Variable declarations and more in the new JavaScript in 2022
ECMAScript (more commonly known as JavaScript) is a scripting language with a checkered history. It was originally assembled as an extensibility point for Netscape Navigator, one of the first web browsers. Originally named for the connection to Java™, which was rapidly developing a cool factor at the time, it was panned for many years as the lesser of the two languages. Morphing to the ECMA standard in 1997 won the language some credibility, but the first major standard release, ECMAScript 4, split the community in half. It took a timorous, errata-style release — ECMAScript 5, so-called “Harmony” — to rebuild any sense of unity. Lately, though, JavaScript has taken the role of the comeback kid. Buoyed by Node.js, it has emerged as a server-side powerhouse. After being formally adopted as a standard in June 2015, ECMAScript 2015 (also known as ECMAScript 6, or ES6) is coming into mainstream use. ECMAScript 2016 was adopted as a specification in June 2016. With libraries and package...