What is JavaScript?
JavaScript (JS) is the programming language of the web that makes web pages interactive. It runs in the browser (client-side) and since Node.js also on servers. JavaScript enables: DOM manipulation, event handling, asynchronous requests (AJAX/Fetch), animations, single-page applications (SPAs). Modern JS frameworks: React, Vue.js, Angular, Svelte. TypeScript extends JS with static typing. For SEO: JavaScript rendering can be problematic - Server-Side Rendering (SSR) or Static Site Generation (SSG) solves this. Frameworks like Next.js (React) and Nuxt (Vue) make SSR easy. JavaScript is also essential for web analytics (GA4, Tag Manager).
Key Points
- Programming language for web interactivity
- Client-side (browser) and server-side (Node.js)
- Frameworks: React, Vue, Angular
- TypeScript for type safety
- SSR/SSG important for SEO
- Foundation for modern web apps
Practical Example
“Our Next.js app uses server-side rendering for SEO-friendliness with full JavaScript interactivity.”