Wikipedia:WikiProject JavaScript/Glossary of JavaScript

This is an alphabetized glossary of terms pertaining to the programming language JavaScript, along with their meanings in the context of that language. JavaScript is the programming language of the Web. It is one of the 3 core web development technologies (the other two being HTML and CSS), and it is used on most web pages. Note that JavaScript is not related to Java; they are two distinctly different programming languages. Communication about JavaScript is highly jargonized. The following entries should help in understanding reading material about JavaScript, and serve as search terms for exploring the subject further.

0-9

404: same as HTTP 404

4040 Not Found: same as HTTP 404

A

Abstraction: add contents here

Ajax "(asynchronous JavaScript and XML)": set of web development techniques using many web technologies on the client-side to create asynchronous Web applications. With Ajax, web applications can send data to and retrieve from a server asynchronously (in the background) without interfering with the display and behavior of the existing page. By decoupling the data interchange layer from the presentation layer, Ajax allows for web pages, and by extension web applications, to change content dynamically without the need to reload the entire page.

Alert: an alert dialog box

Algorithm: set of computer instructions to produce an output or end state from an input or beginning state. What programs are made of.

Application development: add contents here

API: add contents here

Application programming interface: add contents here

: add contents here

Array: add contents here

Array literal: add contents here

Multi-dimensional array: add contents here

Array constructor: add contents here

Asynchrony: add contents here

Asynchronous JavaScript: add contents here

Asynchronous module definition (AMD): add contents here

Attribute: HTML attribute, a special word used inside the opening tag to control the tag's behaviour. An attribute is a modifier of an element type.

B

Best practice: add contents here

Bookmarklet: technique of saving JavaScript within a bookmark or hyperlink, so that it can be executed by clicking on it. In many cases, the link can be dragged and dropped to the browser toolbar for easier access.

Boolean: add contents here

Boolean literal: add contents here

Boolean logical operator: add contents here

C

Camel case: or camelCase

Cascading Style Sheets: add contents here

Chaining: add contents here

Chakra: JavaScript engine developed by Microsoft for its Microsoft Edge web browser. It is a fork of the JScript engine used in Internet Explorer.

Class: add contents here

Client-side: add contents here

Client-side JavaScript: add contents here

Closure: add contents here

Code comment: same as "comment".

Comment: add contents here

CommonJS: project to create specifications for JavaScript beyond client-side scripting, to expand it into a more full-fledged language. For example, for writing server-side scripts and native desktop applications.

Console: add contents here

console.log: add contents here

console.time: add contents here

Concatenation: add contents here

CouchDB: server database that uses JavaScript as its query language.

CSS: Cascading Style Sheets.

Comparison operator: add contents here

D

Data type: add contents here

Declarative programming: add contents here

Document Object Model: the hierarchy (tree) produced by the browser of all the elements of a webpage. By processing the DOM via "methods" (functions stored as object properties, that is, the actions that can be performed on objects), JavaScript can dynamically change the page's HTML.^[1]

DOM: Document Object Model

Do while loop: add contents here

Dynamic HTML: predecessor of Unobtrusive JavaScript.

E

ECMAScript: the specification language upon which JavaScript is based. The terms "EMCAScript" and "JavaScript" are used interchangeably within the field. 'ES' has also been used as a prefix for shorthand names of versions of JavaScript:

'ES5': ECMAScript Fifth Edition, adopted in 2009.

'ES6' / 'ES2015': ECMAScript Sixth Edition, adopted in 2015.

'ES7' / 'ES2016': ECMAScript Seventh Edition, adopted in 2016.

'ES2017': ECMAScript Eighth Edition, adopted in 2017.

Ecosystem: add contents here

Element: HTML element, an individual component of an HTML document or web page, once this has been parsed into the Document Object Model.

Else: add contents here

Else if: add contents here

Engine (list): "JavaScript engine", a program or library which executes JavaScript code. A JavaScript engine may be a traditional interpreter, or it may utilize just-in-time compilation to bytecode in some manner.^[2] A JavaScript engine is most commonly included in web browsers, but is also a key component of JavaScript runtime environments and other software (such as database management systems).

Etymology of JavaScript: add contents here

Event: action or occurrence recognized by software, often originating asynchronously from the external environment, that may be handled by the software. Computer events can be generated or triggered by the system, by the user (via keystrokes or a mouse clicks), or in other ways.

Event-driven programming: software that changes its behavior in response to events is said to be event-driven, often with the goal of being interactive.

Expression: add contents here

F

First-class function: the functions of a language are first-class functions if they are first-class objects. The functions in JavaScript are first-class objects, and therefore, first-class functions.

First-class object: entity which supports all the operations generally available to other entities (such as data types). These operations typically include being passed as an argument, returned from a function, modified, and assigned to a variable. In JavaScript, functions are first-class objects.

For loop: add contents here

Full JavaScript stack: add contents here

Function: add contents here

Generator function: add contents here

Function call: add contents here

Function hoisting: add contents here

Functional programming: add contents here

Falsey: of an expression, evaluating to false rather than true, for example null, 0, and the empty string ""

G

Generator: add contents here

Generator function: add contents here

Greasemonkey: add contents here

H

Hoisting: add contents here

HTML: add contents here

HTML attribute: special word used inside the opening tag to control the tag's behaviour. An attribute is a modifier of an element type.

