JavaScript Versions
W3Schools Covers All JavaScript Versions
JavaScript, invented by Brendan Eich in 1995, became an ECMA standard in 1997.
ECMAScript is the official name of the JavaScript standard.
From 1997 ECMA versions was abbreviated by numbers. (ES1, ES2, ES3, ES5, ES6).
2016 - 2025, versions are named by year (ECMAScript 2016, 2017, 2018 ... 2025).
ECMAScript Editions
Official Name
Most Important Features
ECMAScript 1 (1997) First edition
ECMAScript 2 (1998) Only editorial changes
ECMAScript 3 (1999)
Regular expressions
try ... catch
switch
do-while
ECMAScript 4 Never released
ECMAScript 5 (2009)
Read More
use strict
JSON Support
String.trim()
Array.isArray()
Array iteration methods
Allows trailing commas for object literals
ECMAScript 6 (2015)
Read More
Added let and const
Default parameter values
Array.find()
Array.findIndex()
W3Schools Covers All JavaScript Versions
JavaScript, invented by Brendan Eich in 1995, became an ECMA standard in 1997.
ECMAScript is the official name of the JavaScript standard.
From 1997 ECMA versions was abbreviated by numbers. (ES1, ES2, ES3, ES5, ES6).
2016 - 2025, versions are named by year (ECMAScript 2016, 2017, 2018 ... 2025).
| Official Name | Most Important Features |
|---|---|
| ECMAScript 1 (1997) | First edition |
| ECMAScript 2 (1998) | Only editorial changes |
| ECMAScript 3 (1999) |
Regular expressions try ... catch switch do-while |
| ECMAScript 4 | Never released |
| ECMAScript 5 (2009) Read More |
use strict JSON Support String.trim() Array.isArray() Array iteration methods Allows trailing commas for object literals |
| ECMAScript 6 (2015) Read More |
Added let and const Default parameter values Array.find() Array.findIndex() |
