From Research Prototypes to Continuous Integration: Guiding the Design and Implementation of JavaScript
by Sukyoung Ryu and Jihyeok Park on Jan 12, 2023 | Tags: continuous integration, javascript, language design, mechanized specification
JavaScript is the most active programming language in GitHub. Every web browser contains a JavaScript engine. Its annually released specification, ECMA-262, defines the language syntax and semantics rigorously. It is also equipped with Test262, the implementation conformance test suite. Both ECMA-262 and Test262 are open-sourced and maintained by the Ecma TC39 committee. However, manually maintaining the correctness of the fast-evolving language specification is challenging, even with the huge test suite. In this blog post, we share how we could integrate the ideas in academic papers into the continuous design and implementation of the JavaScript programming language.
JavaScript was initially designed and implemented in May 1995 by Brendan Eich as a simple dynamic language that enables code snippets to be interpreted by a web browser. In early 1996, companies including Netscape and Microsoft released browser technologies frequently, while language standardization was slow and often contentious. To ensure interoperability across different web browsers, TC39, the Ecma Technical Committee that standardizes JavaScript, had meetings to make the JavaScript language specification.