HTML element: individual component of an HTML document or web page, once this has been parsed into the Document Object Model.

HTML scripting: how locally executable scripts (such as those written in JavaScript) may be used in a web page.

HTML tag: add contents here

HTTP 404: add contents here

I

If: add contents here

If statement: add contents here

Imperative programming: add contents here

J

Java: unrelated programming language that JavaScript is often confused with due to its name. Despite some superficial similarities, they are two distinct languages.

JavaScript best practices: add contents here

JavaScript ecosystem: add contents here

JavaScript engine (list): program or library which executes JavaScript code. A JavaScript engine may be a traditional interpreter, or it may utilize just-in-time compilation to bytecode in some manner.^[2] A JavaScript engine is most commonly included in web browsers, but is also a key component of JavaScript runtime environments and other software (such as database management systems).

- Comparison of JavaScript engines

JavaScript Object Notation: more commonly known as JSON (see below).

JavaScript stack: add contents here

JavaScript templating: add contents here

JavaScript trademark: add contents here

jQuery: add contents here

JS Foundation: add contents here

JScript: essentially, "JavaScript for Internet Explorer". MicroSoft reverse engineered JavaScript and then named the implementation JScript to avoid infringing upon Sun's ownership of the JavaScript trademark. Since then, Microsoft has switched over to using the name JavaScript to refer to the implementation of JScript used in its Edge browser.

JSGI: add contents here

JSON: stands for JavaScript Object Notation, an open-standard file format that uses human-readable text to transmit data objects consisting of attribute–value pairs and array data types (or any other serializable value). It is a very common data format used for asynchronous browser–server communication, including as a replacement for XML in some AJAX-style systems.

JSONP: add contents here

L

Loop: add contents here

For loop: add contents here

While loop: add contents here

- - Do while loop – add contents here

M

Map: add contents here

Method: add contents here

Module: add contents here

Multi-line comment: add contents here

N

Nashorn: JavaScript engine developed in the Java programming language by Oracle. It is based on the Da Vinci Machine (JSR 292) and was released with Java 8. Its purposes are to enable embedding JavaScript in Java applications, and to develop standalone JavaScript applications.

Node.js: open-source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment for executing JavaScript code server-side, to produce dynamic web page content before the page is sent to the user's web browser. Node.js is built upon the Chrome V8 JavaScript engine.

NWJS: add contents here

O

Object: add contents here

Object orientation: add contents here

Object-oriented programming in JavaScript: add contents here

Object-oriented programming: add contents here

Operator: add contents here

P

Promise: add contents here

Prototype (JavaScript): add contents here

Prototype-based programming: add contents here

Regex: regular expressions

Remote scripting: add contents here

Reserved words in JavaScript: add contents here

Rhino: JavaScript engine written fully in Java and managed by the Mozilla Foundation as open source software. It is intended to be used in server-side applications, hence there is no built-in support for the Web browser objects that are commonly associated with JavaScript.

Runtime environment: add contents here

S

Scope: add contents here

Seed: interpreter and a library of the GNOME project to create standalone applications in JavaScript. It uses the JavaScript engine JavaScriptCore of the WebKit project.

Separation of concerns: add contents here

Server-side: add contents here

Server-side JavaScript: add contents here

- Comparison of server-side JavaScript solutions

Server-side scripting: add contents here

Single-line comment: add contents here

SpiderMonkey – the JavaScript engine in Firefox

SquirrelFish: bytecode interpreter rewritten from JavaScriptCore.

Statement: add contents here

String: add contents here

Structured programming: add contents here

Subroutine: another name for "function".

Switch statement: add contents here

T

Tag: add contents here

Tamarin: JavaScript engine still supported as part of Flash Player.

Tampermonkey: add contents here

Ternary operator: add contents here

Transpiler: add contents here

Truthy: Evaluating to a Boolean value of true, e.g. a non-zero number or a non-empty string. See JavaScript syntax#Boolean

U

UI: User interface

Unobtrusive JavaScript: add contents here

User interface: add contents here

Userscript: JavaScript program written to modify web pages to augment browsing. They are installed in browsers by use of a userscript manager browser extension like Tampermonkey or Greasemonkey. A userscript feature is also available for registered users of Wikipedia, and can augment editing and viewing of that encyclopedia's pages.

Userscript manager: add contents here

V

V8: JavaScript engine used in Google Chrome, Couchbase Server, MongoDB, and Node.js

Vanilla JavaScript: jargon for "plain JavaScript", that is, JavaScript not extended by any frameworks or additional libraries. It even has its own prank promotion page, presenting it as the best JavaScript framework.

Vanilla JS: same as "Vanilla JavaScript"

Variable: add contents here

Variable assignment: add contents here

W

Web: also "The web", referring to the World Wide Web, the global information space where documents and other web resources are identified by Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), interlinked by hypertext links, and accessed via the Internet.

Web accessibility: add contents here

Web Accessibility Initiative: add contents here

Web application: add contents here

Web page: add contents here

Website: add contents here

While loop: add contents here

Do while loop: add contents here

World Wide Web: global information space where documents and other web resources are identified by Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), interlinked by hypertext links, and accessed via the Internet.

WWW: World Wide Web

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See also