What is JavaScript?

JavaScript is a lightweight, interpreted, high-level programming language with first-class functions. It is the only programming language natively supported by all web browsers, making it the backbone of interactive web experiences. Originally created by Brendan Eich at Netscape in 1995 in just 10 days, JavaScript has grown from a simple scripting language into a versatile, full-stack language used for frontend (React, Vue, Angular), backend (Node.js), mobile (React Native), and desktop (Electron) development. It follows the ECMAScript specification (the latest being ES2024). JavaScript is single-threaded, dynamically typed, and prototype-based, supporting event-driven, functional, and object-oriented programming paradigms.