The new version of JavaScript has arrived, as ECMA International has approved the ECMAScript 2016 specification. Declaring it a work-in-progress release, ECMA International said that ECMAScript 2016 will serve as the basis for the 2017 release.
ECMA International has approved ECMAScript 2016 – the latest version of the official JavaScript specifications.
This new version marks the first release in the updated release schedule announced in 2015. The new changes that came with it include a plan to push out more frequent – on an annual basis, to be exact – language updates.
Since the publication of the first ECMAScript specification in 1997, this release marks the seventh edition.
Invented by Brendan Eich, the language first appeared in the Netscape Navigator 2.0 browser. Over time, it has evolved into one of the most popular general-purpose programming languages in the world.
Compared to the previous ECMAScript release in 2015, this one brings a smaller number of features. ECMA International has also decided to include support for asynchronous operations next year.
Additionally, this version provides programmers with a “raise to the power” operator to write mathematical functions more easily.
You may already know that popular web browsers such as Chrome and Firefox already implement the ECMAScript specifications before their official approval.
The organization calls the current release a work in progress and marks the Object.values / Object.entries as confirmed features for the next release.
