basically displayed information in a fixed form and didn’t do all the things we now expect from a modern website. The JavaScript language emerged as a browser-side technology to make web applications more dynamic. Using it, browsers could respond to user interaction and change the layout of content on a web page.
As the language evolved, JavaScript developers created libraries, frameworks, and programming practices and began using it outside of web browsers. Today, JavaScript can be used for both client-side and server-side development. In the following subsections, we provide some general examples of use.