<- Back to Glossary

Javascript

JavaScript (JS) is a programming language that powers interactivity on the web—running natively in browsers and increasingly on servers via Node.js.

What is Javascript?

JavaScript (JS) is a lightweight, interpreted programming language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web. It is used to make web pages more interactive and dynamic. JavaScript can be used to:

Add interactivity to web pages, such as dropdown menus, animated graphics, and form validation.
Control multimedia content, such as videos and audio files.
Validate user input and perform calculations.
Build web applications and games.

How It Works

Browser downloads and parses HTML + JS.
JS executes line by line in the browser engine (V8, SpiderMonkey).
It manipulates the DOM to update the page without reloads.

Related Terms

No items found.

Learn how you can scale AI with PixieBrix

PixieBrix is the single browser extension and web app that lets you harness the full potential of widely available AI - securely, efficiently, and at scale.

Core Components

Variables, functions, and objects
Event loop and asynchronous promises
APIs for network, storage, and graphics
Package managers (npm, yarn)

Benefits

Universal language of the web
Runs in every browser
Vast community and library ecosystem
Supports AI and automation frameworks in the browser

Future Outlook

WebAssembly integration for high-performance tasks
AI model execution in browser contexts
TypeScript adoption for safer development

Challenges

Security (unsafe eval, XSS)
Browser inconsistencies
Performance with heavy scripts