One of the main obstacles faced by web developers during early days was the completely mess behavior between different browsers. Those days, web development was oriented to browsers. Thanks to ECMA and the community this challenging scenario has changed to a clear and solid language specification.

ECMA

ECMA (European Computer International) is an industry association founded in 1961, dedicated to the standardization of information and communication systems. The organization is responsible for keeping ECMAScript specification.

ECMAScript first release was published in June 1997 after Netscape submitted JavaScript to the ECMA. The first release was based on Javascript (Netscape browser script implementation) and JScript (Microsoft browser script implementation).

Specification x Implementation

Having that in mind, it gets clear the difference between ECMAScript and JavaScript. The first refers to the specification while the second for the implementation.

Study ECMAScript means look to the future of the language. The specification establishes the functionalities that browsers need to implement. This compatibility table shows the relation between ECMAScript functionalities and browsers compatibility.

ECMAScript 6

Also known as ES6, ECMAScript 2015, ES2015, released on June 2015, is the sixth edition of the specification and it has implemented important features that will let the language more familiar for those with Java, C# and similar backgrounds.

Though these functionalities are considered, for most of the community, as a great evolution to the language, some argue that we’re constructing a mess and in certain aspects, in fact this make sense, in the trial of making a friendly language for everyone, we end up with something without purpose, with high complexity and hard to understand.

ECMAScript 7

The seventh edition, released on June 2016, meets the committee’s goal of an annual release for the specification. This version released the following functionalities:

• Array.prototype.includes
• Exponentiation Operator
• Object.values/Object.entries
• String padding
• Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptors

Contributing to ECMAScript

The Ecma TC39 committee is responsible for evolving the ECMAScript specification. Everyone who has a proposal for the specification needs to meet the following requirements:

• Accept the TC39 copyright and patent policies;
• Read the TC39 process document;
• Register as a TC39 contributor.

The pillars of a great building

ECMAScript establishes the pillars of a present and future great building constructed over javascript, expanding its usage, in a coherent way, of a script web language for almost everything. From server-side programming to internet of things. And the understand of its construction process is a key knowledge for every IT professional.