JavaScript Versions

JavaScript was invented by Brendan Eich in 1995, and became an ECMA standard in 1997.

ECMAScript is the official name of the language.

ECMAScript versions have been abbreviated to ES1, ES2, ES3, ES5, and ES6.

Since 2016, versions are named by year (ECMAScript 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).

ECMAScript Editions

Ver Official Name Description
ES1 ECMAScript 1 (1997)First edition
ES2 ECMAScript 2 (1998)Editorial changes
ES3 ECMAScript 3 (1999)Added regular expressions
Added try/catch
Added switch
Added do-while
ES4 ECMAScript 4Never released
ES5 ECMAScript 5 (2009)

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Added "strict mode"
Added JSON support
Added String.trim()
Added Array.isArray()
Added Array iteration methods
Allows trailing commas for object literals
ES6 ECMAScript 2015

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Added let and const
Added default parameter values
Added Array.find()
Added Array.findIndex()
ECMAScript 2016

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Added exponential operator (**)
Added Array.includes()
ECMAScript 2017

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Added string padding
Added Object.entries()
Added Object.values()
Added async functions
Added shared memory
Allows trailing commas for function parameters
ECMAScript 2018

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Added rest / spread properties
Added asynchronous iteration
Added Promise.finally()
Additions to RegExp
ECMAScript 2019

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String.trimStart()
String.trimEnd()
Array.flat()
Object.fromEntries
Optional catch binding
ECMAScript 2020

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The Nullish Coalescing Operator (??)

This tutorial covers every version of JavaScript:

  • The Original JavaScript ES1 ES2 ES3 (1997-1999)
  • The First Main Revision ES5 (2009)
  • The Second Revision ES6 (2015)
  • Yearly Additions (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)

Browser Support

ECMAScript 1 - 6 is fully supported in all modern browsers.


Browser Support for ES5 (2009)

Browser Version From Date
Chrome23Nov 2012
Firefox21May 2013
IE9*Mar 2011
IE / Edge10Sep 2012
Safari6Jul 2012
Opera15Jul 2013

* Internet Explorer 9 does not support ECMAScript 5 "use strict".


Browser Support for ES6 (2015)

Browser Version Date
Chrome51May 2016
Firefox52Mar 2017
Edge14Aug 2016
Safari10Sep 2016
Opera38Jun 2016

Internet Explorer does not support ECMAScript 2015.



Browser Support for ECMAScript 2016

Browser Version Date
Chrome52Jul 2016
Firefox54Jun 2017
Edge14Aug 2016
Safari10.1Mar 2017
Opera39Aug 2016

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