Lesson 1. ECMAScript specification and the proposal process
In this lesson you will learn about the origins of JavaScript and the difference between JavaScript and ECMAScript. Since this book is about the new features introduced starting with ES2015 and later, in this lesson you’ll learn about how those new features get proposed for the language and the process of how those proposals become part of the language specification.
JavaScript was originally created at Netscape in 1995. Later the language was submitted to Ecma International for standardization, and ECMAScript First Edition was published in 1997. Ecma International used to be known as The European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA), but changed its name to “Ecma International” to reflect its global position. Even though Ecma is no longer an acronym, ECMAScript still uses the uppercase ECMA. After ECMAScript was published, the following two years each saw an updated addition, with ECMAScript Third Edition, commonly referred to as ES3, being published in December of 1999.